Chuck Roots
24 April 2017
www.chuckroots.com
One Nation, Under God
This past
Thursday Isaura and I attended the San Joaquin County 26th Annual Leadership
Prayer Breakfast as guests of Susan Vander Schaaf. This event brings together
the leadership of the entirety of San Joaquin County. Having attended a number
of times in the past, I am always heartened by the emphasis on prayer for those
in leadership across our great land, right down to local public officials and first
responders.
This
gathering of concerned citizens brings in several hundred people on a Thursday at
6:00am where prayer is the primary focus. There is always a featured speaker,
and this year was no different. Joshua Charles is a concert pianist, a best-selling
author, an accomplished historian, and is earning his law degree at the Regent
University School of Law. “In his book, The
World’s Most Important Book, Joshua
examines how the Bible has greatly impacted many areas of human life, from art,
to music, to government, healthcare, and works of compassion. No book (referring
to the Bible) has exerted greater
influence.” (taken from the program pamphlet). He has authored a second
book, entitled, Liberty’s Secrets: The
Lost Wisdom of America’s Founders. I picked up a copy of this book, and am
anxious to get started on it, especially because Joshua Charles has done a
thorough job of researching his topic as evidenced by the talk he gave. And
this man is only twenty-nine years old!
Apart from
the keynote speaker, there was a corporate prayer printed in our program, which
was actually a responsorial prayer, led by Ron Van De Pol, president and CEO at
Van De Pol Enterprises, Inc., (Stockton, CA), and is also the Vice President of
Alliance Petroleum Corporation.
Having
been asked to lead in such prayers myself in the past, I was particularly taken
by the opening section of the prayer which minces no words as to the condition
of the human race and its not so glorious relationship with the Living God.
“We are
flawed people, but know you love us unconditionally and your mercy endures
forever. Within the span of a few decades, You have been removed from the
schoolhouse, the courthouse, and the marketplace. On our watch, the mention of
Your name and those who openly serve You are no longer welcomed in a nation
that once revered your Holy Word (the Bible). We have forsaken You and ignored the wisdom and warnings of those You
have sent to establish the only nation in world history founded on the
principle that ‘God created all men equal,’ free, and with rights no man could take away.”
Those of us in the audience would then
respond with, “LORD, hear our prayer.” Please understand, that at the end of
this first reading I was uncomfortable joining in with others in asking the
Lord to hear our prayer! Think about it! Is it not true that there is a
wholesale attempt throughout our nation to eliminate God from the schoolhouse,
the courthouse, and the marketplace? Christians and Jews in the United States
of America are being harassed and attacked both verbally and physically. Love
of God and Country has become taboo in the hallowed halls of academia, the very
institutions where the expression of belief and thought should be encouraged
and celebrated; not ridiculed, demonized, and besmirched.
The report of religious violations taken
from an article in 2012, lists the following as some of the cases reported
where Christians and Jews are having their faith criticized and stifled by
those in authority.
·
A federal judge threatened “incarceration” to a high school
valedictorian unless she removed references to Jesus from her graduation
speech.
·
City officials prohibited senior citizens from praying over their meals,
listening to religious messages, or singing gospel songs at a senior activities
center.
·
A public school official physically lifted an elementary school
student from his seat and reprimanded him in front of his classmates for
praying over his lunch.
·
Following U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ policies, a federal
government official sought to censor a pastor’s prayer, eliminating references
to Jesus, during a Memorial Day ceremony honoring veterans at a national
cemetery.
·
Public school officials prohibited students from handing out gifts
because they contained religious messages.
·
A public school official prevented a student from handing out
flyers inviting her classmates to an event at her church.
·
A public university’s law school banned a Christian organization
because it required its officers to adhere to a statement of faith that the
university disagreed with.
·
The U.S. Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court
that the federal government can tell churches and synagogues which pastors and
rabbis it can hire and fire.
·
The State of Texas sought to approve and regulate what religious
seminaries can teach.
·
Through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known
as Obamacare, the federal government is forcing religious organizations to
provide insurance for birth control and abortion-inducing drugs in direct
violation of their religious beliefs.
·
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs banned the mention of God
from veterans’ funerals, overriding the wishes of the deceased’s families.
·
A federal judge held that prayers before a state House of
Representatives could be to Allah but not to Jesus.
This is no cry of “Wolf!” where there
is no wolf. This is a cry for sanity where secularists and progressives are destroying our nation. God,
please forgive us, and help us return to being one nation, under God!
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