INDEPENDENCE DAY

Washington, D.C.: Remembering our Christian Heritage

By David Brody
Congressional Correspondent

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - Our nation has a very rich and substantial Judeo-Christian heritage. Our founding fathers believed the Bible to be the word of God. As we remember our nation's history, we want to give you an idea of just how much of our Christian heritage is on display in Washington D.C., our nation's Capitol.

Washington D.C. is a city of power and influence, but it is also a city sparkling with the Christian heritage of this nation. Groups like the ACLU want the name of God and government to be separate but that will be pretty difficult here in our nation's capitol.

As a matter of fact, right at 17th and Constitution Avenue is a pretty good place to start. Literally, within a few minutes walk, you bump into so many references to God that the ACLU very well might have a fit.

Carrie Devorah is an investigative photojournalist behind a project called "God in the Temples of Government." She has been searching Washington for signs of a godly heritage, and boy, has she found some. She led us to the prophet Daniel, literally.

He is actually tucked behind some bushes on the property of the Organization of American States building, which is partly funded by Congress." Many employees there did not even know about the statue.

Devorah said, "None of them had a clue where he was, and I don't think anybody knows the condition he's in. He's made from concrete and as you can see he's falling apart, but I have faith in Daniel."

Her tour was not finished. Just down the block, there is an inscription at The Daughters of the American Revolution building. It says, "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair the event. The event is in the hands of God." There is also Proverbs 22:28 quoted for everyone to see. Maybe it is a message for the ACLU: "Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set."

When we walked by The Department of the Interior, it looked like one of your run-of-the-mill government buildings. But Carrie revealed to us that, behind one of the corner walls, is a time capsule and inside is, among other things, a Bible. It was put there by archaeologists years ago.

Then Devorah brought us to the statue of General Jose Artigas in the middle of this busy intersection on Constitution Avenue, right on federal government property. As our camera peered in, we noticed a cross on his boot. That made Devorah wonder.

She said, "All it takes is one person to walk by and say I don't believe in God, I don't believe in religion, and every time I look at that, it may be just be a decoration on a boot, but I see it as being a cross and I want it taken off."

Then she took a walk over to the Korean Veterans Memorial. Talk about Judeo-Christian Heritage. She found a cross and the Star of David, right there on the Korean Wall!

Devorah said, "It's become almost like being a kid in a candy shop, because there's so much to find."

David Barton, president of the Christian heritage group, Wallbuilders, says that is so true. Take the U.S. Capitol, for instance.

Barton said, "Just walk into the Rotunda. In the Rotunda, four paintings hang on the wall. You have two prayer meetings, a Bible study and a baptism. That's just walking into the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol."

Besides the Capitol, you will find references to God at the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Archives, Senate and House office buildings, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Library of Congress.

As we walked into the main reading room of the Library of Congress, there is a bronze statue of Moses holding The Ten Commandments. On the ceiling, a painting called "Judea" shows a young Israeli woman raising her hands in prayer to God. And there are also quotes on the wall like this: "The heavens declare the glory of God." And down the hallway in the main lobby, two Bibles are on display.

In the National Archives, as our camera panned down from the majestic rotunda, we found a bronze medallion on the floor and right at the top, this: The Ten Commandments, front and center.

At the Jefferson Memorial, God's name is mentioned numerous times, including the famous quote, 'God who gave us life, gave us liberty."

At the Lincoln Memorial, words like "Nation under God," "Bible" and "prayer" are everywhere.

In the Senate and House office buildings, there is a plaque that says "In God we trust."

At the Washington Monument, our CBN cameras managed to get inside the dark stairway. We found almost 200 carved plaques donated by the states. Many of them show scripture verses from the Bible, and others have sayings like "holiness to the Lord." On the outside aluminum tip, there is a Latin phrase inscribed that says 'Laus Deo,' which means 'Praise be to God.' They actually have a replica of the tip inside. But the 'Praise Be to God' phrase is not visible. It is actually against the wall, so it is hard to see.

At the U.S. Supreme Court, The Ten Commandments are located in a few different places, including above the judge's courtroom bench. Yet even with all these references to God in our federal buildings, there are some judges out there who say God and government just do not go together.

Barton said, "You have judges that say we don't believe that and we don't like that religion in politics, so we're going to stop this. And that's what we have, and that's why nearly every decision we have [from] the court will break down between whether the constitution really means something, or whether they'll rewrite it according to [their] will."

And so you see scenes like The Ten Commandments rolled away in Alabama. And that is just the beginning. But the reality is, God's name is cemented in stone, and that is something that cannot be disregarded.

Devorah commented, "I think it's being disregarded because it's politically incorrect, and I tease people about the 'pc' (politically correct). I have the other 'pc,' which is 'pictorially correct.'"

Sometimes you just cannot argue with the evidence. So the ACLU and other groups may try to remove God from the public square, but what they cannot remove is the undeniable fact that our nation was born on the principles of Almighty God, and the pictures are there to prove it.

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