. . . as for me and my house . . .
By William Bailey (12/11/07)
Those familiar with Old Testament scripture will probably recognize the above phrase as coming from a verse in the book of Joshua.
Lest I be accused and/or criticized for not using the entire verse, it is inserted below:
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day
whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were
on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose place you
dwell. But, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:15-New King James Version)
There are two or three items that bring me to the point of sharing some thoughts about some things that are going on around us at the current time.
Let’s start with an incident from Harris County (Houston), Texas. In the 1950’s, a monument containing a Bible was placed on the grounds of the county courthouse in honor of William Mosher, founder of the Star of Hope Mission. There it stayed, without controversy for years. After it was damaged, the repaired in the 1990’s, an atheist alleged it was a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
The rulings at the U.S. District Court level and from a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded, essentially, that the monument had been legal UNTIL Christians gathered there to pray. The case was then presented to the full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found that the case was made moot because the county had removed the monument temporarily for remodeling. The court also left in place the district court’s conclusion that the monument was illegal.
There have been discussions among county officials and the mission leaders, who technically own the monument, about whether there would be circumstances under which it could be replaced—constitutionally—on public grounds or whether a private location would be optimum. As far as I know, no final decision has been made.
According to a statements from Houston pastors, “the Bible in the display represented Wiliam Mosher’s faith which inspired his public philanthropy that in turn has blessed thousands of lives. Its public placement meant that we as a people honored him as well as his faith, understanding that they are inseparable.”
The pastors went on to say, “The determination that to have a Bible on display in a private monument is unconstitutional, was from the beginning a rejection of our history, the First Amendment, and even current case law. The Judge’s decision was terribly flawed and unfortunately survived the appellate process.” The pastors continued, “The Bible has stood as a foundational source of our morals, laws and liberty since Rev. Robert Hunt placed a cross in the sand at Cape Henry, Virginia, in 1607 and it has been tragically left to our generation to turn our back on our heritage.” The pastors concluded, “We send notice to those who would steal this heritage, undermine our national foundations and attack the public expression of faith that they may have won this skirmish, however they will lose the war.”
Next incident------two counties in North Carolina. In an effort to appease the ACLU, school officials in Cumberland and Harnett counties have, essentially, ruled, “no more Bibles for the children”. Before someone complained and the ACLU threatened legal action, the Gideons would simply place the Bibles on a table for students who might choose to pick one up. But no longer. Of course, the ACLU is claiming elementary students might interpret the availability of the Bibles by an outside group as an endorsement of religion, which in their estimation would be a violation of the separation of church and state. (From an article by Rev. Mark H. Creech, “No More Bibles for Children”www.renewamerica.us/columns/creech/071130)
Finally, as most are probably aware, the ER doctor from California, Michael Newdow is at it again. As may be recalled, Newdow filed a lawsuit seeking to have the words “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. He lost. Now, he wants any reference to God removed from government buildings, currency, etc.
As I have considered these incidents, I have chosen to respond.
First, each of us has the right to believe or not believe in a supreme being as our minds dictate and our conscience guide us.
It appears that those who want to change or try to erase history . . . which is an impossible task, want their positions to be tolerated while they are not willing to tolerate the beliefs of others. Merriam-Webster defines tolerance as “a sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own”. In the eyes of those who would remove any reference to the Almighty, tolerance appears to be a “one-way” street.
A recent Harris poll reveals that 82 percent of adult Americans believe in God and 79 percent believe in miracles. The poll also reveals that 70 percent believe in heaven and angels.
Are we so busy that we will stand by and let this happen ?
Those who would have this done would be ecstatic to have the following occur:
**removal of the words “In God We Trust” from all government buildings
**removal of the words “In God We Trust” from all coins and currency
**removal of the words “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” from the Declaration of Independence
**removal of the words “God shed his grace on thee” from the song, “America the Beautiful”
**removal of the words, “…may the heav’n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.”
**removal of the words, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”;and “Our God is marching on.”
This would be just for starters.
Based on an article written by William Federer (“Separation of God and State”) in October, 2003, it would appear that some state constitutions would be, likewise, affected. Lederer’s research reveals that ALL, not some, all fifty of the state constitutions have some reference to God or the Almighty in the preamble(s). Guess state legislatures would have to get busy and submit amendments to the people to change the state constitution.
Let’s get something clear . . . the words “separation of church and state” appear nowhere in the Constitution of the United States. You can look, but you won’t find them ‘cause they’re not there. So, how did all of this come about ?
On October 7, 1801, a committee from the Danbury Baptist Association wrote a congratulatory letter to Thomas Jefferson on his election as President. It has been reported that Jefferson did not necessarily like receiving mail as President, but he generally endeavored to turn his responses into an opportunity to sow what he called useful truths and principles among the people so that the ideas might take root. In Jefferson’s letter of response, here’s what he actually said:
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.” (January 1, 1802).
The purpose of the First Amendment, as “endorsed” by Jefferson was to, once and for all, provide that there would be no “state” established religions. This was one of the things the Pilgrims were seeking to escape when they fled England.
It is interesting to note that it wasn’t until 1947, one hundred forty-five years after the Jefferson letter, that the U.S. Supreme Court got “into the act”. In a case styled Everson v. Education, Justice Hugo Black, writing for the majority (5-4) penned the words that now bring so much grief:
“The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall
must be kept high and impregnable”.
Anyone who will take the time to read the writings of Thomas Jefferson will quickly see how he felt about religion. Consider just one:
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift of God ? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath ? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.” (1781)
So, who am I to presume to enter into this area of current events ?
I am your everyday, red-blooded American citizen. Please note that I use no hyphen in asserting that I am an American. To do so diminishes the pride in being what I am. For you see, I believe deeply in both “We the People” and E Pluribus Unum, “from many one”. As a result, since all our roots go back to other places and other times, I prefer just being a plain old American . . . no qualifiers needed or wanted.
I was blessed by being born into a loving family (which by today’s standards would be considered sub-poverty level). Our’s was a Christian home and it was in that environment that I was raised and grew up. Thus the foundation for much of what I believe and espouse. I make no apology for stating that I believe in God, family and country. I also believe in things like personal responsibility, honor, ethics, principles and integrity.
I am an American who still gets “chill bumps” every time I hear the National Anthem . . .
I get tears in my eyes when I see “Old Glory” go by for I have a deep sense of gratitude for the price so many have paid to keep that piece of fabric flying. I am particularly moved when I see a “missing man” formation or hear “Taps” played at a military funeral. I make no apology for feeling this way. I am not ashamed in the least. For you see, I love my country. I respect and revere the documents that started this experiment in freedom and liberty, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
So . . . I guess, in a manner of speaking, I have now come back to where I started,
“as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”.
William D. Bailey
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