Photo: Bible with American flag illustration; Creator: Alex Lindeman; CC BY 2.0 DEED
**Previously recorded by Phyllis Schlafly // October 2011 **
Powerful groups in the United States are trying to turn us into a completely secular nation and banish all reference to God and prayer from any public place or event. Those are the people who file lawsuits against the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, against Ten Commandments monuments in courthouses and parks, and against students who want to reference their faith at graduation ceremonies. Those secularists are trying to make us believe that any public reference to religion happened only in the olden days, and now we need to get rid of those references.
I would like to remind you that on this date of October 4 in 1982, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the “Year of the Bible. Reagan’s proclamation stated: “Now, therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in recognition of the contributions and influence of the Bible on our Republic and our people, do hereby proclaim 1983 the Year of the Bible in the United States. I encourage all citizens, each in his own way, to reexamine and rediscover its priceless and timeless message.”
Now, I don’t want you to think that this public respect for the Bible was expressed only by Republican Presidents. In 1941, a Democratic Party President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, wrote the prologue of a special Gideons’ edition of the New Testament & Book of Psalms that was distributed to millions of World War II soldiers. Here are President Roosevelt’s words: “As Commander-in Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries, men of many faiths have found in the Sacred Book words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul.”
