Hello all,
I wanted to share my views on religion and the lack therof in our society. Although I want to keep an open mind on my site with regards to religion, politics, and etc., there are times when I will express my opinion. But I will be fair in bringing both sides to the table as there are always two sides to every story and or opinion.
One of President Barack Obama's mantras -- one that he has stated many times publicly as well as in his book The Audacity of Hope-- is: "Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christiannation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers." And I am not writing this to deny or argue with that. As a matter of fact...
Our great nation was founded by men of different religions (49), some were Protestants of which 28 were affiliated with the Church of England (Episcopalian) after the Revolutionary War was won, 3 were Roman Catholics, 8 were Presyterians, 7 were Congregationalists, 2 were Lutherans, 2 were Dutch Reformed, and 2 were Methodists. Some of the more prominent Founding Fathers were anti-clerical or vocal about their opposition to organized religion, such as Thomas Jefferson (who created the "Jefferson Bible"), and Benjamin Franklin. Other notable founders, such as Patrick Henry, were strong proponents of traditional religion. Several of the Founding Fathers considered themselves to be deists or helpd beliefs very similar to that of deists (Deism is knowledge of God based on the application of reason on the designs/laws found throughout Nature. The designs presuppose a Designer.)
So the above paragraph does in fact negate what most Christians would say in terms of "our great nation was founded on the basis of religion". The US is emphatically
not founded on Christian principles.This is explicitly stated in the Constitution, both in the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ofreligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”) and in Article VI, section 3 (“…no religious test shall ever be required as aqualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”)In addition, the
Treaty of Tripoli, itself a legally binding document, bears these words: “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…” The United States is a secular nation, not a Christian nation. Any claim to the contrary is founded in ignorance of the Constitution, or in delusion. HOWEVER...
God became a device for holding the union together during the Civil War. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the CivilWar. Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury received an appeal from a parson, urging that the United States give recognition to God on coins.The Rev. Mark Richards Watkinson (1824-1877), pastor of "The Old Ridley Baptist Meeting House" wrote then Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase on November 13, 1861. Chase's reply started with; "No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition."Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861.However, an Act of Congress dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and devices that could be placed upon the coins of the United States. This meant that the mint could make no changes without the enactment of additional legislation by the Congress. In a letter to the Mint Director on December 9, 1863,Secretary Chase stated: "it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST." The Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864. This legislation authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin.
The motto disappeared from the five-cent coin in 1883, and did not reappear until production of the Jefferson nickel began in 1938.Since 1938, most United States coins bear the inscription. The motto has been in continuous use on the one cent coin since 1909 and the ten cent coin since 1916.
A law passed by the 84th Congress on July 30, 1956 declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States. IN GOD WE TRUST was first used on paper money in 1957.
condensed from:
www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml
So, what I can gather from all of the above facts is that although God is not welcomed to govern over us as a nation and or its agenda, God's name is welcomed to be used on our monies as it represents unity in strength and we will be safe in His defense? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I may not be a scholar, philosopher, or even an author that merits the respect of any American, but my opinion counts and my opinion is that we need God in this nation and it is showing through all the cracks of our infrastructure as a "powerful" nation. Without the respect, faith, and or hope in God, we lack the basic foundations, principles, and characters of humanity. Belief in God does not just represent a religion. Belief in God for a lot of people represents hope, resolution, and faith in something more than this society can offer. Although one could find that to be unrealistic, if you put yourselves in the shoes of those that have nothing else to look forward to, this is powerful. When there is nothing else to hang on to but power of prayer and hope for a better tomorrow, then it is powerful. America, you want to remove God from everything but yet when you find yourselves in despair, God is who you all seem to turn to. In one form or another.
Perhaps if God's presence was more welcomed in a consistent manner, then we would have less divorce, less adultery, and less crime against humanity. Perhaps if we trusted in God faithfully and not just on paper money, then we could greatly improve the degradation of basic morals, principles, and ethics. Perhaps we can instill the characteristics of humanity back into society and make all agendas pro-humanity, family, and good will rather then agendas separated by race, gender, and sexual preference. Perhaps children would be more respectful of their elders and feel, possess, and show more diligence to authoritative figures. I think if we don't do something soon, this world, as we know it... will end. I know, I know... for your skeptics out there, this might sound like cow dung, but as a believer, the signs are there and so much more apparent. Now, it may not happen in my lifetime and it may not happen in my children's lifetime, but it's coming. Oh, yes, it's coming!
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD" (Psalm 33:12)
Love,
Me
But despite what I had to go through with her, she is now a GEM of a daughter... she makes me so proud of who she has become. Don't get me wrong, she is a BUTTFACE (my favorite word when the kids act up), but she is such a good girl. She is a remarkably bright student and fine young lady. She has no intentions of having boyfriends during school and is seriously annoyed by the other couples that just cannot be true to each other or to themselves. This is true in most relationships but much more so during "teenagedom". She doesn't understand why people lose themselves in the midst of their getting to know their boy/girl friends. I am so thankful for her conviction that true love can not and mostly does not happen during the teens. I am happy that she has embraced this for now.