“In God We Trust.” What does it mean? Is this a prayer? No. Is it a statement of the faith of our country? No. Is it a summary of the belief of our nation? No. Is it a conflict between church and state? No. Is it a reference to the general attitude and belief of our founding fathers? Yes.
Individuals and groups may try to impose their personal feelings on this phrase, but they lose sight of the meaning and the intention of the founding fathers. They lose sight of the context in which the statement was made. They apply this “historical reference” to modern day life, and see a conflict, when no conflict exists. If anything, we have been incorrectly educated about the true context and meaning of the phrase. We take the phrase out of historical context. This is true of all our “historical references” related to belief of our founding fathers. The Ten Commandments in courthouses, the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, patriotic songs at public events, phrases printed on our currency, phrases engraved on the walls of government buildings, etc., are all examples of historical references. They are meant to be reminders of our past traditions. Even non-Christians must admit they were the creations of our founding fathers, based on the general belief of those times. This is the manner and context in which they should be understood and taught. There is no need to remove them from our current-day lives. We all need to embrace and understand our historical traditions! We all need to be proud of our history! It got us to where we are today! Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water!
Camano Island
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