This is an article found on MSNBC's website, published by the Associated Press. It goes to further show the mindset of so many in society today. The outcry against our country's identity with God and Christian standards is continuing. One person is making waves in culture by rising up to be heard. If one person is rising up against Godly standards and morals, how much more can the church be heard if we become active in culture and current issues? I have said it before and will say it again - when the righteous are silent, it gives the mic to the foolish and wicked! Reading this just reiterated the fact that the people of God need to speak up and get involved in today's society. We've hid in the church too long.
Check out the article! I'd love to hear your feedback!
SAN FRANCISCO - An atheist who has spent four years trying to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from being recited in public schools is now challenging the motto printed on U.S. currency because it refers to God.
Michael Newdow seeks to remove “In God We Trust” from U.S. coins and dollar bills, claiming in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that the motto is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. Newdow, a Sacramento doctor and lawyer, used a similar argument when he challenged the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools because it contains the words “under God.”
He took his pledge fight to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2004 said he lacked standing to bring the case because he did not have custody of the daughter he sued on behalf of. An identical lawsuit later brought by Newdow on behalf of parents with children in three Sacramento-area school districts is pending with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, after a Sacramento federal judge sided with Newdow in September. The judge stayed enforcement of the decision pending appeal, which is expected to reach the Supreme Court. Congress first authorized a reference to God on a two-cent piece in 1864. The action followed a request by the director of the U.S. Mint, who wrote there should be a “distinct and unequivocal national recognition of the divine sovereignty” on the nation’s coins. In 1955, the year after Congress inserted the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, Congress required all currency to carry the motto “In God We Trust.”
“The placement of ‘In God We Trust’ on the coins and currency was clearly done for religious purposes and to have religious effects,” Newdow wrote in the 162-page lawsuit he filed against Congress. Newdow’s latest lawsuit came five days after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected, without comment, a challenge to an inscription of “In God We Trust” on a North Carolina county government building. In doing so, the justices upheld the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that “In God We Trust” appears on the nation’s coins and is a national motto. “In this situation, the reasonable observer must be deemed aware of the patriotic uses, both historical and present, of the phrase ‘In God We Trust,”’ the appeals panel ruled in upholding the inscription’s display.
Along with this article, MSNBC also promoted a live poll to get feed back from Americans on if "In God We Trust" should be removed or not.
4 comments:
as an athiest Im sorta offended that you assume someone is wicked, foolish and immoral just because they have a basic understanding of the idea of Seperation of Church and State. If "In God We Trust" was removed from all currency, the kingdom of God would not crumble, church attendance would not go down, God would still be worshiped, but at least we would be following the constitution a bit closer and thats something we all can agree is a good thing. No where in the bible does it say anything about currency having any sorta religious phrase on it. The motto never should have been there in the first place.
Thank you for your comment! I respect that viewpoint. True: if "In God We Trust" was removed from all currency, the kingdom of God would not crumble, church attendance would not go down, God would still be worshiped...God is so much bigger than that, and isn't contained by prhases on currency or the walls of buildings. My view of it: Our country was founded with a faith in God. We see marks of it everywhere. My faith in God is something that I cherish and hold dear, as do so many other believers accross the nation. In a free nation, everyone has the right to stand for what they believe in - believer/non believer... I think that followers of Christ today need to stand for what they believe in, and not take for granted a country that has been "Christian" for so long. Church and State, a phrase on our currency... side issues. I value the fact that the USA is a Christian nation, and think that believers should speak up about how they value it as well.
I would like to add another point. I'm a firm believer and the way I see it is, how will taking "in God we trust" off coinage make a difference in the life of an atheist? It won't. I believe, like Jared, that our forefathers built this country on faith in God and we, today, believer/non-believer, have no right to change that. Just because the phrase is on a coin or in a pledge does not mean you have to believe in it or even care. Most people don't even pay attention to it on the coins or when they say the pledege. So I say just let it be because it is not hurting anyone.
to robin's chick...
Our Forefathers did not put the phrase on our currency (we didnt even have a national currency then). The phrase didnt make its way onto paper currency until the 1950's! So, to base an arguement on a false claim doesnt add anything to the discussion.
And if most people dont pay attention to it then most people wont miss it. so your arguement fails again.
On to your question. You need to put yourself in someone elses shoes for a second. If our money said "To Allah and his prophet Muhammed be the glory", both you and I would have a big problem with that, but to me there is no difference. Both sayings have no place on our currency or in our banks or courtrooms. This is where I CAN bring up our forfathers as Seperation of Church and State was a policy they held close. and you are mistaken (thats 3 times) on our rights. We live in a democracy where we DO have the right to change things. Our Forfathers got the great idea of slavery from the christian bible and thought that it was thier "right" to own them. Id like you to find any quote by Jesus Christ where he refutes slavery outright. That is a trick question because such a quote does not exist. This country is not ran by a theocracy. It is a democracy where faiths of ALL KINDS are welcome. to have "In God We Trust" on our money tarnishes any image of toleracy and openness that our country prides itself on.
also... I should have said soemthing in my first post but I know Jared from way back in high school.
-Tyler Chott
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