Posted on Aug 12, 2015
Are the words "In God We Trust" inappropriate to use?
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The words "In God We Trust" have been used on our currency since 1864 and was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956. Recently Police departments in several states have opted to put this slogan on their patrol cars, citing the numerous times the statement has been held as constitutional by the courts. Some disagree with it's use and express objections to it being used. In the areas where placing it on Patrol cars has happened it is being discussed as being inappropriate. All around us we see the growing movement to remove any reference to God from government property, in Wauwatosa Wisconsin the "Christian Cross" was replaced on their city seal, the city of Zion, IL has done the same thing, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered the removal of the 10 Commandments monument from the state capitol, is this trend going to continue to grow until these words are removed from our monies?
The words "In God We Trust" originated from the song, The Star Spangled Banner, it is there we find the words, "And this be our motto: "In God We Trust"" The words "In God We Trust" provide for me a certain amount of solace and are a source of pride in my Nation and Government. When I sing the Star Spangled Banner have at times been moved to tears thinking about the men who fought and lived to see "those broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight. O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming." We live in a imperfect world and no matter what is decided someone will be unhappy. I feel public recognition of God is important, to me it's not about a specific religion, it's about our national heritage.http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/08/03/in-god-we-trust-stickers-on-police-cars-lead-to-dueling-protests-in-florida/
The words "In God We Trust" originated from the song, The Star Spangled Banner, it is there we find the words, "And this be our motto: "In God We Trust"" The words "In God We Trust" provide for me a certain amount of solace and are a source of pride in my Nation and Government. When I sing the Star Spangled Banner have at times been moved to tears thinking about the men who fought and lived to see "those broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight. O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming." We live in a imperfect world and no matter what is decided someone will be unhappy. I feel public recognition of God is important, to me it's not about a specific religion, it's about our national heritage.http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/08/03/in-god-we-trust-stickers-on-police-cars-lead-to-dueling-protests-in-florida/
Religion
Constitution
God
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 81
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Do I have an issue with it? No. Do I think it's appropriate? No. Personally, I believe that separation of Church and State is a good thing. Government run religion scares me more than government run healthcare.
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PO3 David Fries
CPT Pedro Meza Are you referring to Chaplains? If so, in most cases, you are free to not participate. That being said, I don't think Chaplains are the same; they don't tell you what to worship, they are just there in case you want to.
Now if you aren't talking about Chaplains, and there is more involved...
Now if you aren't talking about Chaplains, and there is more involved...
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CPT Pedro Meza
PO3 David Fries - I have worked with Chaplains doing suicide prevention and you are 100% right. Now back to my comment if Government run religion scares you, imagine Government priest which is a dig on the molesters.
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"God" isn't specific to any one religion although it's associated with Christianity being that is how it's spelled. All religions have a "God" or a supreme being that represents them, so this shouldn't offend anyone. Where it could get sketchy is where you have those who aren't "believers" in "God", or any other supreme being. Another argument would be the separation of church and state hence why America has never endorsed any official religion over another. It was what made and IS making us great as a nation. I personally have no issue with it, but recognize there will be backlash if a Muslim was to put "In Allah we trust" on their vehicle which is saying the exact same thing.
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MSgt Marvin Kinderknecht
SSG John Thornton - If they don't have a supreme being, what do they have. Just asking. I find it amusing in movies and other places, when some one is dying or in real straits they say "god help me".
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MSgt (Join to see)
SSG John Thornton
Ok, misunderstood your original comment. I see where you are coming from now. So no government entity should state "We support our troops"? Because even though the majority of Americans may support the military not all do? Or the Declaration of Independence should be removed because it also references a "Creator" as well as that "All men are created equal"; both comments that not every American supports?
Ok, misunderstood your original comment. I see where you are coming from now. So no government entity should state "We support our troops"? Because even though the majority of Americans may support the military not all do? Or the Declaration of Independence should be removed because it also references a "Creator" as well as that "All men are created equal"; both comments that not every American supports?
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MSgt (Join to see)
SSG John Thornton
The constitution does specifically allow for the free exercise of religion. The limitation is on Laws in regards to religion, which is not the discussion at hand. What I mean is that you are suggesting that we remove words based on lack of 100% support so why stop at police cars?
The constitution does specifically allow for the free exercise of religion. The limitation is on Laws in regards to religion, which is not the discussion at hand. What I mean is that you are suggesting that we remove words based on lack of 100% support so why stop at police cars?
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MSgt (Join to see)
SSG John Thornton
Behind you 100% on reverting to that. it is a much better representation of who we are as Americans. I just can't get behind suppressing people's constitutional rights.
Behind you 100% on reverting to that. it is a much better representation of who we are as Americans. I just can't get behind suppressing people's constitutional rights.
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CMSgt Mark Schubert
I can never understand why people equate God to religion? I can believe in God and not be religious at all! Saying "In God we Trust" is NOT religious! At least not to the God I believe in!
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Regardless of the Country's current liberal disposition which I have nothing against, our conservative roots respect that fact that we as a Nation believe in God. It doesn't take anything away from anyone, but we can agree that there's no one Country in the World that has a monotheistic value system.
Even though we all understand the Christian roots of this Country...'In God We Trust' resonates with every religion who believes that there's God. But in a nutshell it keeps our identification as a Nation that believes there's God somewhere.
As for a more detailed discussion as to our hypocritical attitude towards God in general is a completely different topic, which beggars for a whole range of diverse inclinations.
Even though we all understand the Christian roots of this Country...'In God We Trust' resonates with every religion who believes that there's God. But in a nutshell it keeps our identification as a Nation that believes there's God somewhere.
As for a more detailed discussion as to our hypocritical attitude towards God in general is a completely different topic, which beggars for a whole range of diverse inclinations.
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CPT (Join to see)
SFC(P) (Join to see) Thank you for contributing. I truly enjoyed reading your response.
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Putting the phrase everywhere in the 50s was establishment of monotheism then, and it's still establishment now. The American motto was and should still be "E pluribus unum".
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Who is we, millions of Atheists don't believe in any God... they are still an important part of this nation so right off the bat we know the statement is a lie. In God Most of us Trust, would at least be honest... however it's skirting the question of who's God. Are we talking money and power, the Christian conception of God, some Native American Indian conception of God, my conception of God? So even after we make it an honest statement, it's still a meaningless statement.
It would make a lot more sense to replace it with "aspiring toward liberty and justice for all."
All that said, we have a lot bigger problems in this country than some words on our currency. Let's circle back around to this one after we've dealt with some of the economic and security challenges we face today.
It would make a lot more sense to replace it with "aspiring toward liberty and justice for all."
All that said, we have a lot bigger problems in this country than some words on our currency. Let's circle back around to this one after we've dealt with some of the economic and security challenges we face today.
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CPT (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) I like that "aspiring toward liberty and justice for all", I would like to think that we are trying to do that.
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The United States was created by certain principles. Our founding fathers had many meaning to what they believed in. One was God. Not all of the leaders were Christians, but they all agreed that we are a nation that is under God, and therefore the saying has been a part of this nation for many years. It is a symbol of where we stand. It is a fortress for those who seek answers.
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Suspended Profile
It's roughly as appropriate as me telling theists their god is the invention of a fairy tale.
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