“Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance by law on June 14, 1954.
The original pledge was written in 1892, in light of the nation recovering from the Civil War – that brings a lot of context to the words “with liberty and justice to all.”
President Eisenhower heard a sermon in February 1954 by a Scottish Presbyterian minister named George Docherty, in which he argued that the pledge should acknowledge God.
“An atheistic American is a contradiction in terms,” Docherty said. “If you deny the Christian ethic, you fall short of the American ideal of life.”
He went on to argue for the words “under God” to be added to the pledge because of our American forefathers – quoting from Lincoln and Jefferson – as well as emphasizing the need for America to be more readily distinguished from the atheistic nation of Russia.
But, a nation “under God” isn’t just about “the American ideal of life.” We won’t be able to maintain self-evident truths and unalienable rights for all people given to us by our Creator if we deny the existence – or even the relevance – of our Maker.
Further, God is the only authority above mankind by which humans can be held accountable. One nation “under God” is not a statement of religious establishment; it’s a statement of accountability.
As Oz Guiness has written, “Without God, might will prevail over right, and wrongs will always be decided and dealt with according to the will of the powerful.”
The “powerful” he refers to can be one ruler or mob rule.
The universal ideal – not just American – of being creatures “under God” is seen most clearly in what some have called the inevitable Christian impulse of Thanksgiving.
Being made in the image of God, all human beings have certain things we are inwardly compelled toward by our nature. Humanity’s fall into sin distorts that nature, leading us to suppress our gratitude or try to direct it to other created things, but all human beings feel almost constrained to be grateful at times.
Does it make sense to thank the universe? How about your lucky stars, or the turkey for giving its life? This kind of thinking isn’t sophisticated; it’s vain nonsense.
The story has been told about a farmer who had an atheistic relative visit him.
After the farmer bowed his head and thanked God for the food they were about to eat, the relative rudely said, “What did you do that for? God doesn’t exist. We live in an age of enlightenment.”
The old farmer smiled and said, “There is someone on the farm who doesn’t thank God before he eats.”
The relative sat up and said, “Who is this enlightened one?”
To which the farmer quietly replied, “My pig.”
My point is not to denigrate atheists or secularists, but to encourage all of us to not live as mere beasts of the earth.
We were made for greater things – so let’s give God thanks this Thanksgiving!
Scott Kamps writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, thestableguy@frontier.com.