In God We Trust, But Forget About Him...
Huh?Can we really have it both ways?
Our founding fathers were men of faith. They looked to their religion when it came to drafting our Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
I will conceed that the founding father's made it clear that church and state should be two separate entities, however, the issue I now find myself taking with this same separation is that our current government does not seem to know it's boundaries anymore. While I understand the need to remove God from the classroom since not all members of society practice the same religion or any at all for that matter, I do not understand the need to remove God from society.
If religion is not to step upon the feet of government, why then is it ok for government to step upon the feet of religion?
Additionally, I take real issue with the removal of God from our founding documents, our courtrooms, and our money. There was a time, when those testifying in a court case, would place their hand upon a Bible and honor the vow that they would be honest, under God's watchful eye. It meant something. Faith meant something. Now, you raise your right hand and vow to whom? The judge? Yourself?
I don't know, but it just doesn't seem to have the same effect.
I'm a parent. I do base what I say and believe on my faith, not just my government. My trust goes first in my God and then in my country, not the other way around. I realize there is no legitimate way to back what I believe, no way to point to documents, because what I believe is based on my gut. My heart. My soul.
When I ask my kids to be honest with me, they know that if they lie to me, that I may not know the truth, but that God does and that is effective.
The same used to be true for the courtroom.
When men put their hands on a bible, they were swearing to God to tell the truth. God.
And, for YEARS, that was ok to do. Until it wasn't.
I know some courts still use the bible and some still have His words on their walls, but many others have removed those words that often were the very ones that brought truth from the mouths of liars.
Why 220 years after this country was founded on religion, are we so set on destroying what has held us so firmly together?
(from an email I received)
DID YOU KNOW?
As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!
DID YOU KNOW?
As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.
DID YOU KNOW?
As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit,a display of the Ten Commandments!
DID YOU KNOW?
There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.
DID YOU KNOW?
Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".
DID YOU KNOW?
Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.
If it has worked for 220 years, why are we so eager to change it?
I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. ~ Thomas Paine
November 7, 2009 at 9:08 AM
I think what is often lost in translation is that yes, it references a Divine Being. What is does NOT say is that the Christian God is the one who should be making all of the rules, something that seems to be forgotten by His followers frequently.
"There was a time, when those testifying in a court case, would place their hand upon a Bible and honor the vow that they would be honest, under God's watchful eye. It meant something. Faith meant something. Now, you raise your right hand and vow to whom? The judge? Yourself?"
As to this, I much prefer that people can hold themselves responsible and not rely on a parental figure's promises of rewards or punishments to ensure good behavior. But that may just be me.
November 8, 2009 at 10:38 AM
I agree. I am tired of the attempts to remove every trace of Christianity from our country. Our country was founded on Christian principals and when our founding fathers spoke of separation of church and state they meant that no religious body should be in charge of the governement. They did not mean every bit of religion should be stripped from our country. People should practise whatever faith they choose but the lack of faith in this country is in direct proportion to the lack of morality and the lack of family values.
November 8, 2009 at 7:35 PM
The United States was NOT founded on Christianity or by Christians but rather on the principle of freedom founded by Deists.
One of the people you quote so often, Thomas Paine, was a Deist. In The Age of Reason he wrote,
"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church."
He also wrote (regarding the New Testament),
"I hold [it] to be fabulous and have shown [it] to be false..."
Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson also made statements proclaiming themselves Deist.
As far as being founded on Christianity, the treaty with Tripoly-signed into law in 1797-was an agreement with the Islamic nation that stated in part,
"As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion - as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, - and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arrising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."
There is absolutely no reason that Christianity should remain in the government at all. To a person who is not Christian the presence of these things would be at best inconsequential (they don't believe in God so swearing something to Him means nothing on their conscience) and at worst it can be used to oppress people.
Religion and government together has never "worked"-it has been a point of contention since the Puritans used the law to persecute the Quakers, long before our country was even officially founded.
I do agree however that there should be no attempts to remove or undermine the personal faith of individual people, but the place for faith is inside of individuals and their places of worship, not in the government.
November 8, 2009 at 7:37 PM
Sharlene-See the above comment on why our country was not founded by Christians or on Christianity.
I agree that religion should not be stripped from the country, but it must be taken out of the government system, for reasons I mentioned in my own post.
Lastly, what you deem "lack of morality and family values" is based on your religion, and while it is a valid opinion it is certainly not an objective fact-as what you may consider "morals and values" other people do not value at all and vice versa.
November 11, 2009 at 6:25 PM
As I said in my post, I base my thoughts on my beliefs, therefore, I know there is no legitimate way to defend myself. (I also realize that comes off as a very "liberal" way of thinking.)
I just know I am tired of always being forced to do "what is right for everyone", and in turn, it means sitting by while everything I hold dear gets trampled.
I am tired of doing something because "they" aren't happy or "they" feel persecuted or "they" don't have the same rights.
WHY, dear God, do I not mean as much as every minority that walks in this country? Even as a woman, I tend to not be recognized as a minority unless I support abortion. I am seen as a white person first and everything else, just doesn't matter.
I am plain old tired of getting screwed. It's one thing to tell me that you don't believe God exsists. It's also one thing to tell me that God shouldn't be mentioned in school. But, it's quite another when you tell me not to mention God in public because "someone" might get their feelings hurt.
MY feelings are hurt. Why does that not matter?
I quote Thomas Paine because I respect what he did for the country. I respect that he stood up and said what he thought and meant it, without fear. It does not mean I think every word that came from his mouth/pen would resemble how I feel.
I think for myself, so in that token, I am certain I do not resemble anyone but me and me alone.
November 11, 2009 at 11:38 PM
You have do a right to "bring God into" in a public, non-government funded forum-however the other people have the right to disagree, complain, and belittle what you say. They are not required to preserve or even respect 'everything you hold dear' because it may or may not be dear to them as well. You have no right to expect that anyone in this country will support anything you say or do-that's freedom for you.