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In God We Trust
President Obama will take the oath of office on a Bible as is customary. There will be prayers at the swearing-in as has always been done and he will ask for God's help in doing so. He is right to do so.
His actions are only controversial amongst the sad souls who are so sheltered and delicate that the actual costumes and beliefs of the nation shock them out of their bubble. Of course, one tries to be polite, but they are very easily offended. The mere sight of a Christmas crèche on public land can ruin their day. Since we are not willing to flush traditional American patriotic songs from our ceremonies, it really will be impossible to do.
Should we stop singing God Bless America? Should America stop asking God to shed His grace on us? Will the Battle Hymn get rid of the "hallelujah?"
It would require totalitarian force to separate traditional American patriotism from any mention of the Divine!
The just pleas for accommodation by secularists, who should not be forced to sing or to pray, can turn into tyrannical demands that silence the religious majority from living out their beliefs in the public square as they always have done.
A healthy family tries to meet the needs of all its members. Even the desires of one family member should not be ignored. Imagine the family member, however, who decided he or she does not like the way things have been done in the household. The other family members politely listen to what he has to say, but decide that the old ways are good and important to them.
A good family cannot find itself dominated by the eccentric demands and imagined offenses of one of its members.
The harm done by traditional religious ceremonies to secularists is non-existent. If secularism is true, then it does nothing but affirm a tradition of the Republic. It is difficult to imagine the harm in praying to a non-existent God and old forms are comforting. An atheist is not being excluded from a ceremony when he does not agree with every aspect of it anymore than Republicans are excluded from the festivities when they disagree with some aspect of the speech made by the new president.
We are mostly a religious people in a religious nation and when we celebrate religion will be a natural part of the party. Unless someone is forced to pray with the President, it is difficult to see the damage when our religious president-elect decides to pray.
Secularists need to be better members of the American household. They have chosen to adopt a minority position that is at odds with the overwhelming theism of the American experience. That position should be tolerated and when well argued respected, but there is no reason that our ceremonies have to be neutered when we politely disagree.
It is extremism in government that is dangerous and Americans have rightly decided to reject theocracy and total secularism. We have chosen the more difficult middle way between the two dangers and it is has served us well for over two hundred years.
President Obama embraces that position, as do most Republican and Democratic leaders.
As most Americans know from personal experience and best reason secularism is false, therefore, the good done by traditional religious ceremonies is great. God exists and it is good for human beings to acknowledge the facts in their ceremonies. Denying reality is, in the end, not a good move for any culture. The humbling fact that even the most powerful man in the world will acknowledge the limits of human power is refreshing.
Our rights, as the Declaration says, come from God and not government. Our fundamental personhood came from the Creator and not from the state or impersonal nature. A few Americans disagree with those basic American ideas and nobody should persecute them as a result. If they win elections, they should be allowed to hold ceremonies that reflect their beliefs.
It is only polite, however, to acknowledge the Jewish and Christian roots of American ideas. The very words engraved on the Lincoln Memorial make no sense if they are read without Biblical and religious knowledge.
Even though I will not agree with all his policies, like all patriots I am going to rejoice in the ceremonies of the day. I am going to celebrate the peaceful transition of power, the working Constitution, and the wonderful symbolism of an African-American president. I will not agree with some of the things he says or does, but that will not take away from my happiness as an American.
Mr. Obama soon will be my president. As head of government, I will pray for him daily and honor him. When he acts as head of his party, I will act as the loyal opposition. Like all Americans, I am delighted that Mr. Obama is acknowledging the religious traditions and roots of our nation.
Here is hoping my secular friends will not be too offended if on this happy day they listen to the choirs sing the National Anthem and sum up most of our feelings:
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
By
John Mark Reynolds
|
January 19, 2009; 4:42 AM ET
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Posted by: coloradodog | January 20, 2009 7:21 AM
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Aside from the blatant insults you hurl, Dr. Reynolds, at your opponents, the fact that you're actually arguing for not just religious belief being superior to non-belief but also for the existence of your god in this article is proof that the presence of religion is inherently divisive. Arguments from tradition or from majority opinion don't erase that fact, sir, and to applaud this at the Inauguration, especially at a time of crisis like this when what America needs greatly is unity, is ridiculous.
So crow like the cock atop the henhouse, sir, as you revel in your place of privilege, a privilege which comes at the expense of others, but don't you dare try to tell me that's American. No sir, that's repugnant, and if you can't see the harm inherent in that, well then that's perhaps even worse.
Posted by: PhillyChief | January 19, 2009 3:59 PM
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The fact, Mr. Reynolds, that you use public Christian prayer as an excuse to call 'secularists' members of a false and Unamerican 'religion' is *exactly* why your marking of territory has turned into something threatening and exclusionary ...something used to put non-Christians, or Christians who don't believe it's appropriate for the government to presume to speak for *their* religion, in a lesser status than religious conservatives.
*You* turned it from quaint tradition to a sign of a major threat to the freedom of and liberty of all.
*You* decided to claim *not* invoking your God in your way makes someone 'anti-American' and not deserving equal respect.
*You* turned even your own images of your savior's birth into a political marking of territory, an endorsement of your own ideas that only Christians and Abrahamics are full citizens of this nation.
*You* added words to our show of solidarity that ritually divided 'One nation indivisible' *with* the demand 'under God.'
America was not meant to be a 'flock' it was given to you to 'cut people out of.'
Not 'under God,' but E Pluribus Unum.
I certainly have no problem with Obama praying to his God.
It's people who try to turn it *against* our pluralism that make it problematic.
Posted by: Paganplace | January 19, 2009 12:59 PM
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Oh and as far as the Liberals go...we know how to throw a party, a talented, beautiful, memory filled, audacious party.
terra
Posted by: KeirGazelle | January 18, 2009 11:39 PM
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You say that in the Declaration it says that our rights come from God.It says that our Rights are derived from His Creator..giving man the right to decide what that was. Nowhere is Christ, Jesus, Christian or any biblical reference made.
You are given the right to decide what and who your creator is...so do I. It is not your God...I have one or two of my own.
Dr. Reynolds...I hope you watched the Concert today at the Lincoln Memorial...you just might hasve to eat your words as far as Patriotic music goes. Maybe your head will explode with all the patriotism comeing out of the mouths of rageing Liberals. Maybe you will think it is all a scam that we love our country and have music that proclaims it.
Bob seeger at 89 singing This land is your land...
Bruce Springsteen singing We are One.
Why not watch it if you haven't..HPO exclusive, it didn;'t even cost the tax payers.Don't miss the opening prayer...
Posted by: KeirGazelle | January 18, 2009 11:33 PM
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Dr. Reynolds,
In your entry, you use:
*Dismissive, sarcastic characterization:* “sad souls who are so sheltered and delicate...”; *Fear mongering:* “[...] pleas for accommodation by secularists [...]can turn into tyrannical demands that silence the religious majority...;” and *Condescension:* (Insert the whole 'secularists are just misbehaving children' argument here.) towards your 'secularist friends.' I have two questions for you:
1: Would Jesus have treated is 'friends' (or his enemies) like that, or would he have shown more love?
2: If you were a secularist, would you read the post of Dr. John Mark Reynolds as a reason to stop struggling, or would you read the disparaging, scornful tone of it as a foretaste of what would happen if the US really did become a 'Christian Nation' (as opposed to the nation of predominantly Christian people, which it is now)?
Posted by: ThorsChild | January 18, 2009 12:33 PM
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While there are some worthwhile comments in your post, it really comes off as a pretty childish "don't touch our god" screed against evil straw-man secularists that you seem to be imagining. Yes, Michael Newdow is trying to get this kind of thing taken out of the oath ceremony, but NOT all people who are nonbelievers or "secularists" (we should ALL be secularists regardless of our faith, in the true spirit of the word) are Michael Newdow. Sure, some of us may express the opinion that having such public displays of specific religious faith at public government inauguration ceremonies makes us uncomfortable, but we're not all so naive about it that we think there is any kind of actual legal case against it. So long as utterances about god or religious displays aren't required, legislated or positioned in an imposing way on others, I personally don't care what Barack Obama says at the end of his speech. Personally, I hope he'll be putting a lot more hope in himself and the people he'll be working with than in his god, but if he wants to ask his god for help, so be it. Just, please, don't paint anyone who doesn't agree with you %100 about all the "this is a religious nation" or "this is a christian nation" stuff with such a broad brush that you make us all out to be evil "secularists" (ists are bad). It won't get either side anywhere constructive.
Posted by: Sparrowhawk | January 16, 2009 12:27 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Evangelicals need to be better members of the American household. They have chosen to adopt a minority position that is at odds with the overwhelming freedoms of the American experience. That position should be tolerated and when well argued respected, but there is no reason that our ceremonies have to be theocratic when we politely disagree.