Soldiers' Pocket Bible, WWII

Continuing the series of posts I have done showing what a consistent role religion has played in the history of the USA, here is a description and photo from the Smithsonian Institute:

Religion has an essential role in military history, which is reflected in military material. Steel-covered New Testaments were popular keepsake gifts for soldiers going off to fight in World War II. Advertised in newspapers and magazines as protection from bullets, the small books were designed to be carried in the pocket over one's heart as both symbol and shield.

Read more on the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

Official Bible of Alabama

To help rebut some of those who today say our nation has no religious or Judeo-Christian roots, consider that the state of Alabama actually has an official state Bible. According to the Alabama Department of Archives and History:

"The official State Bible was purchased by the state in 1853. It is used to inaugurate Governors of Alabama. Governor John Winston was the first governor to be sworn in using this bible, on December 20, 1853. Every governor since 1853 has also used this Bible for their inauguration, though some like to place their personal Bible on top.

"The Bible was used in 1861 for Jefferson Davis to take his oath of office as President of the Confederate States of America.

"The Bible is now kept in the Alabama Department of Archives and History. When not in use during present-day inaugurations, it is on display in the department's third floor Nineteenth Century Gallery."

Read the quote on the Alabama Department of Archives and History website.

The Walls Are Singing

Taking a tour of Washington, D.C. can be an educational experience for any number of reasons. One reason is to learn how much you see religious references in some of our most famous buildings and monuments. In walking through the Cox corridors of the U.S. Capitol, for example, you find these words:

"America! God shed his grace on Thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!" - Katharine Lee Bates

Prayer Room
"Annuit coeptis" (God has favored our undertakings)
"Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust." —Psalm 16:1

Senate Chamber
Over east doorway: "Annuit coeptis" (God has favored our undertakings)
Over south entrance: "In God we trust"

Atheist group attempts to block church from assembling

In Cambier Park in Naples, Florida, the Celebration Beach Church has been meeting most Sundays for eight years. Their attendance is usually about 1,000 - a figure many churches would be happy to reach. They lease the space in the public park for this purpose, and the city leases the park for other groups as well. Normally, that would be considered fine. After all, if they would lease the park for weekly meetings of a Frisbee group or some such, should they be expected to deny the use to a group that is religious?

Apparently some would expect them to do just that. The Freedom From Religion Foundation complains that the leases are granted by the City Council, and the council has members who are Christian. Suppose the Boy Scouts wanted to use the park. Would the council have to be free from having any scout leaders or former scouts? Sports teams?

It's an interesting concept. I might have thought it a GOOD thing that council members were involved in their community in various ways. But councils often have to consider issues affecting houses of worship. Should religious people be kept from serving on councils?

Let's not forget that the founders who ratified the Constitution approved of and attended regular religious worship services on federal property. This included the halls of Congress and other official buildings in the capitol. Should the Congress have been cleared of any members who attended religious services before approving such a thing? That would have made for a very small voting block indeed.

Watchdog groups can serve a valuable purpose. But this group's complaint seems totally beyond reason.

Read the article here:
Atheist group attempts to block church from assembling

Let's Keep Jesus Out of Christmas, Shall We?

In Taunton, Massachusetts, a 2nd-grade boy is in big trouble. His teacher asked the class to draw a picture that reminded them of Christmas. Well, this twisted kid drew a stick-figure picture of Jesus on the cross. He drew the eyes as X's to signify that Jesus had died on the cross.

So the school did what any reasonable school would do - they sent him home immediately and required him to undergo a psychological examination before he could return to school. (The teacher had been alarmed at the X's on the eyes, assuming that might indicate violent tendencies from this child.)

Here we have a national holiday. In this case, the teacher even recognized the holiday by asking for the drawings. But must Christian children divorce Jesus' life from Christmas? Granted the theme of his picture might have been more appropriate at Easter, but would the school's reaction have been different then? Not according to their justification as stated publicly. Maybe Christian children must be compelled to draw only pictures of Christmas trees (oh, but there is some connection to Martin Luther, so...). Or they could just draw Santa (oh, but he is actually SAINT Nicholas). Or the manger (but then we have the complexity of the whole virgin birth thing...). How about presents? That's probably safe.

Read more at the Taunton Gazette:
Taunton second-grader sent home over drawing of Jesus