One Nation or Under God?

I recently read an article regarding the Pledge of Allegiance. (*) In the Pledge of Allegiance the words "under God" were added in 1954 as a means of unifying America against other forms of government that were completely secular. It was an extraordinary move of our government to assert the will of the people who were religious. The vast majority of elected officials support the current wording of the Pledge. The US Senate has voted 99 to 0, and the House 416 to 3, to keep "God" in the Pledge. Even today the majority of our government leadership is supportive of the current pledge as we saw with the majority of government leadership reciting the pledge publicly.

I can't help but wonder, are we a nation under God? Given how our country has become such a divided by such a simple statement. There are many debates about the pledge and even the "In God We Trust" statement on our money. However, the majority of Americans and even those who immigrate to this country accept this pledge as a form of patriotism, having little concern over it's content.

In the article by Warren Richey, he says:

"Not every organization strongly opposed to religious activities in public schools is opposed to the Pledge. In a friend-of-the-court brief, the National Education Association says even with the reference to God, the Pledge is a patriotic observance rather than a religious exercise.

Using the words " 'under God' does not convert the Pledge into a state-sponsored profession of religious belief," writes Robert Chanin in the NEA brief. "Rather, the words are best understood as a reflection of the simple historical fact that the founders believed in a supreme being, and that their belief led them to dedicate the nation to the fundamental secular precept that all men have unalienable rights to liberty and justice," Mr. Chanin says."

We are not one nation if we remove under God in our pledge. I think that a greater majority of people would be oppose to taking out the words "under God" than would those who would be opposed to taking out the words "one nation." The Bible certainly tells us that our nation is blessed whose God is the Lord! If I had to choose between one nation or under God, I would have to keep God in my pledge! Divided we may be but under God we must be!

We are a nation that historically and nationally embrace God in belief and ethic. We are a nation of laws which have historical roots to Judaism and mosaic law. We are a nation who believe prefer the belief of God. In fact, Barna reports that over 90% of Americans believe in God. So the problem is not the limitation of liberty here. We are a free and democratic nation because we are under God. We understand our freedom of choice and responsibility of action because of God.

Let us wave our flag of freedom of religion not freedom from religion. That is the freedom to worship God, call on His name in prayer and look to God for wisdom and strength. I say, "one nation, UNDER GOD with liberty and justice for all." Apart from God our liberties are left to the cruel authorities of dictators and tyrants act as though they have no accountability unto God.

(*) The US Supreme Court is at the center of a debate over the Pledge of Allegiance.
(11/3/2004) www.csmonitor.com
By Warren Richey Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor