One God, Under Fire
By Travis K. McSherley
[May 2004]

Fifty years has produced a much different America since the first time the Pledge of Allegiance was uttered on behalf of a nation “under God.”  And a half century after those two words were added, the Supreme Court is prepared to decide this summer whether God is still welcome within our Pledge.

Unless deranged, left-wing cyborgs take the humanoid forms of Souter, Breyer, Ginsburg, O’Connor, and Kennedy, the Court will more than likely give unanimous support to uphold the constitutionality of the “under God” phrase.  Anything less would produce a public outrage (one would hope) greater than any we’ve ever seen.

Not only that, but it would awaken every corner of America to the danger of losing its Christian heritage completely.  If that happened, the Left’s greatest fears would be realized, as the believing majority would cling more tightly to their faith, reject the secularist intrusion, and rally around President Bush.  It’d be awful.
 
So considering the consequences, this particular case is not a huge threat.  The justices are no fools – they realize the thin ice they’re already on with much of the American public.  And should the cyborg scenario occur, the governor of California has experience dealing with those matters.

But if the eight justices (Scalia recused himself from the case) did grant legitimacy to the 9th Circuit’s decision to call the Pledge unconstitutional, it would simply be the tangible outworking of a now-subtle effort to expunge the Creator from the public square in American society.

In 1954, when the Pledge was modified to acknowledge America’s allegiance with its Supreme Authority, the nation bore at least some semblance to the country of our forefathers.  Though not universally accepted of course, the Christian faith nonetheless had the respect of the United States and its leaders.  The culture regarded modesty as a positive attribute, and marriage was still revered as a sacred institution (too much so, if you ask the recent movie Mona Lisa Smile).  Perhaps not coincidentally, this was also the same year that saw the High Court bring an end to school segregation.

But the virtues of the past have largely gone the way of poodle skirts and flannel suits.  In no small way, the Pledge case is a microcosm of a much deeper and more sobering transition of American culture.  Our religious foundations are cracking.  Though how ironic is it that when God goes on trial, the Court will open its session by invoking the Creator to “save the United States and this honorable court.”

One might press the issue to say that God is not the focus of this decision – it’s the free speech and expression of schoolchildren that is at stake.  Yet there’s little chance that this case would be on the Supreme Court’s desk if it didn’t claim national allegiance to our God, as well as our flag.

Or maybe it’s about the mythical “wall of separation” between church and state.  But again, how could a court that asks for God’s blessing seriously consider calling His presence in the Pledge unconstitutional?  (Let’s not open that can of worms right now.)

Beyond all of the rhetoric, the “under God” case tells the story of an America that is on the verge of rejecting the rock upon which it was built.  While the Supreme Court considers Elk Grove School District v. Newdow, the rest of the nation is essentially in the middle of People of the U.S. v. The Almighty God.  And the final decision in the latter will determine the future of American society.

For the duration of its history, the United States has been a Christian nation.  Not all of its citizens have elected to follow Christ, of course, but the country’s laws and culture have always operated under the principle and direction of the Judeo-Christian worldview.

Now, homosexual activists in San Francisco, New York, Oregon, and elsewhere are shouting through the megaphones of “civil disobedience” that they reject the design of sex and marriage instituted by God Himself.  And with every Ten Commandments monument dispute and every attempt to silence the voice of the Christian faith (David Limbaugh filled a whole book with such examples), the question that rises to the top is whether America will revere or reject a Higher Being.

The country has a choice.  Needless to say, each individual makes the same choice, but the collective soul of the United States must decide whether to continue to exist as a Christian nation, “one nation under God.”  Or shall we shed the boundaries and mores established in accordance with the Christian worldview, exchanging them for sexual “liberation” and the end of shame and guilt?

Will tomorrow’s America be built upon the standards set forth by a Higher Power, or will we allow fickle human desire to dictate policy?

Everything hinges on this choice.  God demands respect, and the consequences of turning away from Him will be wide reaching, in this generation and certainly the next.  Not that the entire populace must convert to the Christian faith, but that we will live within an established set of absolute moral truths.

In the Old Testament, Joshua commands his people to “choose you this day whom you will serve.”  Clearly, the United States is at the same crossroads.

The Supreme Court may not eliminate God’s name from our Pledge of Allegiance, but we are in danger of removing Him from the American conscience.  If that happens, we all might as well be cyborgs.

This article appeared on Townhall.com