Why "Under God"?
By William J. Federer

 We continually read how the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and similar groups, want "under God" taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments removed from court room walls, prayer out of public schools, and teachers fired for wearing crosses on their necklaces. These organizations purport that they simply want our government to be neutral in regards to "religion."
            But just what is "religion"?
            Random House Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines "religion" as: "a set of beliefs." The word "belief" is defined as: "opinions, convictions - thoughts upon which one bases their actions."  So, as long as a person is doing "actions," there are thoughts that precede those actions - and that collection of thoughts is the person's "set of beliefs" or "religion." As long as the government is doing "actions," the government has thoughts that precede those actions - and that collection of thoughts is the government's belief system or "religion." So, there can never be a separation of "religion" and government - as long as the government is doing "actions" there are thoughts or beliefs underlying those actions.
            The ACLU is not trying to be "religion" neutral, but, in fact, they are trying to promote their own belief system or religion.
            Whereas our founders had a deity-based belief system, ("All men are endowed by their CREATOR," "So Help Me God," "In God We Trust," "One Nation Under God"...), the ACLU is trying to establish a "non-deity" based state religion.
            But why is it important for a free nation to believe in God?
            I have identified three obvious reasons:

 RIGHTS

            The first reason is RIGHTS.
            The founders of our nation believed that rights came from God and it was the government's job to protect these rights.
            The Declaration of Independence states that "…all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights...That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men…."
            Their views were echoed by President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address of 1961: "The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."
            But, if there is no God, then where do the rights come from except from the generosity of the State. The State, then, becomes god. And what the State giveth, the State can taketh awayeth.
            Instead of the government existing for the citizens' benefit, the citizens must now exist for the government's benefit. This was espoused by the German philosopher Hegel, who influenced Karl Marx and Adolph Hitler. Hegel did not believe in the existence of God. He thought the closest anyone could come to attaining eternal life was to create a government which would continue after their death. This is what Communism has taught - that citizens exist for the benefit of the State.
            This is a significant switch from our founders' belief that rights come from God and it is the government's job is to protect those rights.

 ACCOUNTABILITY

            The second reason is ACCOUNTABILITY.
            Daniel Webster, who was the U.S. Secretary of State for three Presidents, was once asked what the greatest thought was that ever passed through his mind. He replied "My accountability to God."
            The President ends his oath with "So Help Me God" (Executive Branch); Congressmen and Senators end their oaths with "So Help Me God" (Legislative Branch); and the courts of law had witnesses swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth - "So Help Me God" (Judicial Branch).
            Why did our founders acknowledge God in all three branches of government?
            The idea of an oath was to call a higher power to hold you accountable to perform what you said you would perform.
            For example - the framers of our government knew that politicians and witnesses would have the opportunity to do dirty, backroom deals and twist the truth for their own benefit and never get caught. They thought, though, that if a politician or witness believed God existed and was watching him, it would cause that person to hesitate when presented with the temptation to do wrong.
            They would have a conscience. They would think "Even if I get away with this unscrupulous action in this life, I will still have to be held accountable in the next." So, hopefully, that politician or witness would be kept honest by the thought of having to someday give an account to God.
            But if that same person did not believe in God and in a future state of rewards and punishments, then when they were presented with the temptation to do wrong and not get caught, they would give in. In fact, if there is no God, and this life is all there is, that person would be a fool not to take advantage of the selfish opportunity.
            This is what President Reagan meant when he said in 1984: "Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience."
            William Linn, the first Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected unanimously on May 1, 1789, stated: "Let my neighbor once persuade himself that there is no God, and he will soon pick my pocket, and break not only my leg but my neck. If there be no God, there is no law, no future account; government then is the ordinance of man only, and we cannot be subject for conscience sake."
            Indeed, from Bill Clinton to Enron, we have seen where this new morality will take our country. The less internal moral code we have as a nation results in the government passing more external legal code - and each new law takes away another little piece of our freedom.

 EQUALITY

             The third reason is EQUALITY.
            All citizens being equal before God was the basis for the concept of equality before the law and each person having an equal vote in elections.
            Harry S Truman stated in his inaugural address "We believe that all men are created equal, because they are created in the image of God."
            But the logic follows, if there is no God - then men are not "created," and therefore they are not "equal." As Darwin espoused, some are more evolved than others.
            This leads to frightful consequences, as seen in the Dred Scott Case of 1856, which stated that slaves "had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order...so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit."
            In the years prior to World War II, Margaret Sanger founded Planned Parenthood and hired Nazi Party member Ernst Rudin as her advisor. In her book Pivot of Civilization (1922), she called for "The elimination of 'human weeds'...overrunning the human garden;...for the cessation of 'charity' because it prolonged the lives of the unfit; for the segregation of 'morons, misfits, and the maladjusted'; and for the sterilization of genetically inferior races."
            She influenced Hitler to consider the German, or "Aryan," race as "ubermenschen," supermen, being more advanced in the supposed progress of human evolution. This resulted in the twisted conclusion that all other races, and in particular the Jewish race, were less evolved and inferior, and needed to be eliminated from the so-called "human gene pool."
            Yes, there are frightful consequences if our country chooses to disregard President Harry S Truman's statement: "We believe that all men are created equal because we are created in the image of God."

 Conclusion

             Justice William O. Douglas, in the United States Supreme Court case of Zorach v. Clauson (1952), delivered the Court's decision, stating: "We are a religious people and our institutions presuppose a Supreme Being."
            "Our institutions presuppose a Supreme Being" - our rights coming from God, we are accountable to God, and we are equal because we are made in the image of God.
            No one can sum it up better than former President Ronald Reagan, who, on August 23, 1984, in Dallas, Texas, stated: "Without God, there is a coarsening of the society; without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure....America needs God more than God needs America. If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under."

William J. Federer is a best-selling author and nationally known speaker and columnist for the MetroVoice. He resides in St. Louis with his wife and four children and has recently announced his candidacy for Missouri's 3rd U.S. Congressional District for the upcoming 2004 General Elections.