At this time of year we remember the birthdays of two great presidents, and because of them we think about all the presidents of our country.   It is important to think about the faith in God that has been a part of the character of most of our great leaders as well as of our great country.   To document this and help us remember it, I have taken excepts from inaugural addresses spread over the entire 200 plus year history of our country.  This limitation of source material has led to some surprises concerning recent presidents included and not included.  Reading all these excerpts and considering them as a whole, one cannot help but reach several very significant conclusions. 

1. Many of these presidents had deep personal Christian faith that is reflected in their addresses as they chose to quote Scripture, pray or chose particularly symbolic Bibles upon which to swear the oath of office. 
2. In most of the excerpts chosen, the big concepts such as justice, liberty, equality and peace were shaped and informed by Judeao-Christian tradition.   
3. These presidents expected to be speaking to a people who understood, cherished and were sympathetic to such beliefs.  
4. It didn’t matter substantially what party the president represented.
5. The first four observations were not only true of presidents in the first few decades of our country; they were also true of presidents at various times in our history and of some recent presidents. 

As support for these observations, I gleaned these quotes from inaugural speeches from one of Wall Builders resources.  http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/inaugurals.php

From George Washington’s first inaugural address:

It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; …

John Adams conclusion of his inaugural address in 1797:

If elevated ideas of the high destinies of this country and of my own duties toward it, founded on a knowledge of the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people deeply engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured but exalted by experience and age; and, with humble reverence, I feel it to be my duty to add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for Christianity among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor that this sagacious injunction of the two Houses shall not be without effect.

With this great example before me, with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest, of the same American people pledged to support the Constitution of the United States, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its energy, and my mind is prepared without hesitation to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power.

And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous

Thomas Jefferson in the closing of his second inaugural speech:

I shall need, too, the favor of that Being in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries and comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with His providence and our riper years with His wisdom and power, and to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me that He will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, and prosper their measures that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, and shall secure to you the peace, friendship, and approbation of all nations.

This next paragraph from the second inaugural address of Lincoln shows the fundamentally Biblical concept of justice that drove him.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. “Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.” If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword

Andrew Jackson 1833:

Finally, it is my most fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in His hands from the infancy of our Republic to the present day, that He will so overrule all my intentions William  Henry Harrison 1841:

I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn to justify me in expressing to my fellow-citizens a profound reverence for the Christian religion and a thorough conviction that sound morals, religious liberty, and a just sense of religious responsibility are essentially connected with all true and lasting happiness; and to that good Being who has blessed us by the gifts of civil and religious freedom, who watched over and prospered the labors of our fathers and has hitherto preserved to

Rutherford B. Hayes   1877:

Looking for the guidance of that Divine Hand by which the destinies of nations and individuals are shaped, I call upon you, Senators, Representatives, judges, fellow-citizens, here and everywhere, to unite with me in an earnest effort to secure to our country the blessings, not only of material prosperity, but of justice,

Grover Cleveland    1885:

And let us not trust to human effort alone, but humbly acknowledging the power and goodness of Almighty God, who presides over the destiny of nations, and who has at all times been revealed in our country’s history, let us invoke His aid and His blessings upon our labors

Grover Cleveland    1893:

Above all, I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid.

 In 1905, Theodore Roosevelt  gave thanks to God for the blessings we enjoy.

No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with gratitude to the Giver of Good who has blessed us with the conditions which have enabled us to achieve so large a measure of well-being and of ha

Woodrow Wilson   1913

The Nation has been deeply stirred, stirred by a solemn passion, stirred by the knowledge of wrong, of ideals lost, of government too often debauched and made an instrument of evil. The feelings with which we face this new age of right and opportunity sweep across our heartstrings like some air out of God’s own presence, where justice and mercy are reconciled and the judge and the brother are one. We know our task to be no mere task of politics but a task which shall search us through and through, whether we be able to understand our time and the need of our people, whether we be indeed their spokesmen and interpreters, whether we have the pure heart to comprehend and the rectified will to choose our high course of action.

This is not a day of triumph; it is a day of dedication. Here muster, not the forces of party, but the forces of humanity. Men’s

Franklin Delano Roosevelt   1937

To maintain a democracy of effort requires a vast amount of patience in dealing with differing methods, a vast amount of humility. But out of the confusion of many voices rises an understanding of dominant public need. Then political leadership can voice common ideals, and aid in their realization.

In taking again the oath of office as President of the United States, I assume the solemn obligation of leading the American people forward along the road over which they have chosen to advance.

While this duty rests upon me I shall do my utmost to speak their purpose

Franklin Delano Roosevelt   1945

Today, in this year of war, 1945, we have learned lessons-at a fearful cost—and we shall profit by them.

We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other Nations, far away. We have learned that we must live as men and not as ostriches, nor as dogs in the manger.

We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.

We have learned the simple truth, as Emerson said, that, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and mistrust—or with fear. We can gain it only if we proceed with the understanding and the confidence and the courage which flow from conviction.

The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world.

So we pray to Him now for the vision to see for the vision to see the way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men—and to the achievement of His will to peace on earth.

In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower began his address with a prayer.

My friends, before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem appropriate to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your heads:

Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the Executive branch of Government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.

Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race or calling.

May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of

Jimmy Carter   1977

My friends, before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem appropriate to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your heads:

Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the Executive branch of Government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.

Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race or calling.

May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of

Ronald Reagan 1985

History is a ribbon, always unfurling. History is a journey. And as we continue our journey, we think of those who traveled before us. We stand again at the steps of this symbol of our democracy—well, we would have been standing at the steps if it hadn’t gotten so cold. [Laughter] Now we’re standing inside this symbol of our democracy, and we see and hear again the echoes of our past: a general falls to his knees in the hard snow of Valley Forge; a lonely President paces the darkened halls and ponders his struggle to preserve the Union; the men of the Alamo call out encouragement to each other; a settler pushes west and sings a song, and the song echoes out forever and fills the unknowing air.

It is the American sound. It is hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair. That’s our heritage, that’s our song. We sing it still. For all our problems, our differences, we are together as of old. We raise our voices to the God who is the Author of this most tender music. And may He continue to hold us close as we fill the world with our sound—in unity, affection

William Clinton   1993

And so, my fellow Americans, as we stand at the edge of the 21st century, let us begin anew with energy and hope, with faith and discipline. And let us work until our work is done. The Scripture says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” From this joyful mountaintop of celebration we hear a call to service in the valley. We have heard the trumpets. We have changed the guard. And now, each in our own way and with God’s help, we must answer the call.

Thank you, and God bless you all.

This guy reminds me of my dog Plato who was likely half Aussy Shepherd.

Charles Colson, a clear thinker and writer for the Christian church, has nailed it with this essay.   Gay activists are often unwilling to admit that choice plays any part despite testimonials from people like the actress Colson cites and from homosexuals who have chosen to go straight.   As I have written before, the evidence as I see it shows that while in the short term, our hormones may seem to dominate us;  in the long run, our brain has far more shaping influence through the choices we make than our hormones do.

Keystone of the Bill of Rights

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/opinion_today_bishops_treating.html

This opinion is given great press by the Post Standard,  probably because they consider it politically correct.  But it contains an obvious logical disconnect.  The illogical assumption that is that institutions, because they are such, can be somehow disassociated from the values of the persons who founded them and/or run them.   That is patent nonsense.   It is as misguided as the idea of the college out West that recently tried to force student groups to accept leaders who do not agree with the fundamental purposes of the group.    It is preposterous for the same reason.  Institutions such as Catholic hospitals and church-related colleges are extensions of the values of the persons who created them and who continue to run them, values that are inculcated in the DNA of the institution.   If these values are an expression of a religious conviction, they fall directly under the First Amendment and are protected by it.   In addition, when the hospital or college is connected to a religious group, the values of the institution cannot be separated from the values of the sponsoring group.    The Bill of Rights is in place to protect the expression of religious faith whether by one person or a group of persons expressing themselves through an institution.   

I wholeheartedly support the noncompliance stance of Bishop Robert J. Cunningham of the Syracuse Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church as he takes a firm stand against the Obama administration’s continuing assault upon religious liberty.   Obama’s move is a blatant attempt by pro-choice forces to expand their agenda and force people of faith to do things exactly counter to their conscience and beliefs.  Preventing such overreaches of power from treading down religious liberty is precisely why the first amendment was written. This Obama proposal is both unconscionable and unconstitutional.    It should be opposed by all people of any faith and party who value the first amendment.    It makes no difference whether the employer is the church directly or the hospital controlled by the church or a college directed by the church, such issues are still a matter of conscience protected by the first amendment and not to be trampled upon by the government.   Bishop Cunningham’s position is courageous and praiseworthy.   I call on evangelicals to stand behind him for the sake of freedom of religion and because we also are certainly targeted by such attacks from the current administration.