John McCollister - God and the Oval Office: The Religious Faith of Our 43 Presidents

GOD
AND THE
OVAL OFFICE

The Religious Faith of Our
43 Presidents

JOHN McCOLLISTER

GOD AND THE OVAL OFFICE

Copyright 2005 John McCollister.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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All Scripture quotations are taken from The King James Version of the Bible (KJV).

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McCollister, John.
God and the Oval Office / by John McCollister.
p. cm.
Summary: Presents information regarding each United States president and how their faith influenced themProvided by publisher.
ISBN 0-8499-0405-6 (hardcover)
1. PresidentsUnited StatesReligion. I. Title.
BR516.M377 2005
973'.099dc22

2005000301

Printed in the United States of America
05 06 07 08 09 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

I ts a hot topic of conversation these days. Seldom is anyone neutral on the issue.

Politicians fill the air with impassioned rhetoric before cheering crowds. Pastors, priests, and rabbis pound pulpits to emphasize their points. Liberal watchdogs carry picket signs and protest in front of city hall.

Why are these advocates so zealous in their demonstrations? Its because they are involved in a controversy that has been debated for more than two centuries. In this experiment of democracy known as America, what is the proper blending of government and religion?

On one side of the question stand those who proclaim that faith in Almighty God and the heart of America are inseparable. Our nation, they say, was, and has been, honed on religious principles. They point to the fact that the framers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence not only referred to God, but also proclaimed the importance of divine support for the new nation. Some of those who support a melding of faith and government go so far as to say that America is first and foremost a Christian nation.

On the flip side are those who believe that we should forbid any connection whatsoever between church and state. They openly challenge, for example, the legality of displaying a plaque of the Ten Commandments on government property or religious symbols such as a cross or manger scene during the Christmas season in front of city hall. They even abhor any reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance recited by students enrolled in public schools.

As with most other issues that evoke emotions, extremists on both sides have been overzealous in their attempts to convince others to agree with them. Couple this with the fact that so many attempt to reconstruct history in order to justify their personal prejudices, and the picture becomes more distorted.

If we consider only the facts, we must admit that the United States of America was not formed as a haven for Christians only. True, the dominant religion in the nation has been Christianity. At the same time, the founders of the Republic were careful not to create a religious state or a state religion. Instead they framed a nation that would allow, among other things, an opportunity for everyone to express his or her religious convictions without fear of government interference.

It should come as no surprise that the First Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed that no one particular religious denomination shall never prevail over the government. That same amendment also assured Americans that no governmental body will ever be able to control any free expression of faith.

To those who insist that we must heed the demand of the Constitution for the separation of church and state, we call their attention to two things.

First, that specific phrase never appears in the Constitution. Instead, it is a comment borrowed from a personal letter written to a friend by our third president, Thomas Jefferson.

Second, and more importantly, the government of these United States was built upon a spiritual foundation. Its major concepts are derived from the biblical teachings about the value and destiny of human beings. In other nations during the eighteenth century, citizens were mere subjects, and the divine right of kings was taken seriously. The very idea of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people seemed radical.

We can go back even earlier than the formal establishment of this nation. Columbus named the first land he discovered San Salvador (Holy Savior) and testified that he would never have found the land had he not been guided by his Savior and Lord.

The Mayflower Compact and the earliest documents organizing the colonies all acknowledged the sovereignty of Almighty God. Sure, the colonists had their differences, and they found comfort in being with others who shared their beliefs. Anglicans settled Virginia; Puritans, New England; Baptists, Pennsylvania; and Catholics, Maryland. But when the time came to decide whether to be loyal to the king of England or to become an independent country, representatives from all denominations who met in Will-iamsburg were united in their belief that this would be a God-fearing nation.

The Declaration of Independence based its principles on spiritual roots. We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights. Each signer of the Declaration of Independence stood silently in a moment of prayer before affixing his signature to the document.

In George Washingtons first inaugural address, he clearly stated the thinking of the earliest American citizens: It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe... that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government.

Its simply impossible to imagine the United States apart from its strong and deep spiritual heritage.

Our earliest citizens demanded the freedom to worship God as their consciences directed and were careful to guard that fundamental freedom. The late Richard Halverson, while he was chaplain of the U.S. Senate, put it in perspective: The so-called separation of church and state is not a license to ignore religion, but a testimony to its importance in our lives. Freedom of religion ought never be confused with freedom from religion.

John McCollister

I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man
and the president of the United States is another.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR
Twenty-first president of the United States

S o help me God.

They are just four innocent-sounding, monosyllabic words, but with them, forty-two men ceased for a time to be private citizens.

These four simple, prayerlike words were added, unexpectedly, to the prepared oath of office by General George Washington on April 30, 1789. They have been repeated by every successor, transforming each individual into a focal point of American history: president of the United States.