More and more people in our country are trying to erase God from any political connection. That includes the pledge, schools, holidays, and even our money. Recently a battle has been fought in my home state over whether or not a 10 Commandments statue should be allowed to remain in a public park. Soon our children will be living in a nation that do not discuss God or acknowledge His involvement in the birth and continued success of our nation.
An interesting but little known fact is that atop the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. are the words Laus Deo. At the time the Washington Monument was constructed a law (that is not upheld) was passed that nothing in the city could be higher than the monument. So those words that were placed atop the monument were placed at the highest point over looking the most powerful city in our country and in many degrees the world.
So what do those two Latin words, Laus Deo, mean? They mean “Praise be to God!”
The monument took 25 years to complete and was capped with a tribute to the Father of our nation …”Praise be to God!”
As one climbs the steps within the Monument the memorial stones at each landing share a message. “On the 12th Landing is a prayer offered by the City of Baltimore; on the 20th is a memorial presented by some Chinese Christians; on the 24th a presentation made by Sunday School children from New York and Philadelphia quoting Proverbs 10:7, Luke 18:16 and Proverbs 22:6. Praise be to God!”
When the cornerstone was laid on July 4th, 1848 a number of items were deposited within it, including a Holy Bible.
It is also interesting to note that when you stand atop of the Washington Monument you can easily see the original plan of the designer, Pierre Charles L’Enfant. A perfect cross is imprinted upon the landscape with the White House to the north, the Jefferson Memorial to the south, the Capitol to the east, and the Lincoln Memorial to the west.
Our founding fathers recognized God’s hand in building our nation and there are no provisions for separation of church and state within the original constitution. This is evidenced in a prayer offered by George Washington in behalf of our nation.
“Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Our founding fathers wanted God to be a part of our nation and so inscribed, in many places all over our nation’s capital, their belief in and praise of Him. It is unfortunate that our children are having God erased from our country.
Recently I received an email with an interesting perspective. The email stated that if the government “determines that it is against the law for the words “under God” to be on our money, then, so be it. And if that same government decides that the “Ten Commandments” are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it. I say, “so be it,” because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.”
But then argued that if the Government is not going to allow it’s citizens to pray to God, Trust in God, or post His commandments in public places then Government employees should not have religious holidays like Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter off. Mail should be delivered on those days just like any other day. Congress should stay in session and not be given a “Christmas break”.
In fact the email states, “I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God…) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day.”
Although not realistic, it is an interesting thought. On one hand the government is suppressing any talk of God yet still allows its employees to take off days originally dedicated to God.
So what can we do about it? We can write our congressmen and women and protest against the systematic removal of God from our country. We can remind them that the majority of people in our country do believe in God and recognize His hand in the founding of our nation.