I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands: one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Since I was a child I've recited the words "One nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. And yet when I look at how we have turned away from God as a nation, I wonder how long we will continue to be "one nation under God" and not simply a nation gone under. When I consider court rulings which took prayer out of our schools, legalized abortion, forced courthouses to take down the posting of the ten commandments, attacked the sanctity of marriage--when I here of those who file lawsuits to take the words "In God We Trust" off our money, and "One Nation Under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance-- I often wonder what it will take for christians to finally stand up and shout "Enough is enough! It's only because of the blessings of God that we became a nation in the first place. It's because of our biblical foundations and principles and the blood of our patriots that we became a great nation. And if we continue to push God out of our nation, He will one day completely remove His hand of blessing from us so that we decay into a nation gone under."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the words "under God" to be added the the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. These additional two words were in order to differentiate the United States from the officialy atheist Soviet Union. As the president authorized this change he stated:
"In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."
In August of 1984 in Dallas, Texas, Ronald Reagan spoke at a prayer breakfast meeting and said the following:
"We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions.
I submit to you that the tolerant society is open to and encouraging of all religions. And this does not weaken us; it strengthens us...
Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
So let's not forget Who is in charge. Let's not turn the U.S.A. into "One Nation under Government" or "One Nation Under Socialism" or "One Nation Under Me". Because if left up to our government or socialism or self, we're in loads of trouble. I'd rather be in the hands of God than those others any day. Pray, vote and stand up for our christian values so that we can remain One Nation Under God!
Singing His Praises,
Joey Culpepper