Mark Twain's opinion of "In God We Trust" on coins

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Another thing that comes to mind (and our cousins across the pond will kindly correct me if I am incorrect), Tony Blair had to wait until he was no longer Prime Minister to change to Catholic, because he was not allowed to be while he held government office...so much for religious freedom in GB.

 

It was more political considerations rather than legal ones. He chose to officially remain Anglican to avoid repercussions to his party. He openly attended Catholic Mass with his wife while in office.

 

"In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash"...Jean Shepherd (1966)

 

Excellent statement. The founding fathers wished to establish a 'haven' where all could worship freely and without conspicuous oversight. Whether or not you wish to exercise that right is up to ones self.......and ones self alone........

 

That's quite the leap of logic. "Divine providence" does in no way refer to the Christian god. You're arguing semantics.

How would you like it if the motto read "In Allah We Trust"

 

It says NO LAW. Besides, if you're right then I'm guessing you have no problem with the government forcing you to pray to Allah during your church services. After all, you have no freedom from religion...

You can fight it all you want but it's coming. This country has become increasingly secularized and will only continue to be even more so in the future. The motto will go, the question is not if but when.

 

The founders of the United States had various religious beliefs (some more than others). At the time the US Constitution was written, many European coins had legends on them which were various references to "God". Unlike Europe, America's founders specifically chose NOT to put any reference to any deity on the money.

"In God We Trust" is definitely an establishment of religion. It excludes religions which involve no god, or more than one god ("gods").

And the statement is inherently false. Exactly who does the "We" refer to ? It implies everyone. Most people in the United States believe and trust in "God". Some do not. So that makes it a false statement.

Given Mark Twain's writings, I believe that it is somewhat of an insult to him to place the motto so prominently next to his portrait.

Here are some of my favorite Mark Twain quotes concerning religion:

"The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also."

"Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion--several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven....The higher animals have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left out in the Hereafter. I wonder why? It seems questionable taste."

"I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's."

"In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing."

"Man is kind enough when he is not excited by religion."

"Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes, and wishes he was certain."

"A religion that comes of thought, and study, and deliberate conviction, sticks best. The revivalized convert who is scared in the direction of heaven because he sees hell yawn suddenly behind him, not only regains confidence when his scare is over, but is ashamed of himself for being scared, and often becomes more hopelessly and malignantly wicked than he was before."

 

Just about as much as in Zeus We Trust" or "In Venus We Trust" or Maybe "In Diana We Trust"

You see, the generic word "god" can mean anything or any god and yet no point to once specific god.

As for "divine providence"? That's only applicable to the lucky bastage that's born into a royal family....................

The official "Church of England" was at the Kings behest which is where the Protestant Religion came from. The King wanted a divorce, the Catholic Church said "No Way Jose" so Jose, who just happened to rule the country, said "We don't need no stinkin' Catholic Church", "We'll be our own Church"! Ta Da! And so it was written!

As for "In God We Trust" being an establishment of religion? Which Religion? The one practiced by the Egyptians? Romans? Greeks? Etruscans?

I believe that the phase simply means that Trust is put into some divine authority regardless of what you call it. Something greater than mankind..............

 

And so it goes, yet one more time, mankind decides to kill himself off in the name of some deity who will look after his soul in "the other world".

Sheesh.......

 

Guess that is due to the time when the US constitution was written. In those days pretty much everybody had some kind of religious belief ...

Christian

 

Some of the founding fathers didn't have a "traditional" approach to religious belief though, some such as Jefferson and Franklin were deists in that they believed in God but not really all the church and worship procedures they believed were created by man.

 

This is the same belief that I have always held. This country was founded on one main principle and that principle has held. Freedom. Our forefathers believed that principle right was given by a power greater than mankind itself.

 

Isn't it odd that a country which values religious freedom so strongly forces you to acknowledge the authority of God in its' coinage? And if that was so important, why did it take 70 years to appear on said coinage, and another 90 years afterward to become law?

 

No odder than for a Country founded on Freedom of Religion to ostracize those that don't believe "the way they do".

 

BE AWARE buyers from the us mint: modern coin mart has ths goin graded by NGC for much less than the mint price. how can this be? and what a rip that it can occur. i won't buy releases from the mint anymore until i check other sites.

 

@jonny oneal, where are you seeing this? I visited both their website and their eBay store and I didn't see the Mark Twain commems listed.