Avowed atheist Michael Newdow, infamous for his attacks against references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto, now wants to remove all religious references from Barack Obama's inauguration.
Newdow, who in past legal battles has tried to strip the United States currency of a reference to God and has sued to alter the pledge of allegiance in schools, now wants to alter history. Newdow wants the president-elect barred from a traditional reference to God in the oath of office -- "so help me God" -- because those words are not in the oath set out in the Constitution. He also wants two prayers by well-known Christian figures cancelled. Revs. Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery are scheduled to deliver inaugural prayers on January 20. "I hope people understand this is not an anti-God issue -- this is a pro-equality issue," Newdow tells Associated Press. "And it's not treating people equal when the government takes one side in a religious debate. To have chaplains come and say that God exists when there are people who think quite strongly that's not true is just as wrong as to have chaplains come in and say that Jesus is Lord." Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia.com suggests that Newdow find other venues to spread his hatred of God. "Newdow obviously believes in God so much that he hates God," says the Christian activist. "He really needs to find a different racket and stop wrecking America's heritage." Indeed, the phrase "so help me God" does not appear in the presidential oath as outlined in the Constitution. But the nation's first president, George Washington, used those words when he first took the oath -- and it has been a tradition since. According to Thomasson, Newdow is demonstrating more than just intolerance in this latest legal attack. "Talk about revisionist history," he exclaims. "Talk about an attack on our very Constitution [which] talks about the free exercise of religion being guaranteed." Thomasson says the atheist Newdow has no business trying to dictate what a president-elect does or does not say in the oath of office. Brad Dacus of Pacific Justice Institute agrees, saying it is a matter of the president-elect's constitutional rights, not Newdow's. "The same way a student does not have to leave their faith at home when they go to school, similarly those elected to office and those elected president of the United States do not have to leave their Christian faith at home either," says the Christian attorney. "Just because the Constitution doesn't reference God as a part of the oath does not prevent the president from referencing God in that oath." AP notes that Newdow sued to remove religion from the 2001 and 2005 inaugurations but lost both cases. This time, however, he is joining 17 other plaintiffs, including atheist and humanist organizations.
If you believe OneNewsNow.com is an important source for Christian news, please consider a small tax-deductible gift for this service.
