The office tv was on msnbc today. The phone was answering during most of the segment. But I did see a few seconds of a Congressman talking about a vote on whether to keep the phrase "In God We Trust" on our paper currency. I liked that the Congressman, who I think was from NY, said that we shouldn't have that phrase on our currency. But his argument wasn't that great. As I said, I couldn't really hear all of what he said. But what I heard was pretty watered down and not fleshed out.
This is a violation of the first amendment, specially the establishment clause. And I think its pretty clear cut. The federal gov't is explicitly endorsing a religious belief. It is basically saying that in financial terms, we as a nation endorse a belief in god, and think that belief will bring us good fortune. That's de facto establishing the US gov't as a theistic gov't.
Aside from the constitutional question, I think its weird and arrogant to have that phrase on our currency. Why is it on there to begin with? What does god have to do with our money? What does trusting in god have to do with our money or our finances in general? I don't see the connection other than the fact that a lot of religious people in the US see god in everything, or think it should be present in everything. Otherwise, I see no practical reason for it, nor do I see why Congress was voting on this other than to pander to those people I just mentioned.
Putting aside whether the phrase is meant to have a direct connection with money or finance, lets assume it is supposed to have some related meaning and ask the question I ask in the title of the post. I don't recall the god of the old testament talking much about money. But I do recall a times in which Jesus encountered money and didn't have a glowing endorsement of it. I believe there is a story about a rich man and his prospects of getting into heaven. And there is one about Jesus giving his advice to someone with a lot of possessions. The overall gist for Jesus seemed to be that money isn't all that important. Also, why should we assume god is looking out for our best interests? Just look at the past few years and ask yourself how much you are willing to trust anyone when it comes to money, finances, or the economy.
So again, for christians in the US, I just don't see a practical purpose in invoking god on our currency. The real reason is rather that many christian's religious beliefs are very intertwined with cultural and political beliefs. Therefore they want politics and culture to reflect their religious views, never mind the rather blatant conflict with the constitution.
This is a violation of the first amendment, specially the establishment clause. And I think its pretty clear cut. The federal gov't is explicitly endorsing a religious belief. It is basically saying that in financial terms, we as a nation endorse a belief in god, and think that belief will bring us good fortune. That's de facto establishing the US gov't as a theistic gov't.
Aside from the constitutional question, I think its weird and arrogant to have that phrase on our currency. Why is it on there to begin with? What does god have to do with our money? What does trusting in god have to do with our money or our finances in general? I don't see the connection other than the fact that a lot of religious people in the US see god in everything, or think it should be present in everything. Otherwise, I see no practical reason for it, nor do I see why Congress was voting on this other than to pander to those people I just mentioned.
Putting aside whether the phrase is meant to have a direct connection with money or finance, lets assume it is supposed to have some related meaning and ask the question I ask in the title of the post. I don't recall the god of the old testament talking much about money. But I do recall a times in which Jesus encountered money and didn't have a glowing endorsement of it. I believe there is a story about a rich man and his prospects of getting into heaven. And there is one about Jesus giving his advice to someone with a lot of possessions. The overall gist for Jesus seemed to be that money isn't all that important. Also, why should we assume god is looking out for our best interests? Just look at the past few years and ask yourself how much you are willing to trust anyone when it comes to money, finances, or the economy.
So again, for christians in the US, I just don't see a practical purpose in invoking god on our currency. The real reason is rather that many christian's religious beliefs are very intertwined with cultural and political beliefs. Therefore they want politics and culture to reflect their religious views, never mind the rather blatant conflict with the constitution.
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