What hasn't been said about the Ten Commandments controversy.

The Ten Commandments have been in the news lately Most prominent is the case involving Alabama Circuit Judge Roy S. Moore. Moore insists on hanging the redwood plaque on which he carved the Ten Commandments in his courtroom as a support for the proclamation of this "nation under God." Protests from the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Congress, and others have been ignored. Support has come from Alabama Governor Fob James, who has threatened to call out the National Guard to prevent federal authorities from removing the plaque.

A Downey, California, businessperson also made the news when he went to court seeking to have the Ten Commandments posted in an advertisement on the outfield fence of the Downey High School baseball field. Then, of course, televangelist the Reverend Robert Schuller, in defending his alleged assault on a United Airlines flight attendant, stated that he had not "broken any of the Ten Commandments."

Apart from legal and civil rights arguments concerning the posting of the Decalogue on public property, there are the following issues to be considered.

What are the Ten Commandments? The commandments are statements which the Torah presents as divinely revealed to Moses. There are two versions of the code: Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Exodus 34:12-26 also embodies some aspects of the formulas. The version chosen by Jews and most Protestants differs from that used by the Roman Catholics. Jews and Protestants look to Exodus; Roman Catholics to Deuteronomy. Which version would be posted?

Are the differences significant? Apparently they are. In an arrangement of the Decalogue that goes back to St. Augustine (fifth century), Roman Catholics and certain Lutheran groups omit the rule against making graven images which other Christians list as the second commandment. In some Catholic formulations, the prohibition against graven images is included as a supplement to, or extension of, the first regulation. To maintain the number ten, Roman Catholics separate the rule against coveting a neighbor's wife from the law prohibiting coveting a neighbor's goods. In other words, women are not listed as chattel.

Are all of the commandments relevant today? The answer depends on point of view. The regulation against placing "other gods" ahead of the biblical deity may sound like an anomaly to Jews, Christians, and Muslims--all of whom proclaim monotheism. So what is the relevance of a statement forbidding worship of "other gods"? One need only read the biblical account of the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 11) and the complaints of Jeremiah (7:17; 44:15-28) to realize that in ancient Israel numerous deities competed for recognition. The first full biblical statement of monotheism is found in the writings of an unknown prophet whose words, uttered during the Babylonian exile at the time of the pending rescue by Cyrus the Great, were combined with the earlier teachings of Isaiah of Jerusalem (Isaiah 45:1). In Isaiah 46:9, the unnamed prophet states that Israel's deity is the only deity and that there is none other. Today, in dealing with the commandment, clergy tend to substitute "money" or "power" for "other gods," but these substitutes are not what the commandment is about.

The rule against "taking the Lord's name in vain" does not refer to swearing or saying "Goddamn!" In ancient times, deities had personal names that distinguished them and their powers from one another. To utter the name of a god was to summon the attention of that deity. The Jewish deity also has a personal name which most scholars believe is "Yahweh." To use Yahweh's name for reasons empty of meaning was and is considered offensive. To prevent students from committing this offense while studying and reading aloud the Scriptures, wise scribes changed the vowels between the consonants in the divine personal name and inserted vowels from the word adonay--a word meaning "god" or "lord." The name Yahweh now became "YaHoWAH" (JeHoVaH)--a safe and meaningless term that would not summon the deity Today, when the divine name appears in Jewish liturgy, it is pronounced as "Adonay." According to the Mishnah (Yoma), the commandment against taking Yahweh's name in vain was so important t at, in the days of the Jewish temple, the sacred name was pronounced only seven times by the high priest on the Day o Atonement (Yom Kippur). Currently, because or many profanity is generally considered socially unacceptable, new interpretations are given to the regulation in attempts to keep it relevant.

Most Christians ignore the commandment requiring the keeping of the Sabbath day. Only Jews and Seventh-day Christians observe the Sabbath, which extends from sundown on Friday evening to sundown on Saturday. Other Christians violate this commandment, choosing to keep "the Lord's day," which is Sunday.

Perhaps Judge Roy S. Moore and the governor of Alabama are ignorant of these facts or, if they are informed choose to ignore them.

For humanists, whose focus is on human relationships, the first three regulations of the Decalogue have no relevance. They reflect beliefs formulated some 3,000 years ago and have meaning only for those who, because of faith commitments, must constantly reinterpret them.

Commandments that pertain to interhuman relationships can be supported. Rules that strengthen the family (although the requirement to honor all parents, which would include abusive ones, is out of the question) and prohibit killing, betrayal, theft, and lying are more in keeping with humanist ethics. We prefer the Roman Catholic version that removes a wife as a husband's possession because humanists, as well as others, are committed to doing all that we can to enhance the power, role, and status of women. Indeed, our moral commitment is to seek to bring forth the best and the noblest in others and in ourselves. We would suggest that, if one "should not covet their neighbor's wife," neither should one "covet their neighbor's husband."

But humanists are also realists. One may "covet" or "wish to have" a Lamborghini or a house or whatever like that owned by one's neighbor, but "wishing to have" or "coveting" does not include taking steps to deprive that neighbor of possessions. Nor does the wish to have a mate like one's neighbor justify any attempt to invade or upset another person's marriage or home. At this point, we would suggest that the coveter seek counseling.

What the controversy over the Ten Commandments demonstrates is that many people dislike the "in your face" or "my religion is better than yours" or "the only truth" confrontations that have become increasingly frequent. America is a multifaceted nation of many beliefs. If Judge Moore and the Downey, California, businessperson were willing to post Humanist Manifesto I and II, ethical statements from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, Sihkism, Confucianism, Bahaism, Islam, Native American religions, and so forth around the courtroom and baseball field, these acts would be more in accord with the true spirit of American democracy.

As for the Reverend Schuller's protestation, we can only remind him that there are moral and ethical patterns of behavior that go beyond the Ten Commandments.

Gerald A. Larue is emeritus professor of religion and adjunct professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California. He was the 1989 Humanist of the Year and is currently a member of the Humanist editorial board.