The California court that judged the Pledge of Allegiance to be unconstitutional because it contains the words ???under God??? has ignited a firestorm of criticism.  Even though the order has been stayed until the full court can consider the issue, the debate rages.  And many Americans are raising a pertinent question:

 ???How can a reference to God in the Pledge be unconstitutional given the backgrounds and convictions of the framers and their prayers for wisdom in writing both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution????

On June 10, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed five men to prepare the Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston.  The committee asked Jefferson to write the Declaration and the others worked with him to its completion.

The committee eventually proposed, and the Continental Congress approved the following opening statement recognizing God as the author of liberty:

???We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.???

The writers of the Declaration of Independence did their important work at a stressful time. An American victory in the Revolutionary War was far from certain. The success of their venture now had to be translated from a document to deeds.  They knew this would be no easy task so invoked the power of God to enable this nation in the process of birth to achieve the freedom about which they had within.

Freedom was at risk before it was born.

In 1778, at the meeting of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin moved that the convention should not proceed without an opening prayer each day.  Explaining the reason for his motion, he said:  ???I have lived a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men.  If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice (Matthew 10:29), is it probable that an empire can rise?

???We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that ???Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it (Psalm 127:1).??™???  I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall proceed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.???

Our constitution is the product of those prayers.

In our zeal to guard the separation of church and state, we must not conclude that our founders were in favor of the separation of God and state, an entirely different matter.

Faith and freedom flourish together. History proves faith gives birth to freedom.

During the Civil War, a Maryland Farmer wrote to then Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, suggesting that some mention of God be made on the nation??™s money.  Chase pursued the idea and in 1864 submitted ???In God We Trust??? to congress, arguing it was fitting because it was taken from a portion of the national anthem.  He said: ???In this time of national peril, our strength and salvation must be of God.???

Now our nation is in peril again.  We have entered an era of terrorism when we should be especially aware of our need of God??™s protection and blessings. This is a time for prayer and dependency on God, not a time to delete Him.

?© 2002 By Roger Campbell