Is America Really One Nation Under God?
Posted on | November 25, 2008 | 21 Comments
Prior to 1954, the Pledge of Allegiance did not contain the words “under God.” The original Pledge of Allegiance was written as “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Why was “under God” added? The Knights of Columbus which is the largest Catholic fraternal service organization started using “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance in 1951, but the actual change was not made until 1954. It is quite interesting as to why the United States Pledge of Allegiance was changed.
A Presbyterian Minister named George MacPherson Docherty ultimately changed the Pledge of Allegiance. Republican Charles Oakman introduced the bill to change the pledge and made the following speech:
Last Sunday, the President of the United States and his family occupied the pew where Abraham Lincoln worshipped. The pastor, the Reverend George M. Docherty, suggested the change in our Pledge of Allegiance that I have offered [as a bill]. Dr. Docherty delivered a wise sermon. He said that as a native of Scotland come to these shores he could appreciate the pledge as something more than a hollow verse taught to children for memory. I would like to quote from his words. He said, ‘there was something missing in the pledge, and that which was missing was the characteristic and definitive factor in the American way of life.’ Mr. Speaker, I think Mr. Docherty hit the nail square on the head.
If Dr. Docherty felt that “coming to these shores” from a different background was what made America special then why didn’t he consider EVERY other point of view or belief system? Does every person in America believe in God? I am sure there are many individuals who do not, so why is America “One Nation Under God?” Is it because there happened to be a very religious president at the time the issue came up? A more important issue is does anyone ever question who God really is or was?
Many people cringe at the idea of questioning their religious beliefs. I am sure many of you will close this page as soon as you read this, but in all reality, shouldn’t we as humans question things? If we are “One Nation Under God” then shouldn’t it be open for discussion who this person/diety is that we are under? The first answer always given is that “it is in the Bible.” It is also in the Bible that Noah created an Ark that was a habitat for every creature on the Earth for 40 days and 40 nights. I don’t know about you, but I think it would be quite interesting to see an antelope and a cheetah co-exist on a boat for 40 days and 40 nights. I would also like to know how all of these creatures were fed.
The interesting part of being “One Nation Under God” it that is is “not right” to question the Bible or God. Why is this? We question EVERYTHING else about life, but it is wrong to question the Bible? Ultimately, there are way too many citizens of this country who do not believe in the same God that Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower and George MacPherson Docherty did. Many of them do not believe in a God at all.
Why can’t the United State be “One Nation of a Diverse Background?” Also, on our currency, can it be stated “In America We Trust” rather than “In God We Trust?”
As a side note, I have no strong religious background and I am not atheist. I just find it very interesting that questioning someone’s beliefs only infuriates them when religion is involved. Questioning one’s own beliefs is something I think every American should do. Ultimately, as a nation of great diversity, we should respect EVERY American’s point of view. Every American does not believe in God, so this is not “One Nation Under God.”
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21 Responses to “Is America Really One Nation Under God?”
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November 25th, 2008 @ 8:04 pm
How did Noah feed the animals? (:
November 26th, 2008 @ 7:40 am
Very interesting and iluminating about the facts!
Now, if it is not too much to ask, could you persue in the same vein, when did the
“IN GOD WE TRUST”
got started??
Pedro Caballero
November 26th, 2008 @ 10:34 am
He didn’t because it never happened!
November 26th, 2008 @ 11:29 am
We are one nation , different people ,from different counrys living in different parts of the this country joined together into one nation . and if there is a GOD whether you believe in HIM or not we all are under HIM . if you believe there is no GOD then why worry about how it is worded . by the way a large majority believe in A GOD and dont realy have a problem with the wording , the people that dont like it are just louder.
November 26th, 2008 @ 11:40 am
the question about the food as well as the antelope and a cheetah co-exist on a boat for 40 days and 40 nights. could have been in a hybernation state, that would solve the whole bathroom issue also . clean up on aisle 4 !!!!
November 26th, 2008 @ 11:41 am
We are one nation , different people ,from different countrys living in different parts of the this country joined together into one nation . and if there is a GOD whether you believe in HIM or not we all are under HIM . if you believe there is no GOD then why worry about how it is worded . by the way a large majority believe in A GOD and dont realy have a problem with the wording , the people that dont like it are just louder.
November 26th, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
the Ark was a holy venture, it’s dimensions were not restricted by normal meausure, the animals were not hungry and the behavior was moderated by the devine, this being the case also, can we all who are at each others throats over race, remember we are all decendants of this family of Noah’s, we are sensative to conflict about our religious beliefs as this is what we were raised with, this as much as where we came from, it is normal to be protective of lifelong beliefs,
November 26th, 2008 @ 1:30 pm
well, since we’re on the subject. the bible says that women should obey their men, like slaves obey their masters. how do women justify agreeing to that?
November 26th, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
[...] Is America Really One Nation Under God? November 26th, 2008 [...]
November 26th, 2008 @ 4:59 pm
I’d love to know where in the hell you all are getting this information- they hibernated? hahahaha & the animals weren’t hungry? Since when do mammals not need food to survive
& captain kirk, the wording under GOD specifies the christian GOD because that is the only religion whom gives him the title GOD, so if I am not a christian YES this does offend me.
November 26th, 2008 @ 5:00 pm
David-
The bible actually says women should be to men as the church is to Jesus which is not a master to slave relationship
read it (:
November 26th, 2008 @ 7:39 pm
More things to ponder which really are just a head fake to the real problems in this world. Whether you believe in God or not, God exists or does not exist, to God it does not matter what you believe and both sides can argue forever and kill forever over it. Which by the way if you do believe in just about any religion it is not ok to kill and in Christianity it is one of the 10 commandments, thou shalt not kill. SO the real problem is the corporations of this world selling there goods in the United States of America and the Western world and manufacturing them in third world countries to bypass all laws and all sense of decency. That is what matters, not whether you think God exists or not because if you do think that then you can not condone killing and then you can not condone war and then you realize you can not condone war in either Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else for that matter.
November 26th, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
This nation was founded as a Nation Under God. Read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and the writings of the Founding Fathers of the Great Nation. You will see what I am talking about.
Whether you believe in God or not does not make any difference.
If you don’t like this country, you are free to leave.
November 26th, 2008 @ 7:48 pm
Anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely love this country. You can quiz me on any history you like as to how this country was created, but my question to you is, are YOU educated about it? Did you realize that the man that wrote the our declaration was a horrible human being? Did you know that another of the founding fathers continued to “whore” around with women into he was over 70? The American history is written to make ALL of our founding fathers out to be amazing men. In reality, they were probably worse than you and I just like all of our presidents.
November 26th, 2008 @ 8:39 pm
Dave
I love that I pointed out what the bible says about a woman and her spouse and you rant about christianity war, intelligent is what you are. Congratulations dumbass of the week.
November 27th, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
Squire,
The founding fathers of this country, were most definately NOT “christian”, at the time of the framing of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the major leaders of the movement were atheists, slave owners, freemasons and pagans. In fact, the very idea of a state religion is antithesis to the first article of the Bill of Rights. Trying to force your religious beliefs and opinions on other people (through pain of death at times in the case of the Catholic Church) makes you no better than the current batch of psychopaths that call themselves muslims and butcher people for there ridiculous idea of “GOD”. Open your eyes instead of following the other lemmings off the cliff.
November 27th, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
I should have realized when I first posted to this site that it would be subject to the same offensive people who generally are in other sites also, if you cannot post in a constuctive way it would be best to not post at all, if you are not able to keep this in mind you may want to reconsider your value as a person of interest, all I said in my last post was that the ark being of devine protection and the animals covered therein would not have the normal needs during the 40 day’s and nights referenced, and all I read from others is flac, yes the one post did make it to me about the man being the leader of the home but it say’s also husbands also submit to your wives, so the answer is twofold, neither is to be a servant but subject to each others help, now get off the angry foulmouth track and post with respect as you would say it to my face, or not post at all, thank you,
November 27th, 2008 @ 5:23 pm
thank you father mitch, what church do you preach at?
December 4th, 2008 @ 12:24 pm
There is a prevailing notion that somehow we were established as a religious country and have somehow strayed away from that. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our forefathers were slave owners and businessmen and didn’t want to pay taxes.
The US of A is a society that promotes secularism not atheism. Any argument in this forum that begins with ..
“The bible says”…
immediately is invalid.
For those of you wondering about “in God We Trust”, it did not become the official motto of the US until 1956 when we were on a tear to differentiate ourselves from the godless commies (We added “under god” to the pledge of allegiance in the 50′s for the same reason).
I am not a christian myself, I’m agnostic so I don’t rule it out the concept of a deity. If I had a choice to be any religion it probably wouldn’t be christianity simply because it’s become ridiculously polluted since the days of Jesus (who I believe is probably rolling in his grave at the sheer number of inaccurate things attributed to him).
June 17th, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
The Noah’s Ark statement was dumb. There are many that believe that the Ark has been found and there are many stories in the Bible that sound crazy but proven to be true (research it). I don’t know how the animals ate or why they didn’t eat each other, but I’m sure the Creator of these animals had something to do with it. It’s easy to find fault in the Bible when that’s all you’re looking for.
And I agree, yes God and the government should be separate (it’s good for both Parties)
Julian wrote: “I am not a christian myself, I’m agnostic so I don’t rule it out the concept of a deity. If I had a choice to be any religion it probably wouldn’t be Christianity simply because it’s become ridiculously polluted since the days of Jesus”
Thank you. It’s sad when Agnostics do a better job at defending Christianity then Christians.
June 19th, 2009 @ 6:22 am
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