Ran across this today, thought some might like the historical reminder because of the content and author.

"Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just govermnent of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and nations, has by a resolution requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation, and whereas it is the duty of all nations as well as of man to owe their dependence upon the over-ruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth announced in Holy Scriptures, and poven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. And inasmuch as we know that by his Divine law, nations, like individuals, are subject to punishment and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our national reformation as a whole people?
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other nations have grown. But, we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeming and preserving grace and too proud to pray to the God who made us.
"It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring with the views of the Senate, I do by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, as a day of national humiliation, to abstain on that day from their ordinary pursuits, and to unite in their several plaaces of worship and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.
"All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the divine teachings that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.
"IN WITNESS THEREOF,I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the UNITED STATES to be affixed. "DONE in the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, A.D. 1863...
"By the President,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN"

Go Abe, the true great communicator.......

You know what, even if we establish that this is a Christian nation, we'll start fighting about which brand of Chrisitanity best represents American values. Which is why I prefer to leave God out of it.

I am not against leaving God out the politics but just would like to see God in the pledge but lets not fight here.
I am not saying we are a christian nation just not a godless nation.

Nice post Dan, it seems like Abe was feeling a little down from the war...or at least the Senators were...

Originally posted by Vilepagan
Nice post Dan, it seems like Abe was feeling a little down from the war...or at least the Senators were...
So you are saying that God can offer solice in times of strife? I have always thought so and I think if we remove God from our public lives we might be robbing that from others who need God no matter if he does exist or not. The thought of not being alone can be the difference between taking your own life and not.

Originally posted by Beirut_Veteran
So you are saying that God can offer solice in times of strife? I have always thought so and I think if we remove God from our public lives we might be robbing that from others who need God no matter if he does exist or not. The thought of not being alone can be the difference between taking your own life and not.

Of course God can offer solace to troubled people, if they are believers.

What has that got to do with removing god from government? How can we be robbing people of the chance to know about God by removing him from our public lives? I think even the smallest child knows that if you want to know about God you go to church, not the U.S. Senate.

For the record, I thought it was a nice post for historical reasons, in that it showed the despair that was present in this country during the darkest period of the Civil War. On the other hand, I thought some of the conclusions drawn in the statement were absurd in the extreme, and are completely unworthy of educated men serving in the highest legislative body of our land.

An example:

May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our national reformation as a whole people?...... "All this being done in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the divine teachings that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high and answered with blessings no less than the pardon of our national sins and the restoration of our now divided suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

I have little respect for the intellectual capabilities of anyone who believes that the Civil War was some kind of punishment for the nations "sins", or anyone who suggests that prayer, no matter how humble, will return this country into God's good graces and restore the country to its "happy condition". This is no different than tossing a virgin into the volcano in an attempt to appease an angry mountain. We've just replaced the virgin with words of supplication and then we pat ourselves on the back for our "enlightened" outlook, and look down our collective noses at the "backward savages" who cling to their quaint superstitions.

Vile, thank you for your comments as I thank everyone.

Vile, it has been my experience that the human mind has the ability to bring about changes in the the world around us.
Belief is one of the stimulations. There is truly power in thought.
When a large group of people are like minded in a central thought, changes are set in motion. Good or Bad.
This helps me tolerate mans religions.

Good positive thoughts on a large scale help bring about a positive change. This is the main reason that the apeasement of certain beliefs are a good thing.
Take away the positive beliefs and the empty shell, I have spoken of before, is all that is left.

This is one of the reasons I feel that the news media is in control of mans destiny to a certain extent. The more positive news is presented, the more good feelings are developed by the viewing public. I do not mean a hiding of facts. I just mean that news could be presented with less negative angles for a particular political view.
Thanks, Dan

Dan, I completely agree that positive thoughts can bring about positive change.

My post was not meant to offend anyone, or suggest that there is anything wrong with prayer. I just feel that beseeching God to solve our problems for us, or to cease what we perceive as divine punishment for our sins, is misguided.

There is a fundamental problem with the followers of christianity.

Many of them believe that any religion other than christianity and Judaism are actually varieties of satanism. Once given the power of the constitution to embolden them, the fundamentalist christians would probably persecute the rest of us that worship a religion different than theirs. More than likely, knowing how the fundamentalists work and especially the reconstructionists, they might take it to the level of genocide.

What would protect a Bonpo (Neopagan) like me from being slaughtered in the street in the name of god and country?

Dop

Not a thing Dop - you're over thirty & therefore fair game - just as I am.

I agree Lungdop, this is the reason man's religions should never enter into government.
The word God is non-denominational.
There could be a religion that had no God.
Religions are strictly man made for various reasons.
A man's religion could be the Democratic or Republican party.

I see no way where the word God, used in a pledge, denotes Christian or any other religion.

I believe in a Supreme Knowledge, but not in any religion.
The word God is generic.

Dans right Dop, the God of Christainity and Judaism is Jehova.
I am a Christian and would never consider anyone who doesnt believe the way I do anything other than what you are, A person with rights like mine. Ask Vile I dont judge him for his views.
I do not like people who judge others for their beliefs in God, now sometimes I sound as if I am judging but I do judge the action not the person.
Anyway, God is not a part of the government but he should remain a part of the lives of his believers. I have said all this in other threads and will not repeat it here.
So vile you win....


:D NOT...... I am retiring from the God fight and moving on to bigger and better fights.