Does God Still Belong On Our Money?

By on November 16, 2011 in News 76

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An opinion piece by Skeptic Magazine’s Michael Shermer in the LA Times has stirred up lots of strong opinions amongst Angelenos. What do disinfonauts think?

The House voted 396-9 this week to reaffirm as the national motto the phrase “In God We Trust” and encouraged its pronouncement on public buildings and continued printing on the coin of the realm. The motto was made official in 1956 during the height of Cold War hysteria over godless communism and — in the words of Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper in “Dr. Strangelove” — “Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.”

As risible a reason as this was for knocking out a few bricks in the wall separating state and church, it was at least understandable in the context of the times. But today, what is the point of having this motto? There are no communist threats, and belief in God or a universal spirit among Americans is still holding strong at about 90%, according to a 2011 Gallup Poll. The answer is in the wording of the resolution voted on: “Whereas if religion and morality are taken out of the marketplace of ideas, the very freedom on which the United States was founded cannot be secured.”

What is troubling — and should trouble any enlightened citizen of a modern nation such as ours — is the implication that in this age of science and technology, computers and cyberspace, and liberal democracies securing rights and freedoms for oppressed peoples all over the globe, that anyone could still hold to the belief that religion has a monopoly on morality and that the foundation of trust is based on engraving four words on brick and paper.

If you think that God is watching over the U.S., please ask yourself why he glanced away during 9/11 or why he chose to abandon the good folks of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and why he continues to allow earthquakes and cancers to strike down even blameless children…

[continues in the LA Times]

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  • herzmeister

    That’s why the motto of the currency of the future, Bitcoin, is “In cryptography we trust.”

  • Anonymous

    Separating religion from state was one of the founding pillars of the US… I wonder why it wasn’t kept that way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state

  • Frank W

    In Money We Trust.
    Not.

  • Mamagriff50

    What about ” seperation of church and state”?      I never could stand people who “Do as I say, Not as I do”.         It should be removed.

  • Anonymous

    As long as Americans continue to worship money ie their GOD why should “In God We Trust” be on. The rest of the world certainly appreciates the irony but apparently it goes right over the heads of the majority of Americans.

  • Andrew

    I suspect Jesus would think putting God on money is blasphemous.  Unlike the peaceful OWS protests, his rebellion against the moneychangers was violent.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DZM2Z2A6N3U6EZSGPO6QPRAM2Q Alan

    Short answer: no.

  • http://twitter.com/JasonWilczak Jason Wilczak

    To the Point: No.

    I have several blogs related to this exact same business with God and church and humanity, check it out and comment.

    http://temporalrelativity.blogspot.com

  • http://twitter.com/JasonWilczak Jason Wilczak

    To the Point: No.

    I have several blogs related to this exact same business with God and church and humanity, check it out and comment.

    http://temporalrelativity.blogspot.com

  • DeepCough

    “In God We Trust [that we are solvent.]“

  • ChristianHypocrite

    Americans should put Satan on their money instead, to be honest.

  • Anonymous

    Yeah. They don’t like it when you point these things out though. It’s “unamerican.” Or so I’ve been told repeatedly when I point out that if they’re right about there being a Christian God and Jesus, he’s going to be pretty pissed at them for the way they willfully ignore everything he commanded.

  • Voidthought

    Why do we need money anymore? If we continue down the same path forever with the same social structures and the same mentality in general what will become of us?? We need a new system FREE FROM MONEY!

  • Anonymous

    Because religion is an easy shortcut to control of the masses.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DYQW3Z4JSMO5IWXOBWORJPC3PM Jack

    This website and the people posting only goes to show that there are large amounts of Godless people with dark souls roaming the planet who are paranoid and needs some serious medication.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DYQW3Z4JSMO5IWXOBWORJPC3PM Jack

    How has the OWS been peaceful? Are you that out of touch? Well, in touch to being stupid.

  • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

    Most medication for that kinda thing just serves the primary purpose shriveling the mind in a manner resembling psychological death. You, may find it perfectly fine, but I consider it no different from murder.

  • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

    To be free from money, you have to figure out how to hold back the abusers who can’t quite understand what it means.

  • Lifobryan

    Indeed – I’ve always felt that “In God We Trust” on the dollar is entirely self-referential.
    In fact, take every religious statement made by a politician, and replace the word “God” with “Money” and all becomes clear:”Money Bless America”"Our Freedom is Money-given”"Money told me to go get the terrorists, and by Money, I’m gonna do it.”etc.See? It all make perfect cents …

  • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

    The founding fathers set out to prevent 3 groups of the old days from entering the land

    The Clergy (Tea Partiers)
    The Bureaucrat (The current institution)
    The Mob (The 99%ers)

    I just hope the intelligent people in between these newly regenerated institutions can figure out how to survive

  • Ralph

    ^^ Try explaining this to people! They won’t listen…

  • Ralph

    ^^ Try explaining this to people! They won’t listen…

  • Jill

    Medication? Ya, that will solve everything. Just give me a happy pill, money pill, intelligence pill, moral pill, and everything is fine. In drugs we trust.

  • Randel

    I truly hate Michael Shermer, but this article is interesting. 
    I think of God as the mean guy with magnifying glass burning us ants as we struggle to survive. But……….. He loves you! 

  • All Hail Mon Eye!

    Seems to be a decided interest in completely severing in connection to God or Christ as the last shred of resistance to a secular new world order one one hand, and the expected evolution away from separation of church and state on the other.  When was this term first added to our Mon Eye (one eyed)  money anway I wonder?

  • Mr Willow

    Really!? Are you that out of touch?

    The only violence that occurred at any of the Occupy protests has been perpetrated by the “upholders of public safety”, otherwise known as the police. 

    Any fires, any broken windows, or graffiti caused by ‘protesters’ have either been determined to be agent provocateurs or Black Bloc anarchists (not to be confused with all the other varieties of anarchists present), and any and all attempts of violence on the part of Occupy movement has been stifled and halted by the Occupy movement itself. From the very beginning (or shortly afterward) they have, of their own volition, put in place self-policing mechanisms that have largely rooted out divisive messages such as racism, sexism, and violence. 

    There are plenty of videos showing examples (and explanations) of this.

  • Joseph James

    I think “In God We Trust” should be replaced by “You can not serve both God and Mammon. -Mathew 6:24″The real problem is that their is so little Christianity being practiced amidst a deluge of preaching. Capitalism is the antithesis of Charity, but wearing the label can make even the most selfish people look “nice.”

  • Anonymous

    1957. It was added as a refutation of “those godless commies.” It was a stupid reason then but it’s stupider to leave it on the money now.

  • Anonymous

    It’s called a walled and armed compound…

    ugh. You’ve put your finger right on it there too… do we have to go found another new nation somewhere else to get away from them again?

  • Mr Willow

    No, not really. Not unless you conceptualise ‘God’ as an ephemeral intelligence that is the Motion of the Universe, but isn’t in the business of interfering in the lives of man, but then, you don’t ‘trust’ in that form of God. You let it do its thing, and that is all. 

    It should probably be replaced with something to the effect of ‘Liberty and Justice’ or ‘Peace and Equality’—oh, or maybe ‘Good Will’, but those would be equally as hypocritical, considering the current state of affairs.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5M4L5B7FXCQXLTDYCIQ4GMYNTI Potter

    Moloch?

  • Mr Willow

    I recall a certain article concerning ‘Libertarian Islands’ posted here a couple months ago.

    http://disinfo.com/2011/08/internet-billionaire-wants-to-create-libertarian-islands/

    Perhaps we could all oblige them, and watch them kill each other.

  • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

    Hah well I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but an armed combound would only help with physical survival… I’m hoping more for mental survival, without that, its just another armed compound among possibly thousands…

  • Jarel
  • Thelastone

    No but I have some alternatives:

    In Madoff we Trust
    In Dimon We Trust
    In Corporate we trust
    In Koch We Trust

  • Anonymous

    Money is just a stand-in for resources. Resources are zero-sum. If we abolished money, something else would become the medium of currency. Gold or chocolate or something rare that people consider valuable. As long as resources are zero-sum (you know, pretty much forever) there will have to be some way of apportioning them and our current system of money has a lot to recommend it over the older ways that were based only on what you could carry. The problem is not money itself. It’s the unfettered way that people are allowed to screw over everyone else to hoard it that’s the problem.

  • 5by5

    “Does God Still Belong On Our Money?”

    No. It/He/She never did.

  • H. Montgomery

    3 things:

    1. I think the expression of God is the compassion people show each other when bad things happen, not the absolution of bad things period.

    2. Because of (1), that’s why we cannot have that saying on our money. America has lost virtually all of its compassion. Unless you can afford to pay for compassion.

    3. The money should say, “This is our GOD,” because that’s what happened the second we drafted notes.

  • Grant Kilber

    The Venus Project

  • Elmyr23

    well said

  • Elmyr23

    happy, just, people don’t need to show up once a week and be told how awesome they are.

  • Elmyr23

    money is american faith so…. yes. we need to level the playing field.

    So does the c.i.a. or the n.s.a. monitor this. I know the c.d.c. watches when i say flu,pork, marta

  • Anonymous

    The Emperor is the only true God, and the only one we need. These heathens with their pacifist deviant will suffer the fate that they always have, to be eaten by the Lions among us. Far too long have we been shackled to such a bootlick, to be denied our true purpose – to rule all creation, in His name, and for His glory.

    The Emperor is watching, The Emperor knows.

  • Anonymous

    Funny joke.

  • Anonymous

    lololololololol

  • Big T

    Except for all the raping and sexual assualts that have been going on…I’m sure they were raping in the name of freedom though. 

  • Big T

    Every Church I have gone to spends an hour telling the whole congregation how sinful they are, I don’t follow your statement.

  • Big T

    As a Christian I agree, take it off.  We are hardly a Christian nation anymore other than in polls anyway,  definitely not by actions.  Putting God on the corrupt dollar is like tattooing it on the lower back of every hooker in the country.

  • ChristianHypocrite

    Congrats for being so in touch with corporate propaganda. 

    The self-congratulations for being a smart parrot will undoubtedly be arriving on your TV set shortly.

  • ChristianHypocrite

    What we need currently is MORE money.  More currencies, local currencies.

  • ChristianHypocrite

    What we need currently is MORE money.  More currencies, local currencies.

  • ChristianHypocrite

    Hopefully because this issue is a symbolic waste of time.  Honestly, WHO GIVES A FUCK, there are a billion more important matters.  The dollar is evil anyways, so might as well be honest and keep “GOD” on there, since the “God” that Americans bow down to is a sick sadistic fuck.

  • Andrew

    Care to back up your allegations?  How many rapes and sexual assaults have there been?

  • http://twitter.com/MiGaOh Michael G. O’Hair

    Our Money is our God.

  • ALL SEEING

    How about the all seeing eye, should that be on the money?  Can’t have god without the devil, right?

  • ALL SEEING

    Oh yea that Owl is on the money to, I almost forgot.

  • Jebus 3.0

    NO!

  • Jane

    Read the song “In God We Still Trust” and that is why we need to keep the meaningful phrase on our money…he is always watching over us and can see everything, good and bad!!

  • Anonymous

          I’d like to respond to you as a clinician.  I fully understand your sentiment and know that there are many flaws that exist within the modality of biomedical psychiatry.  Patient’s can be treated with the wrong medication or overmedicated and it is often an arduous process and delicate balancing act to find the proper drug regimen.  Yes, psychiatric medications can be abused by those that wish to control.  They are far too often used as a form of chemical restraint particularly with the elderly and in prisons.  The possibility of psychiatric medicine being a form of social control is something that I am keenly aware of and constantly try to ameliorate by remaining devoted to therapeutic applications and assisting others in stabilizing their lives when in crisis. 
         As to your stating the primary purpose of said medications is to shrink the mind…I understand the notion but ask you to look at some MRI scans of common psychiatric disorders and see how areas of the brain have actually atrophied.  Medications can slow, halt or restore this process. 
         If you know someone who has, or you yourself have had a bad experience with psych meds or the psych establishment, I am truly sorry.  I know this is a common experience. I don’t take it at all lightly to be involved in medicating someone and altering their mind state.  There are risks, but calling it murder is a very strong sentiment and I know of a number of individuals who are alive today only because of the care they received.

  • Anonymous

    …better watch out for us dark souls roaming the night.

  • Big T
  • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

    I appreciate your honest answer. I do understand your perspective, and I do agree there can be some benefits to certain kinds of medications in this vein. However, I’ve seen a lot of different kinds of damage from the pharmaceutical industry, from someone being dosed with lithium before even puberty, to people becoming suicidal AFTER being prescribed MAOI’s.

    I’m sure you’re aware of the many problems in the industry from advertising direct to “consumer” (as if consumer is a viable term for psychoactive drugs… theres a cymbalta commercial on the tv behind me as i type this), to drug pushers influencing doctors to sell more drugs, to the treatment of side-effects with more drugs(with compounding side effects), to the marginalization of talk therapy in favor of a quick “fix”. Its all a nice way we socially ignore the actual cause of, and meaning of depression and other assorted mental problems

  • Voidthought

    I was simply droning rhetoric for the Venus Project. I enjoy Jacque Fresco’s ideas about a “resource-based economy” but it is simply too advanced for our narrow-minded culture, which means I don’t think we will ever see the concept manifest itself in our lifetime, for various reasons. If we could revamp our economic system to weed out social stratification and many other problems then we would still be in the same boat with maybe a better engine. The answer lies in teaching children absolutes and not interpretations, or we could just design a computer to do our thinking…

  • Mysophobe

    Let’s be honest here. If you really cared about anything other than discrediting this movement in any way possible, you wouldn’t be projecting the rape victims’ association with OWS onto the assailants and trying to paint an entire unorganized group as organized criminals. With the exception of the ABC new article, everything you linked to is emotional ranting based on conjecture and hyperbole with no specifics. So…how many rapes have actual serious OWS activists been arrested for?

  • Big T

    Let’s test this logic.  How many people involved in the protest have not been involved in something like this?  Unless you can give me an exact number I am right.  Indeed let us be honest, not everyone involved in the protest is peaceful, correct.

  • Big T

    Let’s test this logic.  How many people involved in the protest have not been involved in something like this?  Unless you can give me an exact number I am right.  Indeed let us be honest, not everyone involved in the protest is peaceful, correct.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Iam-Skycake/100001620503494 Iam Skycake

    The dollar has only declined in value and buying power since American put “In God We Trust” on the currency.  We should have put “In Gold We Trust”  We would be better off and more honest. 

    The people that say that want to be close to god more often want to get closer to gold. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Iam-Skycake/100001620503494 Iam Skycake

    Andrew – check out my facebook page – it’s filled with christians raping children. 

  • NarwhalNecropsy

    Let’s test your logic: You both would be wrong, so shut the fuck up.

  • NarwhalNecropsy

    Actually, that’s a good idea. Constantly reminds you of their intentions.

  • NarwhalNecropsy

    He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake…

  • Mysophobe

    It was not your original “raping for freedom” assertion, but yes, not everyone involved in any movement is peaceful. Not every human is peaceful. Should we abandon any organization that has a few bad apples? What organizations are you involved in that have bad apples? If OWS had a stated goal of violent revolution you might have a case, but they don’t. You accused OWS in general of rape and sexual assault. Prove it. Be specific.

  • Andrew

    How many Christians have never raped anyone?  Unless you can give me a specific number,  then they were raping for Jesus.

    Stupid, isn’t it?

  • Bob

    Not hard to see how left of center readers of this site are.

  • Jin Onikoroshi

    you say that like it’s a bad thing. personally i love it that way.

  • Cmfbear16

    agreed… as for all of this about christians raping children; if someone is a rapist, by definition they aren’t christians… 90% of americans may believe themselves to be christians, but their daily actions belies their belief. the christian path is narrow and difficult to follow in any period, but more so now. the financial preaching; “name it and claim it,” is indeed opossitional to the preachings of Jesus on charity…