How God Is Moving On Capitol Hill

How
God Is Moving On Capitol Hill
6:00 AM EDT 4/10/2013 TROY
ANDERSON

The
prayer to save America began in Room 219 on Capitol
Hill

In 2005, two years before the global economic crisis
erupted, U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., went into Room 219—an ornate room with a
fireplace adjacent to the floor of the House of Representatives—to pray for the
nation. Not long afterward, he was joined by other members of Congress inspired
by his example: U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala.; John Carter, R-Texas; and
Mike McIntyre, D-N.C.
“When it started out, it was just me going in there to
pray,” Forbes says. “And then it would be one, two or three other people. But
today when you walk in there, it’s standing-room-only with
individuals—Republicans and Democrats—praying for the country, praying that God
would heal our land, but also praying for God’s wisdom, that we make the right
decisions to govern this nation.”
Today, many of the more than 100 federal
lawmakers who are members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus gather each Monday
or Tuesday evening to pray in Room 219. But this interdenominational prayer
movement isn’t confined to one room in Washington, D.C. Amid an increasingly
godless culture and government, Forbes’ efforts to call people—and particularly
other politicians—back to the nation’s foundation of prayer has spread to state
legislatures, city and county halls, schools, churches and other venues
nationwide.
“Just as Nehemiah built a wall around Jerusalem, we want to build
a wall of prayer around our nation’s capital,” says McIntyre, who co-chairs the
Congressional Prayer Caucus with Forbes. “We have asked individuals, families,
fellowship groups, prayer groups, Sunday school classes, churches and other
houses of faith to join us in prayer for our country. We have also asked them to
pray that leaders at all levels—local, county, state and national—would have
wisdom in their decisions.”

Currently, more than 6,000 individuals and
groups nationwide have joined members of Congress in weekly prayers, says Lea
Carawan, executive director of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, Inc.,
a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in Chesapeake, Va. Heeding the apostle
Paul’s admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing,” many of
these individuals and groups pray in designated five-minute increments to ensure
round-the-clock prayer for the nation. Others pray in their small groups or
Bible studies.
“We call them 219 Prayer Groups,” Carawan says. “These prayer
caucuses formed because they heard about the impact the Congressional Prayer
Caucus was having in protecting religious liberties and really reversing some of
the destructive attacks by the anti-God groups.”
While citizens are praying
with members of Congress through the Room 219 prayer initiative, state
legislators nationwide are forming Legislative Prayer Caucuses, with 12 formed
in state legislatures that network more than 350 legislators nationwide, Carawan
says. These are patterned after the Congressional Prayer Caucus and dedicated to
promoting prayer, protecting religious liberty and preserving the nation’s
Judeo-Christian heritage.

A Return to God’s
Name
Meanwhile, in a backlash against concerted efforts by various
anti-theist organizations to remove God from every vestige of government and the
public square, elected officials in more than 300 cities and counties nationwide
have voted over the last year to prominently display the national motto, “In God
We Trust,” in public buildings nationwide. Many public schools have joined the
uprising as well, tacking “In God We Trust” posters on walls of
classrooms.
This phenomenon follows the passage of a resolution Forbes
brought in January 2011 to re-establish “In God We Trust” as the national motto
and to encourage its display in public buildings and schools nationwide. Forbes
introduced the resolution after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down an appeal
filed by Sacramento, Calif., atheist Michael Newdow, who had challenged the
constitutionality of the national motto in a series of lawsuits stretching over
a decade.
The suits alleged the motto violated the freedom of religion
clauses in the First Amendment. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
disagreed, ruling the motto isn’t unconstitutional because it is ceremonial and
patriotic in nature.
Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute,
a Sacramento-based nonprofit legal defense organization that offers free help to
any public agency facing a legal challenge, says the high court’s order set in
motion the wave of cities and counties now voting to return “In God We Trust” to
public buildings and schools nationwide.
“When this ‘In God We Trust’
movement first began, many thought it would be a short burst of action and would
quickly dissipate,” Dacus says. “Actually, it’s been quite the contrary. This
movement has been building and building and building.”
So far, Dacus says, no
public bodies have faced any legal challenges—a phenomenon he attributes to the
fact that the existing case law makes it “irrefutable” that posting “In
God We Trust” is constitutional.
And these efforts have a practical
outcome that hits close to home for many. Forbes shares the story of a friend in
Congress whose daughter asked her mother what she should say on “Self-Esteem
Day” at school, when asked why she was special: “Her mother looked at her and
said, ‘Honey, you go back and tell your teacher that God made you, so you’re
special.’ The little girl stepped back, put her hands up in the air and said,
‘Mommy, I can’t say “God” in school.’ This congressman broke down crying,
realizing he had stepped back and not done anything and, as a result, his little
girl in first grade feels she couldn’t even mention God in school.”
With
resolve, Forbes continues: “If she has ‘In God We Trust’ up on the wall at that
school ... she’s not going to be convinced that she can’t say ‘In God We Trust’
or that she can’t mention God in school anymore.”

A Reversal of
Anti-God Efforts
The Room 219 prayer gatherings and the movement to
display the national motto come as the nation’s Judeo-Christian traditions have
come under intense attack in modern times. In recent decades, the Ten
Commandments, the national motto, crosses on government seals and at veterans’
memorials, the National Day of Prayer, prayer in schools and Christmas nativity
scenes have faced a deluge of legal challenges.
At first, this foray appeared
innocuous and was often “disguised in the subtlety of political correctness,”
Forbes says.
For instance, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern
California, in 2004, threatened to sue the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors unless it removed a small cross from the county seal. The ACLU
argued the cross was a government endorsement of Christianity that alienated
people who aren’t Christians.
After the supervisors voted to remove the
cross, the ACLU and other organizations became emboldened, making similar
threats to cities, counties, states and schools nationwide. In many cases,
officials capitulated, preferring to remove a symbol of faith than face a
lawsuit.

In the last few years, these groups, most notably the Freedom
From Religion Foundation (FFRF), have aggressively stepped up this blitzkrieg.

Last year, the FFRF filed a lawsuit challenging the Internal Revenue
Service’s alleged “preferential treatment of churches in applying for and
maintaining tax-exempt status.” The organization also urged President Obama to
“protect freedom of conscience by ending the unconstitutional” National Day of
Prayer on May 2.
Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center
for Law and Justice, says organizations like the FFRF are pushing the
boundaries. Their ultimate goal, he says, is to “make us a religious-free
country,” with their top priority “eradicating the Christian faith.”
“I
believe that people are becoming aware of the strategy to dismantle the
apparatus that protects our freedoms and preserves our foundational principles,”
Carawan says. “These individuals and groups have been committed to removing God
from America for decades, and people are now just starting to wake up and
realize our foundational principles and religious freedoms are not as secure as
they thought they were and that every generation has to fight to protect
them.”
A Reminder of God’s Place
Throughout the nation’s history, faith in
God and prayer has played a vital role in strengthening the fabric of society,
Carawan says. In addition, the nation was “birthed and sustained by a rich
history of faith,” Forbes says.
For instance, as early as 1606, the First
Charter of Virginia—a document sent from King James I to the Virginia
Company—assigned land rights to colonists for the purpose of “propagating the
Christian religion.”
In 1775, the Continental Congress called for a day of
prayer as it began the process of forming a new nation. President Abraham
Lincoln called on the nation to fast and pray at critical junctures during the
Civil War.
Facing the Nazi advance on D-Day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
asked Americans to join him in prayer “in this hour of great sacrifice.” In
1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill establishing a National Day of
Prayer. During the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy famously said, “The
guiding principle and prayer of this nation has been, is now and ever shall be
‘In God We Trust.’”
During the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln
addressed a war-torn nation, saying, “This Nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the
people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Shortly afterward, Congress passed
the Coinage Act of 1864, authorizing the secretary of the treasury to first
inscribe “In God We Trust” on coins. In 1956, Congress voted to adopt “In God We
Trust” as the national motto.
References to the nation’s reliance on God for
its blessings are also found in the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the Declaration
of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
Speckled
throughout the nation’s history, “In God We Trust” has guided America and
provided a “foundation upon which we established our government,” Forbes says.
In troubled times, he says, the U.S. has consistently looked toward that one
simple truth for hope.

“Today, we face difficult times again,” Forbes
told the House of Representatives shortly before it voted 396-9 in November 2011
to reaffirm the national motto. “Many Americans feel their country slipping from
their fingertips. And when they see ‘In God We Trust’ slipping from our history
books and being removed from the center of our guiding principles, reaffirming
that truth becomes important to them.”
A Renewal of the Public Voice
In
response to that vote, a growing number of Americans have mobilized to return
the national motto to public buildings and schools nationwide.
One of the
driving forces behind this campaign is Jacquie Sullivan, a city councilwoman in
Bakersfield, Calif., and the founder of In God We Trust—America, Inc. After
hearing about a group on the East Coast that was protesting the display of the
words “In God We Trust” on a public building, Sullivan convinced her fellow
councilmembers to vote, in 2002, to display the national motto in the council
chambers of Bakersfield City Hall. In 2004, she founded the In God We
Trust—America organization, which sends informative packets to elected
officials.
Sullivan, along with many volunteers across the nation, now
attends school board and government meetings to encourage officials to vote to
display the national motto.
“We are doing great, but we need help,” she
says. “I need someone working in every state in our country.”
Dee Wampler, a
72-year-old attorney in Springfield, Mo., who volunteers with Sullivan’s
organization, says he’s helped convince officials in more than 80 cities and
counties in Missouri and surrounding states to vote to display the national
motto.
“I’ve been met with amazing success everywhere I’ve gone, with the
exception of my hometown,” says Wampler, the former elected prosecuting attorney
in Greene County and author of the book The Myth of Separation Between Church
and State. “And now I’m working to defeat the city councilmen blocking the
posting of the national motto.”
Wampler says he’s contacted 15 candidates
running against these incumbents, all of whom say they are in favor of posting
the national motto.
“I’m hoping for a change on the city council, and I’m not
giving up,” Wampler says. “Too many Christians give up. If the door is slammed
in their face, they just go away, whereas the liberal groups keep coming back
and coming back, filing more lawsuits and looking for favorable judges and
venues. Too often, Christians are not aggressive enough. We just accept, ‘No,’
and go and pout. And so I’m going to fight. I’m going to draw a line in the
sand. I’m not going to give up on Springfield.”
In Tyler, Texas, Rosalie
Howerton is taking a similar stand and has helped convince officials in 30
cities and counties to post the national motto.
“Psalm 33:12 says, ‘Blessed
is the nation whose God is the Lord,’ but we’re not looking so swift these
days,” Howerton says. “Our morals are not what they used to be. I’m 71. I lived
through a time when the country really honored God.”
But Howerton says she’s
encouraged by the elected officials and others across the nation who are praying
for another Great Awakening and taking action to post “In God We Trust” posters
in schools and public buildings nationwide.
“It’s the only way this country
is going to turn around—with people praying and hearts being changed,” she
says.
________________________________________
Troy Anderson was an
award-winning reporter and editorial writer at the Los Angeles Daily News, The
Press-Enterprise and other newspapers for two decades. He currently writes for
Reuters, Newsmax,Charisma and many other media outlets. He lives in Irvine,
Calif. Learn more attroyandersonwriter.com.

Posted by John MacHaffie at
6:33 PM Saturday, April 13, 2013

That was the greatest post yet on this site! "In God We trtust", Amen

It is compliments of ymailman2 from www.oom2.com. I saw it there and borrowed it.

Ponee wrote:It is compliments of ymailman2 from www.oom2.com. I saw it there and borrowed it.

Thank you ymailman2, that was the greatest!

Yes, very good ... so many have lied and misled people about the history and origins of this country. The hero of those who would oppose our religious freedoms is Jefferson, yet, the examples they give are without exception built upon falsehoods and misunderstandings. The enemies of religion invariably cite the 1st Amendment and Jefferson's statement about a "wall of separation" in his latter to the Danbury, CT Baptists. Yet in taking his statement out of context of the letter and both it and the Bill or Rights out of historical context, they totally misconstrue their meaning and intent.

Jefferson was not anti religion or a deist as he is so often portrayed. A close examination of his own words and deeds clearly show the opposite. A detailed study will not be possible here, but Jefferson supported bible societies, evangelistic efforts, and was a regular church goer, attending services in the House which were approved and set in place when he was presiding over the house as Vice President. He attended these services regularly for the time he served as Vice President and President. When you know all the facts, he clearly believed in God and was a supporter of the church.

The 1st Amendment when viewed in the context of the times and the writings of our founders was clearly intended ONLY to limit the federal government from regulating religion or establishing a state religion. Keep in mind that many who came here did so as a result of religious persecution, Pilgrims, Quakers, Baptists, Presbyterians, Mennonites ... the list goes on. In fact, this brings us back to the Baptists. They had written a letter to Jefferson when he was elected President expressing concern about this very thing. His reply contained that now infamous phrase, and it is in that context that it must be understood.

Jefferson is often called the Father of the 1st Amendment, implying that he exerted his influence in it's writing. Yet he was not even in the country for the writing of either the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, serving as Ambassador to France at the time. His sole role was in strongly advocating for a Bill of Rights in a letter to James Madison. In his own words, "... I wrote to Mr. Madison, urging the want of provision for the freedom of religion, freedom of the press ... and the express reservation to the States of all rights not specifically granted to the union.... This is all the hand I had in what related to the Constitution."

Jefferson's actions in refusing to declare any sort of national day of prayer is also cited frequently, yet that had to do not with his opposition to religion, (he in fact did so on several occasions as Governor of Virginia,) but rather were the result solely of his very strong Anti-Federalist views. He simply believed strongly that the Federal government had no right to declare such a thing. He believed that this was a power constitutionally reserved to the states only.

Jefferson and the anti-federalists feared a powerful federal. Perhaps time has proven them right, although I personally feel that the bigger blame lies upon we the people and our failure to meet our responsibilities.

Thank you ymailman2 and Ponee. Amen. God Bless America and God Bless We the People.