In Whose God Do We Trust?

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Susan Lynn (R) overwhelmingly passed the Tennessee state House on Monday with 81 of the 99 members voting in favor of requiring Tennessee schools to prominently display the national "In God We Trust" motto.

 

The Tennessee State Senate unanimously passed the "In God We Trust" in schools legislation earlier this month, sponsored by Sen. Paul Bailey (R).

 

The bill requires schools display the motto in a prominent location where students are likely to see it, like a school entryway, cafeteria or common area. It offers more freedom on what form it takes, suggesting that it could be a mounted plaque or student artwork.

 

The Tennessee legislation is not alone with similar bills under consideration this year by state lawmakers in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming with laws requiring the display of "In God We Trust" in schools are already on the books in other states.

 

If you’re a Christian person, you would probably greet such legislative action with an understanding nod of the head and a fervently whispered “amen”.

 

Question: In whose God do we trust?

 

I’m assuming it’s the generally accepted Christian concept of God is what Rep. Lynn and Sen. Bailey had in mind when they sponsored this bill. 

 

Yeah, we’re OK with proclaiming our trust in God on the sides of our money and on our schools as long as it’s OUR God. Not your God.

 

But what if a similar bill had been proposed by someone named Ahmed Mahmoud Abdul (D)? What pray tell, Christian person, would be your reaction?

 

There would be such a litany of rage and fury, cries about the evils of “Sharia law” would echo across the land.

 

There has been for a long time, a deep and abiding idea among certain people that American equals Christian. What makes one an American is not adherence to the Christian faith. Being American means you have the freedom to worship as Christian. Or as a Jew. Or as a Muslim. Or Hindu. Or even not at all. Being an American means having the right to gather at your church or synagogue or mosque or the privacy of your home or wherever to worship and pray.

 

Me, I have no problem with the concept that as a nation, we have a trust in God. Whether that is God specifically defined by the tenets of your personal faith or just the overarching idea of a power greater than our limited mortal perceptions, I think it is a good thing to consider our actions as Americans should answer to a calling beyond our own selfish needs, that we should look beyond ourselves in how we treat each other as fellow citizens and how we interact with the rest of the world.

In this age of Trump, brought about by the same evangelical Christians determined to engrave their trust in their God in everything, we have moved away from that ideal. Less trusting in God and more demanding, “What is in this for me? What do I get out of this? How can I make sure I’m getting what I am due? How can I make sure someone else is not screwing me out of what’s mine?”

 

The question persists: In whose God do we trust?