The national motto “In God We Trust,” which is currently inscribed on the edge of the presidential one dollar coins, will soon return to its original prominent position on the front or the back of the coin.
Legislation sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback to move “In God We Trust” back to a prominent place on the coin was signed by President Bush on Wednesday as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008.
The move of the inscription from the edges to the front or back of the coin "shall be put into effect by the Secretary of the Treasury as soon as is practicable,” according to the provision.
The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 introduced the $1 coins as a way to honor the nation's presidents. The bill called for the size, weight and metal composition of the presidential coins to be identical to that of the Sacagawea Golden Dollar but relegated the "In God We Trust" motto to the edges to "allow larger and more dramatic artwork" of the presidents' faces on the front and the Statue of Liberty on the back.
Four coins featuring Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison were issued this year.
But some coins made it through production without being stamped with the motto and some experts say the edge-incused inscriptions could rub off over time. Conservatives expressed concern that moving the motto from the face of the coin was the first step to removing it altogether from the currency.
Those concerns coupled with public outcry led Brownback to introduce legislation to reinstate the motto back to a more visible location on the coin.
"Since the colonial beginnings of the United States, citizens of this nation have officially acknowledged their dependence on God," said Brownback earlier this month. "It is important that our national motto, 'In God We Trust,' is prominently displayed on all of our currency. We should not relegate our heritage to the side."
The four-word motto was commissioned back in the Civil War era by Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase upon the urging of the American public, including a church minister, to recognize the Deity on United States coins, according to the U.S. Treasury Department's website.
In a letter, Chase instructed the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia to prepare a motto, stating, "No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins."
“In God We Trust” began appearing on coins in 1864. Congress passed a law in 1955 requiring all U.S. currency to carry "In God We Trust" and approved the phrase as the national motto in 1956.
Earlier this month, an appeals court heard arguments challenging the motto's inclusion on U.S. currency. The lawsuit, which was filed by self-proclaimed atheist Michael Newdow in 2005, has not been decided yet.
The recently approved bill also creates six new quarters honoring six districts or territories in the United States and will be released in 2009 in the following order: the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
RSS
Comments
kaishinden79--So sorry to hear that you have experienced hurt as the hands of some called pastors. I pray that you might find some who will share the love and grace of God with you in a manner you can experience as real. I have experienced my own share of hurt from one calling himself God's servant, but whose actions proved otherwise. May you find redemption from that pain at the hands of others more faithful to the cause and character of Christ.
kaishinden79, not only are you judging ALL pastors because of what ONE pastor did, your statements are also judgmental to the extreme. You truly need to release that bitterness and unforgiveness to God so you can be free of it, free to love and enjoy life again.
forgot that pastors are the ones who are judgemental bec. they do not work, their thinking, knowledge & understanding is narrow minded. they do not deal with the reality, bec. they caged in the church blinded by their own self-righteousness & stuck with religion! they could not give you PRACTICAL answerS to life's struggles. their mentality is sin & grace & tithe! that is how narrow their mind is! that is why when you ask them about questions regarding reality, they are stupid, ignorant, & their teachings are immature & childish!
because they are the ones who JUDGED ME FIRST & my life got messed (f**^%d) up bec. a pastor told me I am sin not a person. I lost plenty of opportunities, blessings even women are turned off bec. I lack self confidence. if self confidence is a sin, then how can you do your job. how can you support your family. yet the same pastor who told me that, he & his brother is driving luxury cars & have a house. is that denying your'self'? they use the same world system that they condemn. and what do you care... so to me pastors are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites bec. they could not practice that commandement DENY YOURSELF, carry your cross. to them it is a verse so they can use it to cast as a stone but not practice it!
This fact induced Washington to say, "I am sure that there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during the Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them. He must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations."
Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States by B. F. Morris - 1864.
Thank God they are putting the motto back on. Currency is the last vestige of hope we have in honoring our nations history and beliefs that our country was founded on.
kaishinden79, why so judgmental?
they are all the same to me!
Actually, speaking about our motto on our coinage...
Yes, it SHOULD be there. I am glad to see it coming. And we all would be better off if we went back to a gold and silver standard for money instead of these "Federal Reserve Notes" which the Government keeps using to devalue (read "steal from") the American People. Long live the Krougerran and the Eagle!
kaishinden79, yes, those 'pastors' exist. The Bible says they are false shepherds, and they hurt the sheep. God knows who they are, and He will judge them. It's just that many times people tend to forget there really are faithful pastors and evangelists, true shepherds, who do not love money but love the Lord and His people and are laying down their lives for them. With so much negative attention given to pastors and evangelists who are not genuine, I do think it important to remember those who are. :-)
to maranatha - what about these pastor who commit religious injustices. they would tell you to obey, 'deny' yourself, run another mile for your brethren, do not complain, be patient, be contented, do not worry for it is a sin, & this never ending list of works, use the tactic of fear, shame, blame, & guilt so you would obey
yet they themselves are the ones who are not practicing what they preach.
They are the 'MESSENGERS OF GOD & their teachings have caused many to stumble bec. they did not preserve knowledge' but shove religion down your throat so they can look good for jesus!
they should set the examples of whatever they preach not break them. then they will accuse you that it is your fault why you are not blessed when their teachings are immature & childish always pointing to sin. they would condemn that you 'are leaning onto your own understanding, yet they are using the very world system they are condemning. they are just exploiting & perverting the verses in the bible, god for profit, cherry picking the ones that will suit them. yet they do not 'deny' themselves which is a biblical verse that they do not obey!
christ was angry at the pharisees & the experts in the law for the hypocrisy, injustice & arrogance!
by the way, the mess that this nation is going through is bec. of 'arrogant men, who think they are above the law, who are lovers of money which is the root of all evil & sadly, evangelicals & fundamentals are supporting & defending the very same men who are destroying or destroyed this nation.
wilderness, thank you for posting that quote. Judge Rehnquist was quite a man, and I thank God for his influence in our nation. We need many more men just like him. :-)
imho, do you have five-dollar, ten-dollar, twenty-dollar, etc, coins, too? Or just one- and two-dollar coins? If so, that would indeed be terribly cumbersome.
United States Supreme Court 1985, in the case of Wallace v. Jafree, 472 U.S., 38, 99, Associate Justice William Rehnquist rendered the court’s decision:
It is impossible to build sound constitutional doctrine upon a mistaken understanding of Constitutional history…The establishment clause had been expressly freighted with Jefferson’s misleading metaphor for nearly forty years…
There is simply no historical foundation for the proposition that the framers intended to build a wall of separation [between church and state]…The recent court decisions are in no way based on either the language or intent of the framers.
* America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations
A tongue-in-cheek aside to Bluegrasskid: I understand your point about $1 coin being cheaper than the dollar bill, but living in a country that uses one (and two) dollar coins, I have to say that it sure is more cumbersome! I miss being able to pull out a dollar bill or two. It's a nuisance digging through lots of change to find a dollar. One's wallet gets really heavy with those pesky coins, and they add up quickly when paying cash for items! And look out if you drop your wallet! You can lose a very large sum of money in coins in a few seconds! Putting the coins in your pockets poses a whole other host of problems - weight, noise and general falling about into couch cushions, etc. Long live the dollar bill! ;)