Since a child I can remember being intrigued by the motto “In God we Trust” printed on dollar bills and engraved on coins. What God do we trust in? Is the God we trust in Jesus? Why do we trust in him? These were just a few questions that came to my mind. With all the greed and capitalistic corruption that exist in society, how could men war over money that reminds us “In God we Trust”.
I was under the assumption that this statement was symbolic of the authority God had within the system of commerce. Surely if God has no place in business, we would not proclaim our trust for him on the very currency we spend. I propose that it is ethically sound for the motto “In God We Trust” to be printed on our currency in the United States.
Have we forgotten the scriptures? The book of Ecclesiastes 10:19 states, “…? But money answereth all things.”? The scriptures have always expressed provision for the issues of man in this natural world. So is it far-fetched to believe that the very fabric of business is woven into the foundations of Judeo-Christian belief? For those that would say “no”, I then ask; why has this affirmation “Of God we Trust” still printed on our currency in the United States?
Obviously our founding fathers had a higher moral premise in mind when this was decided on. Taking these factors into consideration, has lead me to investigate the validity and value of this statement. Does the motto, “In God we Trust” prove to be an ethical fallacy as it relates to principals of business? To that question I say “no”. I will examine these question in my argumentative essay.
The inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST” was placed on United States coins largely
Because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. Ci...
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...ferson, T. (1776, July 4). The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription. Retrieved from The Characters of Freedom : http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html
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Wing, N. (2013, March 15). 'In God We Trust' Lawsuit: Freedom From Religion Foundation Sues To Remove Phrase From Currency. Retrieved from Huff Post Politics : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/13/in-god-we-trust-lawsuit_n_2867227.html
In the 2008 the United States Census Bureau, Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population, The Christian faith proved to be the more dominating religion out of all religions. So it would seem the words “Under God” would be beneficial for the majority, the Pledge of Allegiance allures and supports the loyalty of the majority of citizens. The nonbelievers of religion have had the right to not recite the pledge since 1943 but have been asked to quietly stand while the believers recite the pledge in its entirety. Even though leaving out “Under God” is not a difficult task we can clearly see a division has now developed, opposite of bringing the people together. Another example that shows the pledge allures and supports a loyalty to the majority of citizens, the acceptance and encouragement to keep ...
Richard’s purpose is to remind Christians about the importance of loving neighbor and to teach how Christians can help the poor with their hearts and minds. He relates an important commandment in the Bible, “Love your neighbor,” with the economics by using the concept of “consequence of action.” He promotes the Christians to live a life which God is expecting for them to live by learning about the economics. He wants the Christians to stop justifying ourselves that we love each other when we are not, and he wants us to truly understand God’s intention of putting “love your neighbor” as one of the important commandments. As we study economics, it is important to understand that we should not focus on worldly issues and that we should not forget about God’s commandments. Moreover, this article teaches the Christians that we don’t need to be afraid to study economics because we can use the economics to obey God’s
Money makes exchange much easier, because people can trade their goods for money and use the money to buy other things. In the Bible money was silver or gold, a precious metal, and America was on a gold standard throughout most of her history. In 1933 we shifted to a silver standard and in 1968 our silver certificates were replaced with Federal Reserve Notes (Remy, 2008). Today’s paper money is not backed by anything except the government’s promise that it is good. Money with no precious metal backing allows the central government to spend more than it collects in taxes, because the Federal Reserve Board can print new money, thus increasing the money supply, anytime there is a need. This is what causes inflation and is one way that the Federal Reserve Board has overstepped Biblical principles in economic policy. Greg Anthony writes that “one of the Biblical signs of a nation backsliding is the condition of its currency and the degree of honesty in its weights and measures” (Anthony, 1988, p. 28). When the money supply is increased, either through printing more money or credit-expansion, the purchasing power of the dollar falls, and businesses must increase the prices they charge to keep up with their own higher costs. Inflation encourages debt, deceives people about pay increases and future wealth accumulations, is a hidden theft tax, and decreases capital available for
...s evasive when it came to monetary exchange and its effects. Money tends to make the reasonable, unreasonable at times. We see evidence of this everyday as people are corrupted by money.
In the second chapter of his book, Pope Francis discusses the importance of rejecting the new idolatry of money, which he feels is taking over our society and us as a whole. One point that he made in this section of his book that was interesting to me was when he said, “One cause of this situation is found in our relationship w...
It is as true today as it was in the time of its authorship in the warning that mankind must not choose to place mistrust in wealth. Just as in biblical times all we have to do is observe daily life and the choices mankind makes in the misplacing of trust in wealth as it is permeates our surroundings and continues to perpetuate its continued deception as its consequences continue to unfold in the effects on this world.
As James Madison, the fourth President of the United States said, “The religion of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man, and it is right of every man to exercise it as they may dictate” (Haynes, C...
...-21) And even further on, Paul asserts our position relative to government as well when he says that we should submit to authority because the authority is there by God’s power and design (Romans 13:1-7).
The Pledge of Allegiance was introduced, “Under God” in 1954 during the McCarthy hysteria. Brooke further says that the Treaty of Tripoli of 1797 is very clear that the US nation was not founded under the Christian religion. Timothy Pickering, the Secretary Of State’s endorsed this treaty as well as President John Adams. When it was sent to the senate for ratification, it received a unanimous vote, which is among the few documents passed unanimously in the American senate. In fact, the document did not attract any debate or dissent.... ...
The Bible does not say that money is bad. However, what it does say is
The stronger will do anything in their power to make a profit, leaving the weak with nothing. Kuyper says, “…the more powerful exploited the weaker by means of a weapon against which there was no defense” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 26). Additionally, he states that “…the idolization of money killed the nobility in the human heart” (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 31). Kuyper talks about how Jesus felt bad for the rich and sided with the poor (Kuyper, Abraham, and James W. Skillen 32). Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Earthly materials mean nothing because the real treasure awaits in
Noll, Mark. “The English Reformation and the Puritans” A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. 1992. 30-53 Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992.
Holy Bible: the New King James Version, Containing the Old and New Testaments.Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Bibles, 1982. Print.
Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1995. Print. (BS195 .C66 1995)
to trust what you cannot trace. It leads you to rely on the character of God.” When peace