“… so help me God.”

[thedrifter]

“… so help me God.”

January 21, 2005


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by Frank Salvato

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“…so help me God.” Such are the final words of the Oath of Office as recited by second term president George W. Bush on Inauguration Day 2005. They concluded the oath that saw the president reaffirm the duties he faithfully executed during his first term in office and that he swore to perform again in his second. To President Bush these words mean something. They are the ultimate expression of his commitment to fulfill the promise that he has made to the American people, himself and, so help him, to his God.

Most people, whether religious or not, recognize that the phrase “so help me God,” emphasizes the seriousness of the oath just administered. They recognize them as confirmation that President Bush has once again promised to “faithfully execute the office of President of the United States,” and to the best of his ability, “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." These words hurt no one but instead hold President Bush to a commitment, and in the president’s eyes, a solemn commitment made under the watch of the One that will ultimately judge him. To President Bush this is more pressing than any opinion poll or approval rating.

So, it is stunning that words which express so much to an entire nation, words that hurt no one, could be so vehemently opposed.

The US Supreme Court, namely Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice John Paul Stevens, recently refused to hear an emergency appeal brought before them by Michael Newdow, the perennial cyst on the buttocks of common sense, asking the court to bar any prayer or religious content during the Presidential Inauguration. In his complaint Newdow argued that permitting religious content in the proceedings violated the US Constitution’s first amendment ban on government establishment of religion. To say the least, Mr. Newdow’s argument is such a far stretch it is reminiscent of Michael Moore in spandex.

The first amendment of the Bill of Rights states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

There is no separation of church and state mentioned in the first amendment or anywhere else in the US Constitution. To believe so is to be mistaken. In fact, the issue of there being a separation of church and state is based on a personal letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Baptists of the Danbury congregation in order to quell their fears of a widespread rumor that the Congregationalists, another denomination, were to become the national religion. He wrote:

“I contemplate with solemn reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”

The US Constitution had 55 people working on it yet the likes of Newdow insist that the personal writings of Jefferson – although a noted member of the Constitutional Congress – somehow afford them validity when they insist that the US Constitution embraces the idea of “separation of church and state.” It does not. If anything, the intentions of Jefferson were to have the “wall of separation” flow one way, allowing the people of the United States to practice religion freely without interference from government. These intentions were shattered in 1961 when the US Supreme Court, lorded over by Chief Justice Earl Warren, removed prayer from school without precedent in the case of Engel v. Vitale.

Jefferson’s, “A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom,” enacted by the Virginia legislature in 1786 has at its core the idea that citizens may neither be obliged to worship nor prohibited from worshiping however and whenever they wish. Jefferson is quoted as saying, “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” In this statement Jefferson illustrates the importance of tolerance. Where one man may not recognize god he should defer to another’s right to practice his faith. Tolerance is born of an ideal realized through courtesy and conviction, qualities the narcissistic carbuncle Newdow lacks completely.

Common sense suggests that if one doesn’t share the same faith as another one should be strong enough in their own faith to be unshaken. If one is an Atheist and truly believes that there is no god then how can someone who prays to a god, any god, be a threat? To be shaken, threatened, because someone does not believe in the same way as you is a sign of weakness and demonstrates a lack of conviction. But in these days of Atheists wanting to ban religion (Atheism being a recognized religion) and anarchists planning demonstrations of defiance (anarchists planning anything – the ultimate oxymoron) common sense doesn’t always prevail and the facts of the matter – and their sources – seldom come to light. To that end we can only pray that common sense re-emerges before it is too late…so help me God.

Related Reading:

The Myth of the Separation of Church and State

http://www.noapathy.org/tracts/mythofseparation.html

Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson Writings, Merrill D. Peterson, ed.

(NY: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1984), p. 510, January 1, 1802.

Religious Liberty: Legacy to the World

http://www.irla.org/documents/fel/fel1998/negus.html


Frank Salvato

Ellie

[HardJedi]

WOO HOO! I do LOVE when people point out FACTS about stuff.

[yellowwing]

I always took the phrase "..so help me God", to mean "Even at moments when my strength runs out, I will have faith and trust that I will still do my job!"

[HardJedi]

Great way to look at it Yellowing. Personaly, whenever I have been FORCED to swear on the bible, or say words of that nature, I took it as nothing more than a symbol of my own personal promise to do the best I can as well. Had nothing to do with religion.

[BHABIT]

I'll probably get things really stirred up here, but here goes...

The majority of the founding fathers were Masons, in which case symbolisms in oath were very important. The reference to GOD is a literal one.

[HardJedi]

what do mason have to do with God? well, ok, maybe thats the wrong question, maybe we should ask instead, " what GOD are the MASONS talking about? "

[BHABIT]

The same one you talk about... providing you're Christian.

[HardJedi]

NOPE, Most of the founding fathers were NOT christian AT ALL. wanna see?


just read the really long posts by me on this thread, you'll see


http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/sh...741#post114741

[BHABIT]

I guess, as my most favorite President said "it depends on what the meaning of "IS" is". It is true that they didn't follow the practices of a given religious doctrine, in part because the "church" at that time took alot of their views from the parent church in England which was part and parcel of the throne.

It was not my intention to be argumentative... I was only trying to make the point that unlike any one religion, to them GOD was percieved as literal without any religious connotations. This then being acceptable to all religions.

[HardJedi]

ok, I agree with ya on that then

[cbqrr47]

The words "so help me God" are not in the constitution, but were added by George Washington, when he was first sworn in. Washington was an active Mason and those of us who are Masons, know that these exact words have a Masonic origin! BTW, you can not be made a Mason unless you profess belief in God.

[yellowwing]

I was raised by a Mason. I was taught many things that add positively to my character today. But even as his son when I asked, "Dad, what's the deal with the Masons", all he said, "Join and find out. You won't regret it."

Hmmm.....

[hrscowboy]

yes yellowwing my brother when are you going to join us masons..

[HardJedi]

Originally posted by cbqrr47
The words "so help me God" are not in the constitution, but were added by George Washington, when he was first sworn in. Washington was an active Mason and those of us who are Masons, know that these exact words have a Masonic origin! BTW, you can not be made a Mason unless you profess belief in God.

Yes, you can't be a mason unbless you preofess a belief in god. but WHAT god has always been my weustion. any orginization who HAS to handle thier business in secret, has something to hide, and if it MUST be hidden, then there is probably something wrong with it. ( just my opinion of course)

[yellowwing]

Secret? I take the secracy of Masons as in there are some teachings that poeple are just not ready to learn.

From what I've gathered in all my 39 years, as in the Corps, Integrity is at the top of their list.