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CONNIE: Is America one nation under God? A Christian nation? A nation where all religions are welcome? Or all of the above? Join us today as we celebrate America’s birthday with a biblical perspective.

CONNIE: Giving God’s trumpet a Certain Sound for 75 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

LONNIE: Hello, I’m Connie Jeffery,

CONNIE: and I’m Lonnie Melashenko.

LONNIE: Welcome to our broadcast today, on the weekend that the United States celebrates its birthday. For our listeners in Canada and other countries, we hope you’ll bear with us, just this once, as we focus most of our attention on the U. S. Rest assured, we’ll have a gospel-based message as well, but we thought that today would be a good time to consider a question that’s been bothering people here in recent months.

CONNIE: It all began when a man in California—where else—challenged the rules in his local school district and the Pledge of Allegiance that was recited in his daughter’s school room every day. Mr. Newdow, it seems, is an atheist, and he felt that compelling his daughter to say that our country is “one nation under God” was a slap in the face. He felt she was being compelled every day to say that her father was incorrect in his views about the deity.

LONNIE: The case has worked its way all the way up to the Supreme Court, and if a ruling hasn’t been given yet, it soon will be. Do the words “under God” stay in the Pledge of Allegiance, or not? If so, can a school require teachers to lead their class in the pledge?

CONNIE: To gain a bit of perspective on what issues are raised by these two words in the Pledge, we invited the editor of Liberty Magazine to join us. Lonnie spoke with Lincoln Steed. Let’s listen in.

LONNIE: Well, we have Lincoln Steed on the line, there at the United States Capitol. , Lincoln, welcome to the Voice of Prophecy. You have been the editor for Liberty Magazine for how long now?

LINCOLN: About five years.

LONNIE: And that’s an old magazine, isn’t it?

LINCOLN: Maybe old is the wrong word. It’s a well-established magazine in this area, in its 99th year of publication—continuous publication.

LONNIE: So you are qualified to talk to us today about the subject of the Pledge of Allegiance. You know, Lincoln, like Mother’s Day, the Pledge of Allegiance has really kind of been around as a phenomenon in U.S. history only very recently, and it has some interesting origins, but some people in our country right now literally as the newspapers say have gone berserk since the ninth circuit opinion came down, and the US Supreme Court’s been hearing arguments, dialoging on whether this phrase “under God” in that Pledge of Allegiance violates the constitutionality of the mandated separation of church and state. How do you feel Christians should weigh in on this, and what are some of the bigger issues? Why is this significant?

LINCOLN: Well, certainly Christians should pay attention to this, but we shouldn’t reflexively howl down the court statements thus far. Remember that they weren’t dealing directly with whether it’s constitutional to have such a statement, but whether it was right to require students to repeat it under government auspices in a public school. That had already been decided sometimes earlier that that was not appropriate, and under the Newdow decision it was given a further dispensation that the student didn’t even need to be present, but people have read it as though the court were saying that this should not even be recited by anybody—that’s not the case. And as you well know, too, the words Under God were only added in 1954 during the Cold War, so there’s a little history on this, and some qualification needed. But that said, there’s no question that this is playing into the larger battle between those of faith who are troubled at the spiritual declension of the country, the declining moral standards, and the battle that they more and more find themselves involved in against secularists who would, using the constitution—legitimately somewhat—still like to go further and drive religion out of the public sphere.

LONNIE: Well, should this be banned from public schools? Should we totally take this out and continue to stay more of a secular society, and so forth?

LINCOLN: I think that it would be a very safe course if…it were to be, not taken out but rather if it were not there it would probably be better. But given the level of the public debate, I think that there is so much riding on this that it has become a litmus test for where our country is going, and I think that it is extremely unlikely that the Supreme Court are going to uphold the circuit court’s decision. What we would probably hope for is a narrow decision, what as they have done before they pretty much just lump this together with something known as ceremonial deism. Basically a reflection of the cultural assumptions of the country, rather than a legal crossing of the line of separation of church and state because that is a very legitimate principle established by the first amendment where the government should not be in the business of establishing or requiring a particular religion or religious attitude.

LONNIE: Yes, now, when those 99 out of 100 senators stood at the Capitol and recited the Pledge, what was the statement they were trying to make.

LINCOLN: I think as much as anything a political statement because God and country are still as American as apple pie. I think they over-reacted. Because what if the Supreme Court were to uphold this, then you’d have the irony of all of those legislators standing against a legitimate interpretation of law. But I think they were giving a personal reaction and that shows what I think can be a dangerous assertion of religious prerogatives that might just be negligent of true constitutional constraints. An attempt to impose some sort of even a generic Christianity would be really against the constitution and against the principles of how religion should be advanced.

LONNIE: Am I hearing you say that really Americans can back off a little bit and relax, I mean if we went back to the original way that Pledge of Allegiance read back in 1892 when Francis Bellamy a socialist editor wrote it, he said it should be this way: I pledge allegiance to MY flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Would that be turning our back on God if we went back to that without the phrase “under God”?

LINCOLN: No. Certainly not. And of course at the time it was well-accepted. And we know the reason why it was added in 1954, there was a sense to define ourselves as a godly nation as opposed to godless communism. It was done at the very distinct urgings of religious groups, in particular the Knights of Columbus, so there was a religious agenda in putting it in, which should have been a red flag to the people at the time, no pun intended.

LONNIE: So, I’m hearing you say that really a Christian can stand on either side of this issue and still be a person of quality and moral worth.

LINCOLN: Well, I would hope so, and you’ve put your finger on the danger. The danger is that this becomes a litmus test not only for your religious views but with a certain view on this your faith becomes synonymous with your national identification. We want to avoid a construct where unless someone has a certain view—not even Protestant but certainly a fundamentalist religious Christian view—that unless they have that they’re not even an American. We don’t want to develop that construct. And goodness knows with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and fundamentalist states, we can see where that leads in other parts of the world. We don’t want an equivalent to that developed here. That’s the danger of this discussion I believe on the pledge. It will sort of unleash nationalistic religious forces that would be inclined to do just that.

LONNIE: And we need to be concerned about that. Well, Lincoln Steed, thank you for joining us on Voice of Prophecy, Lincoln Steed, there in Washington, editor of Liberty Magazine

LINCOLN: Thank you.

CONNIE: Thanks, Lincoln and Lonnie, for that perspective. Even though we don’t want to make people feel that they’re not American if they don’t believe in God in the same way we do, we still do want God to bless America, don’t we?

LONNIE: We certainly do.

“God Bless America”, National Christian Choir, Wintley Phipps.

CONNIE: Amen! Thanks to the National Christian Choir, with guest soloist our old friend Wintley Phipps for that beautiful rendition of a favorite patriotic hymn.

LONNIE: I think it’s safe to say, Connie, that no matter what our religious persuasion, we’d all like to receive more of God’s blessings—to put ourselves in the path of blessing, so to speak, and let Him pour them out.

CONNIE: That’s certainly true, especially in these troubled times, when you never seem to know what to expect next. We often need reassurance that God is still in control.

LONNIE: One of the surest ways to strengthen your faith in that very point is to study the great prophecies of the Bible, and that’s why we offer the Focus on Prophecy Bible course, free of charge on our website and via the mail.

CONNIE: We’d love it if you’d enroll, and you can do that by visiting our web page at vop.com. And after Lonnie’s message, we’ll share a phone number and address you can use to contact us as well. But right now, let’s listen as Lonnie shares his message, “One Nation Under Whom?”

One Nation Under Whom?

The sign on the steps of the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC read “Democracy, not Theocracy!” Not far away, someone with a microphone was proclaiming that if the court didn’t support the idea that the United States’ pledge of allegiance should include the words “one nation under God,” things would go badly for the party in power at the next election.

On the one side were those who believe that our nation was founded by Christians and ought to be a Christian nation, while on the other side were those who believe that democracy functions best when the people decide what to do without invoking God’s will in the debate.
And do you know what, friend? I’m happy that both groups were welcome to proclaim their viewpoints on the steps of the Supreme Court building. Because I believe that the freedom to express ourselves on opposing sides of an issue is one of the things that have made America great.

And more than that—the religious freedom we have, and the freedom to express our opposing opinions—has actually helped to make America one of the most Christian nations in the world.

Now, hear me carefully. Notice I didn’t say we are a Christian nation, just which we are one of the most Christian nations in the world. And there’s a world of difference between those two concepts. Declaring ourselves a “Christian Nation” is far different from declaring that we are “a nation with many Christians.”

Here’s what I mean:

A quick glance across the Atlantic to the nations of Europe reveals that less than 10% of the people in most of the historically “Christian” nations there ever darken the door of a church. But here in America, a nation where separation of church and state prevails, nearly half the population attend church regularly.

And you know what? I’d rather hear that we’re a nation of church attendees (or a nation of Christians) than that we’re a “Christian nation” any day.

After all, there’s nothing like being told you have to do something to discourage you from doing it, is there? And yet that’s the way religion was handled for centuries “on the continent.” People were required to be religious by the laws of the land. And when one denomination was in control of the government, the king would often marshal his armies to go to war against Christians of another denomination.

Is it any wonder then, that so many people in Europe are disillusioned with Christianity?

But friend, let me ask you, on this 4th of July weekend—is there a possibility the same sort of thing could happens here in America?

There are questions that gets debated a lot these days, under the heading of “Is America a Christian Nation?” Some are eager to point out that in the document signed in Philadelphia by 56 men from the 13 colonies 228 years ago, the representatives declared that “all men are created equal,” and that all are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

And for some, that is adequate to prove that our nation was founded on Christian principles, and that our government ought to live by and enforce those principles. Some would even go so far as to declare that all of the laws in the Old Testament ought to be enforced as part of American justice—including capital punishment for adultery.

Fortunately, those people are in the minority, and most of the organizations that support returning to Christian values in our nation recognize that religion is really an individual matter. If we’re going to bring our nation to accept the Lordship of Jesus, it will have to be on a one-person-at-a-time basis.

And that’s what true Christianity is all about, isn’t it?

Study the life and work of Jesus. Did He make it His mission to journey to Rome and seek a hearing with Caesar? Did He invest His efforts in appealing to the Roman senators to enact the principles in the Sermon on the Mount as official decrees of the empire?

Hardly.

In fact, Jesus spent most of His time ministering to people one at a time in tiny backwater villages in Galilee. He rarely went to Jerusalem, and even when He did, His time was spent ministering to people like the paralytic beside the Pool of Bethesda and the man who was born blind, not to the people who made the laws of the land.

Rather than trying to garner the proceeds of the taxation system to promote His cause, Jesus called Matthew the tax collector to abandon his toll booth and become a disciple.

As our nation celebrates its birthday this weekend, the debate about the wording of the Pledge of Allegiance may be raging with new gusto—a Supreme Court ruling on the Newdow case from California is expected soon—or may have been delivered already.

Are we one nation, under God and indivisible? Or are we just one nation, indivisible? And whichever way it is, does a local school district have the right to require the pledge to be recited by school children?

Eight of the nine justices of the Supreme Court have agreed to rule on this issue (one justice has rescued himself because of statements he made at a rally earlier). By the time you hear this broadcast, you may know their answer.

But may I submit to you that how ever they rule, it won’t be the “final answer.”

Not only because whichever side the justices come down on, will somebody soon figure out a new way to challenge the ruling. But because the true character of a nation cannot be decided by the Supreme Court, or by the Congress, or even by the President.

No, the true character of a nation is determined by its people.

It’s determined by you, and me.

Are we a Christian nation? Or a nation of Christians? And please don’t misunderstand me here—I’m not implying that we ought to force anyone to become a Christian in order that we might call ourselves a nation of Christians.

What I do believe though, is that each individual Christian has a responsibility to make his part of the nation Christian—his or her one vote should stand for Christian principles. And as Christians we each have responsibility for our neighbor as well—to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to take the Great Commission seriously. Jesus has given us our marching orders:

“ ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ ” (Matthew 28:19, 20 NRSV).

The commission is to reach all nations with the gospel—but to do it one person at a time—one baptism at a time. It’s reported that the Emperor Constantine, after he had become a Christian, ordered all his troops to march through a river, and after they’d all gotten good and wet, he announced to them that they had just been baptized as Christians and henceforth his Roman legions were a Christian army!

But what he really had was an army of baptized pagans! Calling it a Christian army didn’t make it a Christian army. Each and every one of those soldiers needed to meet Jesus personally and accept Him into his heart as Lord and Master. But there was no time for that in Constantine’s plan.

Is there time for that in our plans?

Do we have time in our busy schedules to help to spread the gospel so that people acknowledge Jesus as Lord one by one? Or do we simply want to declare our nation a Christian nation and enforce the Bible’s rule on people who will only chafe under the Lordship of Jesus?

Friend, the religion of Jesus is a religion of liberty. It liberates us from the dominion of Satan and puts us in the loving arms of God.
The psalmist declares,
“I will keep your law continually,
Forever and ever.
I shall walk at liberty,
For I have sought your precepts,” (Psalm 119:44, 45, NRSV).
And Isaiah proclaimed,
“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
To bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And release to the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1, NRSV).

And in the New Testament James reminds us that “those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act — they will be blessed in their doing” (James 1:25, NRSV).

So, is America a Christian nation? Are we “one nation under God?”

Perhaps the Supreme Court can decide what our children will or will not say in school. Perhaps they can rule about how a national pledge of allegiance should read.

But the real decision about who rules this nation is made one heart at a time. It’s made in my heart each morning when I wake up and greet the day on my knees, asking God to take over and rule in my life.

And it’s made in your heart each day too.

I’m thankful for a nation that values liberty and gives me freedom to live according to the dictates of my conscience. I’m thankful for that statue that stands in the harbor, where so many of our citizens got their first glimpse of this great land. That statue with its torch raised to the sky, proclaiming liberty to all who see her.

But I’m even more thankful for the Man who allowed Himself to be raised up to the sky on a cruel cross, so that all who would kneel before Him would find true liberty, true liberation from the tyranny of sin and Satan.

And today, I want to renew my commitment to that Man—Jesus. And to proclaim anew that I am “One person, under God.”
How about you?

“The Statue of Liberty”, Debby Wade and Charles Haugabrooks.