On April
30, 1789, President George Washington said:
". . . it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this
first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules
over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose
providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may
consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a
Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may
enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success
the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great
Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your
sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less
than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand
which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. . . .
"Having thus imparted to you my
sentiments as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together,
I shall [370 U.S. 421, 447] take my present leave; but not
without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the Human Race in humble
supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with
opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquility, and dispositions for
deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security
of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing
may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations,
and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must
depend."
On March 4, 1797, President John Adams said:
"And
may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of
Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty,
continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all
possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence."
On March 4, 1805, President Thomas Jefferson said:
".
. . I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led
our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a
country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered
our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power,
and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me that He will
so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper
their measures that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, and shall
secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations."
On March 4, 1809, President James Madison said:
"But
the source to which I look . . . is in . . . my fellow-citizens, and in the
counsels of those representing them in the other departments associated in the
care of the national interests. In these my confidence will under every difficulty
be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the
guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the
destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to
this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude
for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the
future." [370 U.S. 421, 448]
On March 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln said:
".
. . Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war
may speedily pass away? Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth
piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be
sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by
another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it
must be said `the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'
"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."
On March 4, 1885, President Grover Cleveland said:
".
. . And let us not trust to human effort alone, but humbly acknowledging the
power and goodness of Almighty God, who presides over the destiny of nations,
and who has at all times been revealed in our country's history, let us invoke
His aid and His blessing upon our labors."
On March 5, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson said:
".
. . I pray God I may be given the wisdom and the prudence to do my duty in the
true spirit of this great people."
On March 4, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said:
"In
this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect
each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come."
On January 21, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:
"Before
all else, we seek, upon our common labor as a nation, the blessings of Almighty
God. And the hopes in our hearts fashion the deepest prayers of our whole
people."
On January 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy said:
"The
world is very different now. . . . And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for
which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief
that the rights of man come [370 U.S. 421, 449] not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of
God.. . . . .
"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."
Could all of these great men be
wrong?
One year later the downfall began...
One year later the downfall began...
Goodbye
God!
Prayer and the Bible Removed from Public Schools
In the Engel v.
Vitale case (1962), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-1 against New York's
"Regents' prayer," a "non-denominational" prayer which
state education officials had composed for public schoolchildren to recite. The government-sponsored religious devotion was challenged in court by a group of parents from New Hyde Park (some atheists, some believers). O'Hair was not involved in the case at all.
One year later, a case originated by a Philadelphia-area man named Ed Schempp challenging mandatory Bible reading in Pennsylvania schools reached the Supreme Court. At the same time, Murray O'Hair was challenging a similar practice as well as the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in Maryland public schools. The Supreme Court consolidated the cases and in 1963 ruled 8-1 that devotional Bible reading or other government-sponsored religious activities in public schools are unconstitutional.
Truly, these were two of the saddest days in America's history for God and His people.
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