One Nation Under God

Today is Flag Day. I realize this may not mean too much to many in our country, but I was indoctrinated with patriotism by drill sergeants at Fort Benning in the summer of 1996 and it has really stuck with me. This is the day that President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into the law the "words under God" be added to the pledge. 

The story of how this came to be I find a bit fascinating and inspiring. Eisenhower went to church on February 7 at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D. C. and heard a sermon from George M. Docherty. It was Lincoln Day and on that day Eisenhower was seated in the same pew that Abraham Lincoln had regularly occupied in that church as President. In that sermon Docherty stated:

There was something missing in the pledge, and that which was missing was the characteristics and definitive factor in the American way of life. Indeed apart from the mention of the phrase, the United States of America, it could be the pledge of any republic. In fact, I could hear little Muscovites repeat a similar pledge to their hammer and sickle flag in Moscow with equal solemnity. 

The preacher argued that the American pledge as it then existed could just have been recited by citizens from any country, even those from communistic nations that hated God. Obviously this sermon had a great impact on several that were there. The next day U. S. Rep. Charles Oakman from Michigan introduced a Joint Resolution (H. J. Res 371) to add the words "Under God" into the pledge, explaining:

Mr. Speaker, I think Mr. Docherty hit the nail squarely on the head. One of the most fundamental differences between us and the Communists is our belief in God. 

Two days later, on February 10th, Senator Homer Ferguson from Michigan introduced the Senate Joint Resolution (S.J. 126), explaining to the Senate:

Our nation is founded on a fundamental belief in God, and the first and most important reason for the existence of our government is to protect the God-given rights of our citizens. . . . Indeed, Mr. President, over one of the doorways to this very Chamber inscribed in the marble are the words “In God We Trust.” Unless those words amount to more than a carving in stone, our country will never be able to defend itself. 

These resolutions were passed, and on June 14, 1954 (Flag Day), President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law, officially adding the words "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance, telling the nation:

From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty. To anyone who truly loves America, nothing could be more inspiring than to contemplate this rededication of our youth, on each school morning, to our country's true meaning. . . . 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 or in war. 

I often wonder if what I preach makes any real difference in the lives of those that hear it, much less upon the whole culture in which we live. I know that any authority I have comes directly from the Word of God and it does have power. Nevertheless, this story gives me hope that from the pulpit major changes in culture can happen. This one single sermon appears to have had a tremendous impact. Let us consider today the words "under God." 

(I did not cite anything here, if you want sources I can give them to you just ask, I find most people don't)