The tablet is dated to the period between 300 and 800. It is the only completely preserved example from the late Byzantine period. Sotheby's hopes to realise proceeds of up to two million US dollars (around 1.9 million euros).

"This remarkable tablet is not only an extremely important historical artefact, but also a tangible link to the beliefs that helped shape Western civilisation," said Sotheby's Head of Books and Manuscripts, Richard Austin.

Encountering this shared piece of cultural heritage is a "journey through the millennia and a connection to cultures and beliefs told through one of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes."

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The state's Republican governor, Jeff Landry (pictured), signed the obligation into law last week.

A poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in a "large, easily readable font" must be displayed in all public classrooms, from kindergartens to state-funded universities.

"If you want to respect the rule of law, you've got to start from the original lawgiver, Moses, who got the commandments from God" Landry said.

The Ten Commandments are firmly rooted in legal history MP Dodie Horton says. In her view, the law will introduce a moral code into the classroom.

Civil rights violated

Opponents of the bill see the new law as a push against the constitutional separation of church and state. They say they will challenge the law in court.

They argue the law violates Supreme Court precedents and leads to religious coercion of students.

They are especially concerned that the new law will prevent students from getting an equal education.

In a joint statement, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation said it will keep children who have different beliefs from feeling safe at school.

"Even among those who may believe in some version of the Ten Commandments, the particular text that they adhere to can differ by religious denomination or tradition. The government should not be taking sides in this theological debate" the groups said.

Source

• katholisch.de
• RNS
• AP

According to Bitter Winter, a magazine covering religious liberty and human rights in China, churches belonging to the country's state-run "Three-Self Patriotic Movement" Protestant denomination have been ordered to replace displays of the decalogue with sayings of the Chinese president.

The new directive reportedly comes after Three-Self churches were initially told to remove the First Commandment, "You shall have no gods before me," as Jinping disagreed with it. Read more

That wouldn't normally be a story — if anything, the most noteworthy thing about it is that a religious monument is going up outside a religious school for once — but the journey it took for the monument to get there is worth retelling.

The monument wasn't originally meant for the Catholic school. In 1957, the Fraternal Order of Eagles donated it to Valley High School, a local public school.

It wasn't until 2012 that a lawsuit was filed to have that display removed. Marie Schaub and her daughter were two of the plaintiffs, represented by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Read more

For 14 days over the next seven months, the Ten Commandments scroll called 4Q41 will be shown at the Israel Museum.

It is part of an exhibit called "A Brief History of Humankind".

This copy of the commandments was written in soot on a strip of goatskin and was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

It is believed to be more than 2000 years old.

This scroll is normally stored in complete darkness in a secure vault, where temperature and humidity are controlled.

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Speaking at his weekly audience at the Vatican on August 6, the Pope linked the beatitudes, the Ten Commandments and the Last Judgement.

Some 6000 people heard the Pope tell them he was so serious about Christians knowing Matthew 5:3-12, that he would read each beatitude out loud and then have them repeat it.

But one repetition of the text is not enough to "remember them and impress them on our hearts", the Pope said.

So he gave the crowd "homework", asking them to spend time in the coming days reading the text again, from the Bible "you always should have with you".

The beatitudes are "the path God indicates as his response to the desire for happiness present in each person and the perfection of the (Ten) Commandments", Francis explained.

But more than this, they are "a portrait of Jesus and his way of life".

But learning the beatitudes wasn't the only homework task the Pope handed out.

Alongside reading the fifth chapter of Matthew, Francis requested the crowd also study the Last Judgement in Matthew 25.

In addition to showing people the path to true happiness, the Pope said, Jesus gave "us the protocol according to which we will be judged".

No one, he said, is so important or has done so many other virtuous things that he or she can escape being asked the questions in Matthew 25.

"The Lord will recognise us if we have recognised his face in the face of the hungry, the poor, the marginalised, the sick and the lonely.

"These are fundamental criteria for verifying our Christian life," Francis continued.

The Pope said he uses the beatitudes and the questions from the Last Judgement in his own reflection on his actions at the end of each day.

He recommended this "simple" practice to others.

Living according to the beatitudes and the criteria listed in Matthew 25, he said, should fill each Christian with joy because together "they make our Christian life a beautiful and credible witness to the love of God for all the brothers and sisters we meet each day".

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• Catholic World News
• Image: Catholic News Agency

Inspired by last year's riots, the new vows include "manage your anger", "know God" and "catch your breath" and are understood to be used in more than 600 churches in Britain.

The original "thou shalt not steal" has become "prosper with a clear conscience", and the lengthy "thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" becomes "take God seriously".

The commandments, designed by popular evangelical preacher J John, have been praised by religious leaders for bringing practical advice to modern congregations.