May Newsletter: One Nation Under God
Posted by wisejargon on May 18, 2009
Simon Barsinister Says: When I take over the World, There’ll Be no Display of Christian Symbols!
After All, I’m Not Bigoted and Intolerant of Other Religions!
Digging Deeper
After an accident in the lab of a mad scientist, Dr. Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage), a pet beagle is turned into the superhero of Cartoon fame, Underdog (voiced by Jason Lee). Vowing to protect the citizens of Capitol City, Underdog must face down Dr. Barsinister, his henchman Cad (Patrick Warburton), and two ferocious German Shepherds whom Dr. Barsinister commands by saying “Simon Says”. To see a movie trailer, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGvjGp7o8fQ
In the Old Testament, we read of two kings. One was a man by the name of Hezekiah, who ruled Judah from 716 to 687 B.C., is recorded in the Bible as one who “Did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (II Kings 18:3). At one point, when the King of Assyria was threatening to destroy Jerusalem, King Hezekiah offered this prayer.
O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God. (II Kings 19:15-19)
God heard Hezekiah’s prayer. The next morning, when the citizens of Jerusalem awoke, 185,000 Assyrians lay dead. Within a year, Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, was murdered by his own two sons.
When Hezekiah died, he was succeeded by his son, Manasseh, whom the bible says “did evil in the sight of the Lord” (II Kings 21:4-5, 7). Here is what Manasseh did:
He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will but my Name.” He took the carved Asherah pole he made and put it in the temple of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever.” (II Kings 21:4-7)
Notice that the Asherah poll, an idol made “only of wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands”, was placed in the very Holy of Holies where Hezekiah had said that God was “enthroned between the cherubim” of the Ark of the Covenant. One must wonder how the priests of God must have responded when Manasseh put up an idol in the same room where the Ark of the Covenant was housed. Some bible scholars believe it was during this time that the Ark was secretly removed from the Temple so that it would not be profaned. Legend has it that the prophet Isaiah was martyred when he stood up to King Manasseh and denounced him as an idolater.
As an American, one must ask this question: “God, as we turn away from You and seek after the idols of our culture, how are You acting in the life of our nation?“ I think back to President Eisenhower, who as President attended church on February 7, 1954. He listened to Dr. George Docherty, A Scottish Presbyterian preacher speaking on the 150th anniversary of the Birthday of Abraham Lincoln. In his sermon, Docherty said – and President Eisenhower heard – these words.
We face, today, a theological war. It is NOT basically a conflict between two political philosophies – Thomas Jefferson’s political democracy over against Lenin’s communistic state. NOR is it a conflict fundamentally between two economic systems between, shall we say, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations and Karl Marx’s Das Capital. IT IS a fight for freedom of the human personality. It is not simply man’s inhumanity to man. It is Armageddon, a battle of the gods. It is the view of man as it comes down to us from Judaio-Christian civilization in mortal combat against modern, secularized godless humanity.
The pledge of Allegiance seems to me to omit this theological implication that is fundamental to the American way of life. It should be “One nation, under God.” Once “under God,” then we can define what we mean by “liberty and justice for all.” To omit the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance is to omit the definitive character of the American way of life.
Following the preaching of that sermon, which was appropriately titled “Under God,” the United States Congress moved swiftly to add those two words to the Pledge of Allegiance. Those two words – Under God – have as their source the Gettysburg Address, first spoken by President Abraham Lincoln.
A President, a King, can have a tremendous impact on his nation and their relationship to God. Because of Manasseh’s leadership – he was king for 45 years – a generation grew up believing that it was “politically correct” to not follow God. They grew up believing it was politically correct to cover up the symbols of worship to the God of Israel when the King showed up to give a speech. They grew up believing it was politically correct for the King to spill innocent blood, as we are told in II Kings 21:16 that Manasseh filled the streets of Jerusalem with the blood of sacrificed babies. Despite the fact that the majority of people followed a King who said “Simon Says evil is good, and good evil,” in the end, Jerusalem was destroyed, and her people carried off into exile in a foreign land.
As an American, I can’t help but ask: What of the United States? In ancient times, the people had little to do with electing their kings, but in America, We the People choose our Presidents. Therefore, while it is certainly true that the President of the United States has great ability to influence the faith of our nation, ultimately the decision to follow a President who honors God – or does not – is in the hands of We The People.
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:26)
