Our currency proclaims, “In God we trust.”
The Declaration of Independence says, ” … that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights …”
President George Washington gave us the First Thanksgiving Proclamation, which reads, “Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor…”
Most of our 50 states have constitutional preambles which contain an acknowledgment of a supreme being. For example, the constitutional preamble of the state in which atheist Michael Newdow lives states: “We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings, do establish this Constitution.”
A box inserted in the cornerstone of our nation’s Capitol building contains a manuscript of a speech given by Daniel Webster. It concludes: “And all here assembled, whether belonging to public life or to private life, with hearts devotedly thankful to Almighty God for the preservation of the liberty and happiness of the country, unite in sincere and fervent prayer that this deposit and the walls and arches … now to be erected over it, may endure forever.”
Sessions of the Supreme Court begin with the marshal of the court reciting the following words: ” …God save the United States and this Honorable Court!”
The cap of the Washington Monument is engraved: “Laus Deo” (Praise be to God).
How many government buildings would have to be remodeled and how many official documents would have to be rewritten before we could erase all mention of God from our government? And even if we could, wouldn’t it be downright un-American to do so?
Everett
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