The first order of business of the newly formed first United States
Congress was to appoint chaplains. The Right Reverend Bishop Samuel
Provost and the Reverend William Linn became publicly paid chaplains of
the Senate and House respectively. Since then, both the Senate and the
House have continued regularly to open their sessions with prayer.
Nearly all of the fifty states make some provision in their meetings for
opening prayers or devotions from guest chaplains. Few if any saw this
as a violation of the First Amendment.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office with his
hand on an open Bible. After taking the oath, he added, "I swear, so
help me God." Following Washington's example, presidents still invoke
God's name in their swearing-in ceremony.
George Washington Taking the Oath of Office: The United States Capitol Historical Society
The inauguration was followed by "divine services" held in St. Paul's Chapel, "performed by the Chaplain of Congress."
The first Congress that convened after the adoption of the Constitution
requested of the President that the people of the United States observe
a day of thanksgiving and prayer:
“That a joint committee of both Houses be
directed to wait upon the President of the United States to request
that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of
public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging, with
grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by
affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a Constitution of
government for their safety and happiness.”
After the resolution's adoption, Washington then issued a
proclamation setting aside November 26, 1789, as a national day of
thanksgiving, calling everyone to "unite in most humbly offering our
prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and
beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions."
Prayers in Congress, the appointment of chaplains, and the call for
days of prayers and thanksgiving do not stand alone in the historical
record. The evidence is overwhelming that America has in the past always
linked good government to religion – and, in particular, to
Christianity. Constitutional scholars Anson Stokes and Leo Pfeffer
summarize the role that the Christian religion played in the founding of
this nation and the lofty position it has retained:
“Throughout its history our governments, national and state, have
co-operated with religion and shown friendliness to it. God is invoked
in the Declaration of Independence and in practically every state
constitution. Sunday, the Christian Sabbath, is universally observed as a
day of rest. The sessions of Congress and of the state legislatures are
invariably opened with prayer, in Congress by chaplains who are
employed by the Federal government. We have chaplains in our armed forces and in our penal institutions.
Oaths in courts of law are administered through use of the Bible. Public
officials take an oath of office ending with ‘so help me God.’
Religious institutions are tax exempt throughout the nation. Our pledge
of allegiance declares that we are a nation ‘under God.’ Our national
motto is ‘In God We Trust’ and is inscribed on our currency and on some
of our postage stamps.”
After only a cursory study of the years leading up to and including
the drafting of the Constitution and the inauguration of the first
president, it becomes obvious that Christianity played a foundational
role in shaping our nation.
It is not surprising that when courts had to define religion, they
did so in terms of the Christian religion. In 1930 the Supreme Court
declared, "We are a Christian people, according to one another the equal
right of religious freedom, and acknowledging with reverence the duty
of obedience to the will of God."
Further evidence of the role that Christianity played in the
maintenance of our nation can be found in national pronouncements and
inscriptions in our nation's capital.
Government Buildings and Inscriptions
- The words "In God We Trust" are inscribed in the House and Senate chambers.
- The Jefferson Memorial includes these words from Thomas Jefferson:
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be
secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the
gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is
just, that his justice cannot sleep forever."
- Near the Rotunda of the Capitol there is a room set apart for prayer
with passages from the Bible. A Bible, usually opened to Psalm 23, sits
on the altar underneath the window.
- "The Baptism of Pocahontas at Jamestown" (1613) hangs in the Capitol Rotunda
- The "Embarkation of the Pilgrims" (1620), which hangs in the Rotunda of
the Capitol, shows Elder William Brewster holding a Bible opened to the
title page which reads "The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ." The words "God With Us" are inscribed on the sail of the ship.
- Engraved on the metal cap on the top of the Washington Monument are
the words: "Praise be to God." Lining the walls of the stairwell are
numerous Bible verses: "Search the Scriptures" (John 5:39), "Holiness to
the Lord," and "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he
is old he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6).
- The Latin phrase Annuit Coeptis, "[God] has smiled on our undertaking," is inscribed on the Great Seal of the United States.
- The Liberty Bell has Leviticus 25:10 prominently displayed in a band
around its top: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto the
inhabitants thereof.
- President Eliot of Harvard chose Micah 6:8 for the walls of the
Library of Congress: "He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what
doth God require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with thy God."
- The lawmaker's library quotes the Psalmist's acknowledgment of the
beauty and order of creation: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and
the firmament showeth His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).
- A relief of Moses hangs in the House Chamber. Moses is surrounded by twenty-two other lawgivers.
- The crier who opens each session of the Supreme Court closes with
the words, "God save the United States and the Honorable Court."
- At the opposite end of the Lincoln memorial, words and phrases from
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address allude to "God," the "Bible,"
"providence," "the Almighty," and "divine attributes."
- A plaque in the Dirksen Office Building has the words "IN GOD WE TRUST" in bronze relief.
- On the walls of the Capitol dome, these words appear: "The New Testament according to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
- Each president takes his oath of office with his left hand placed on
an open Bible and concludes the oath with these words: "So help me
God." The Senate Doors (bronze) show George Washington taking the
presidential oath with his hands on a Bible.It makes a difference that our coins are stamped with "In God We
Trust" instead of "In Allah We Trust." It's important to note that the
Library of Congress has a quotation from a Psalm, instead of a line from
the Qur’an or the Book of Mormon.
No comments:
Post a Comment