This country was founded on Christian morals, values and religious fervor. Taking religious references out of our county’s pledges is not an option folks. What’s next, taking “In God We Trust” off of our money (I know, you already heard of that issue)? What if, due to political pressure on the Christian faith community could result in us having to remove any cross on the outside of a church because it is unconstitutional to the freedom of religion to others? It’s really not that far-fetched when you look at where the ACLU is heading with removing prayer in schools, graduation speeches monitored and more.  NBC’s selective patriotism astounds and is still astounding many. For related article, please CLICK HERE. Bottom line as I have heard, is that there is an underlying movement (however consciously or not) to rewrite American history. 

For this FIERCE topic we’ll look at the intersection where our faith and political action must come together. We should not read about these things and think, “Something should be done.” We should seek to read about these things, get educated, stay aware and then actually do something or say something.

As a practical example for you to do or say something, here is an article that ran only three days after the initial NBC Pledge of Allegiance edits removing “under God, indivisible” and “one nation under God, indivisible” regarding another attack on religion and a constitutional crisis because of a public display of the Christian faith. Please read the article as posted in the Washington Post on June 23, 2011…

“New York City has chosen to honor the memory of seven fallen heroes – firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11 – by naming the street that their fire station is on “Seven in Heaven Way.” Should this be a constitutional crisis? As this street sign honoring the fire fighters’ sacrifice made its way through the approval process, no one complained.

But now, after the sign’s unveiling, a group called New York City Atheists has threatened to file a lawsuit if it is not removed. The group’s president declared, “We’ve concluded as atheists there is no heaven.” Another atheist leader added, incorrectly, that, “Heaven is a specifically Christian place.”

Because he has “concluded” that there is no heaven, the rest of us cannot recognize the ultimate sacrifice these brave first responders gave for our liberty with an honorary street sign that mentions the word “heaven” without handling a lawsuit?

Thankfully, the atheists have little chance of succeeding in court. As the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently stated, reaffirming Supreme Court precedent, mere “hurt feelings” do not give one standing to sue. America is replete with religious references in the naming of our cities, parks, and streets.

The president of American Atheists, David Silverman, chimed in by repeating the same tired arguments against the mention of anything with religious meaning by the government. Silverman said, “The attacks on 9/11 were an attack on America. They were an attack on our Constitution and breaking that Constitution to honor these firefighters is the wrong thing to do.”  Full article in Washington Post, click here.

OK, so if you are still with me, what should we be doing? Awareness is great, sign up at websites to receive updates on critical issues. Three I strongly suggest are PICO Network (People Improving Communities), Focus on the Family and the American Center for Law and Justice. These sights often have petitions and helpful letters to contact your U.S. Legislators regarding current topics. Even if it’s only a click away on a petition… get involved.

Stay involved. Most importantly, share your ideas. Forget about the taboo concept that religion and politics are socially avoidable topics if you want to be liked. Combine the two, and people will talk. Just remember, do so with love and grace. We don’t have to be experts or shove our opinions down other’s throats, just keep talking and asking opinions and validated other’s opinions respectfully. FIERCE is not disrespectful. FIERCE is being educated, aware and catalysts especially when it’s not politically correct to do so without ramifications or judgment from others for our Christian faith views.

Stand firm in Christ and who we are in HIM… blessings. --Author: Renee Crosby, June 24, 2011