 |
| Religious organizations and politics |
In 1796, George Washington said a prayer at Valley Forge and in that prayer, I think he put everything in perspective. Here is a portion of that prayer:
"Bless O Lord the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus. Of all dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens."
"To the distinguished character of a Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of a Christian."Here is a portion of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address given on March 4, 1865:
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Here are the closing words of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address delivered in 1961:
"Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."Here are some words of wisdom delivered by President Ronald Reagan:
"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."Our roots in faith go back to the very beginning and any argument against that fact is just a debate without any supporting evidence.
There are people and organizations who seem to be determined to undermine and destroy the very foundation of not only this country, but the many freedoms we enjoy each and every day. These are the "domestic enemies" referred to in the Oath of Enlistment that is taken by each member of our armed forces.
Let's face it, we all have beliefs. The Christian believes in God, the Atheist in no God, and other religions believe in something else, but the fact remains, we have beliefs.
The writers of the Constitution wanted to make sure that the government didn't choose the religion we would all practice, but it gave us the "right" to freely practice our religion, whatever it might be.
In today's world, if parents don't take charge and instill some type of moral character in their children, who will? Our kids really have no real heroes to look up to today. If the parents don't at least introduce their children to some type of religious belief, who will? How can a child who has never been in the door of a church choose whether or not to have a Christian or non-Christian family? After all, they can't pray at school, or they can't say "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.
It is the people of a Christian faith who are being discriminated against in today's society. Every effort is being made to see that we don't have the "right" to freely practice our religion.
As far as politics, the candidates all make promises and at times, with all the promises, all we have to look to is the "character" of the candidate.
There have been many great political leaders who were proud to proclaim themselves as Christians. It is how this nation was started and as hard as some may try, religion will always be a permanent part of politics and I wouldn't have it any other way. God Bless America works.
What do you think. I would like to hear what you have to say. Please join me on LinkedIn and Google+.
As a freelance writer, I write on many other topics outside government and politics. If you need some help writing those high quality blog posts, you can get in touch over here. - Ken
