Secular Gov't Opinions

Dictionary.com states…
sec·u·lar (s k y -l r) adj.
1.Worldly rather than spiritual. 2.Not specifically relating to religion or to a religious body: secular music. 3. Relating to or advocating secularism. 4. Not bound by monastic restrictions, especially not belonging to a religious order. Used of the clergy. 5. Occurring or observed once in an age or century. 6. Lasting from century to century.

In political context, and within this thread, it involves the removal of Christian mottos and references from the US government, “...under God” from our Pledge, returning the national motto to “E Pluribus Unum”, and removal of religious monuments from government property for example. It does not mean to remove the Xian religion from America, as some have stated here and in other threads.
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To get back on topic, many US citizens today, including many Christians, feel that to include these references alienates many people. These references have come to basically mean, “If you are not Christian, you do not belong in this country, you are not one of us”.

Also, whatever the religious denominations and beliefs of our Founding Fathers, the fact that they intended a totally secular government cannot be denied, as evidenced by their own hand in letters, speeches, and other documents, including the Constitution. As wise as those grand gentlemen were, they could not have guessed the rise of one segment of our citizenry to the heights of the political power they have achieved, and the rapine of our Constitution that those persons have committed, to further their own political agenda. The arguments proposed by that minority who impose their religious idioms into politics, are weak at best, and are overshadowed by the shear weight of conflicting evidence that clearly shows they are in the wrong.

And yes, I do make the claims of a minority. The Coinage Act of 1863, that began the placement of “I God We Trust” on our monies, passed by a slim majority in congress. It was not voted on by the citizens, but by a group of men interested in keeping their employment, and bowing to the pressure of one of the earliest special interest groups. Sound familiar? It happens constantly today. Made up of 11 Protestant denominations, this group mounted a campaign to add references to God, to the U.S. Constitution, and other federal documents. This goes against the very ideals set by our Founders, who by that time had all passed on, and could not defend their positions.

"Oops, it appears I have run over your dogma with my karma."

Our National Motto…

Our original motto, the one our Founders put in place themselves, was “E Pluribus Unum”, which in Latin means “One from many" or "One from many parts." It simply, and very effectively, refers to the welding of a single federal entity from a group of individual political units, the original colonies. This motto was officially recognized when Congress accepted our first Seal, developed by Secretary of Congress Thomson, on June 10th 1782. It consisted of an eagle with a heart-shaped shield, holding arrows and an olive branch in its claws. The motto "E Pluribus Unum" appeared on a scroll held within its beak. This official Seal was first used on our coins in 1795.

As I stated above in my previous reply, the special interest lobby group, led by Rev. M.R. Watkinson of Ridleyville PA, wrote then Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase in 1861 to promote their concepts, utilizing a huge letter writting campian. Rev Watkinson suggested the words "God, Liberty, Law." Chase, bowing to the pressures of that group, instructed the Director of the Mint, James Pollock, to develop a suitable motto to be used on Union coins used during the Civil War. Out of the several submissions, Salmon chose “In God We Trust”. In the Coinage Act of 1863, the congress officially passed the resolution changing the previous legend, set in place by our Founders, and which had graced our coins for 68 years.

In 1956, the nation was suffering through the height of the Cold War, and McCarthyism was rampant. During that year, in an endeavor to differentiate between European communism, which promoted atheism, and western capitalistic democracies, which were partially Christian, the 84th Congress passed a joint resolution to change our national motto to the one “gracing” our coinage. On July 30th 1956, the President signed the resolution into law, making it official and changing a National Motto that stood for some 167 years. The new motto was then utilized on paper money for the first time in 1957, and added to all currency in 1966.

"Oops, it appears I have run over your dogma with my karma."

The Pledge of Allegiance…
[quote "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." [/quote]
This is the original Pledge, as created by Baptist Minister Francis Bellamy in August of 1892. It was first published in “ Youth's Companion”, a popular children’s magazine of the time, in 1892 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the Americas. He had considered placing the word "equality" in the pledge, but realizing many of his contemporaries though of only equality for adult white males, as opposed to women and blacks, he decided to omit that phrase. Between 1924 and 1953, after some minor changes, the Pledge was as follows…

quote:

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"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

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"Oops, it appears I have run over your dogma with my karma."