People Are Trying Again to Remove God from Something...

[InformationGeek]

Oh boy... once again, people are trying to remove God from another thing.  Obama wants to end his inaugural oath by saying 'So help me God' and now a bunch of people want God to be taken out of the oath.  They also want prayers to be remove from the inaugural celebration.  Man, isn't it enough that people want to take the words, 'under God' out of the Pledge of Allegiance?

Here's article:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/09/obama.oath/index.html?iref=newssearch

[meQal]

Way I see it, if the President Elect wants to say, "so help me, God", it's his decision. I would feel the same if the President Elect were an Atheist and chose to omit any mention of God entirely. Sure he's being sworn in as the leader of the US but that doesn't mean he gave up his personal rights to his own beliefs.

[Doggett]

People religious beliefs/disbeliefs are their own and if they don't want to mention God then they shouldn't. It's a free country.

[Javakoala]

Oh boy... once again, people are trying to remove God from another thing.  Obama wants to end his inaugural oath by saying 'So help me God' and now a bunch of people want God to be taken out of the oath.  They also want prayers to be remove from the inaugural celebration.  Man, isn't it enough that people want to take the words, 'under God' out of the Pledge of Allegiance?

Here's article:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/09/obama.oath/index.html?iref=newssearch

Well, to be honest, the original Pledge of Allegiance did NOT have "under God" in it.

Quoting from http://history.vineyard.net/pledge.htm as just one source to support this:

"In 1892 Francis Bellamy was also a chairman of a committee of state superintendents of education in the National Education Association. As its chairman, he prepared the program for the public schools' quadricentennial celebration for Columbus Day in 1892. He structured this public school program around a flag raising ceremony and a flag salute - his 'Pledge of Allegiance.'

His original Pledge read as follows: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' He considered placing the word, 'equality,' in his Pledge, but knew that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans. [ * 'to' added in October, 1892. ]

Dr. Mortimer Adler, American philosopher and last living founder of the Great Books program at Saint John's College, has analyzed these ideas in his book, The Six Great Ideas. He argues that the three great ideas of the American political tradition are 'equality, liberty and justice for all.' 'Justice' mediates between the often conflicting goals of 'liberty' and 'equality.'

In 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference, under the 'leadership of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, changed the Pledge's words, 'my Flag,' to 'the Flag of the United States of America.' Bellamy disliked this change, but his protest was ignored.

In 1954, Congress after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, 'under God,' to the Pledge. The Pledge was now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer."

[akiratubo]

If he wants to say it, people can deal with it.  If he doesn't want to say it, people can deal with that, too.  HE'S the one who got elected President, HE'S the one taking the Oath of Office, it's HIS decision.

[indianasmith]

Every American President in history has taken the oath of office by invoking God's name.   However, I believe those words are not in the Constitution itself.  Unless the President's personal conscience would be violated by invoking a deity he does not believe in,  I am all for honoring tradition. 

What I am ABSOLUTELY AGAINST is the whiney minority who would dictate to the whole country what they can and cannot say, and who seem to wish to require Christian pastors like Rick Warren to actually deny the clear teaching of scripture so they can feel comfortable about how they choose to achieve orgasm.

Bottom line:  If you don't believe in God, surf over to another channel during the invocation and benediction. 

And if you don't like what Christian scriptures say about your sexual behaviors, don't become a Christian!

But DON'T become that thing you damn so heartily in others . . . an agent of intolerance.

[Rev. Powell]

I'm not a believer, but I think to begrudge any politician the opportunity to express his personal faith in God is below petty, and anti-American, in fact.  This optional phrase in the oath in no way constitutes "the establishment of religion." 

[CheezeFlixz]

Every American President in history has taken the oath of office by invoking God's name.   However, I believe those words are not in the Constitution itself.  Unless the President's personal conscience would be violated by invoking a deity he does not believe in,  I am all for honoring tradition. 

What I am ABSOLUTELY AGAINST is the whiney minority who would dictate to the whole country what they can and cannot say, and who seem to wish to require Christian pastors like Rick Warren to actually deny the clear teaching of scripture so they can feel comfortable about how they choose to achieve orgasm.

Bottom line:  If you don't believe in God, surf over to another channel during the invocation and benediction. 

And if you don't like what Christian scriptures say about your sexual behaviors, don't become a Christian!

But DON'T become that thing you damn so heartily in others . . . an agent of intolerance.

Agreed.
This is the vocal minority or the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Frankly I'm sick of the whiner that want to inflect their fringe opinion on the masses. If you don't want God in the oath, then run for office, win the election and take it out otherwise put a cork in it.

[Trevor]

so they can feel comfortable about how they choose to achieve orgasm.

[asimpson2006]

I read that and said to myself, that those people who are upset really need to get a hobby.  It's what some others have already said, if you don't like the president or who ever saying "so help me god" or any reference to a deity, then don't watch the inauguration.  I'm like semi atheist and still not sure if a God or deity exist at all, but this doesn't upset me at all. 

[Allhallowsday]

...What I am ABSOLUTELY AGAINST is the whiney minority who would dictate to the whole country what they can and cannot say, and who seem to wish to require Christian pastors like Rick Warren to actually deny the clear teaching of scripture so they can feel comfortable about how they choose to achieve orgasm...

Yeh, it's all them conspiratorial-like sex pre-verts with nothing but orgasm on their minds!   Thank goodness orgasm isn't always on your mind, Indy! 

[indianasmith]

Absolutely not!! It comes in third, behind food and finding arrowheads . .  .

[Saucerman]

Absolutely not!! It comes in third, behind food and finding arrowheads . .  .

Ah, the joys of archaeology.

[Doggett]

Atheists: The Real Ghostbusters



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-UHenFt2nY

[ds21]

Every American President in history has taken the oath of office by invoking God's name.   However, I believe those words are not in the Constitution itself.  Unless the President's personal conscience would be violated by invoking a deity he does not believe in,  I am all for honoring tradition. 

What I am ABSOLUTELY AGAINST is the whiney minority who would dictate to the whole country what they can and cannot say, and who seem to wish to require Christian pastors like Rick Warren to actually deny the clear teaching of scripture so they can feel comfortable about how they choose to achieve orgasm.

Bottom line:  If you don't believe in God, surf over to another channel during the invocation and benediction. 

And if you don't like what Christian scriptures say about your sexual behaviors, don't become a Christian!

But DON'T become that thing you damn so heartily in others . . . an agent of intolerance.

good call, indy!

As a Christian, I of course would like to see everyone believe what I do, but forcing them into that isn't right, and not even Biblical.  It irks me when people scream and scream about "religious intolerance" while they turn around and persecute us for our beliefs.  Christians are far from blameless, it's true.  But labeling us as the real problem...not true.