Radical atheists can’t stand to see or hear any mention of God in the public sphere.
The reaction is almost visceral, as if there’s some hidden guilt or shame at rejecting God deep inside their souls that’s suppressed at all costs. Any reminders of God’s presence must be removed from their sight.
Well, a new law just passed in Kentucky which puts God back in the public sphere in a big way.
And it’s guaranteed to trigger atheists everywhere on a whole new level.
As reported by the AP, “The Republican-dominated chamber approved House Bill 46 on Wednesday by a vote of 72-25. It would require public schools to display the national motto in a prominent location beginning with the 2019-’20 school year.”
And the national motto is of course, “In God We Trust.”
The next step for the bill is to head to the Republican-controlled state Senate and then to the Republican governor, Matt Bevin’s desk for his signature.
At that point, triggered atheists will breathlessly demand lawsuits be filed to keep the law from going into effect.
They will be desperate to keep any mention of God, even in our national motto, out of the public sphere, particularly the public schools.
The atheists know the influence schools have on our kids and cannot stand the thought of any child coming to faith in Christ.
While radical atheist organizations like the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion Foundation are likely to sue, the current case law precedent doesn’t give them much of a leg to stand on.
Just last year, a federal court ruled that having “In God We Trust” on our nation’s currency was not, in fact, a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
According to reporting by Reuters, the Circuit Court Judge Raymond Gruender said “the Constitution lets the government celebrate ‘our tradition of religious freedom,’ and that putting the motto on currency ‘comports with early understandings of the Establishment Clause’ without compelling religious observance.”
Gruender’s ruling follows previous precedent set by the Supreme Court.
According to Reason.com’s Jacob Sullum, “Under the test the Court described in the 1971 case Lemon v. Kurtzman, a government-sponsored display violates the Establishment Clause if it lacks a secular purpose, if its ‘principal or primary effect’ is to advance or inhibit religion, or if it fosters ‘an excessive government entanglement with religion,’” he writes.
The fact that the display is our national motto has been ruled enough of a secular purpose to not violate the Establishment Clause.
But of course, tireless in their question to purge God from public and their own conscience, atheists and their lawyers will no doubt be ready to litigate as if motivated by a force not their own.
There’s an old saying, “If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps is the one that got hit.”
Those triggered the most by being reminded of their rejection of God are often those who are experiencing the deepest conviction for that rejection.
There are a few ways to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction when we feel that pang deep in our souls, knowing we’re doing wrong.
We can push it away, ignore it, and even lash out at those who remind us of it. This is sadly how many radical atheists react to hearing about God.
Or we can get on our knees and come to God, repent of our sin, and accept his grace and forgiveness. But of course, that requires us to admit we’re wrong in the first place.
Please pray to God to soften the hearts of the atheists who are being triggered by seeing our nation’s motto prominently displayed in Kentucky’s public schools.
Pray for their redemption and salvation, that they will admit their sin in rejecting God and accept his free gift of grace and forgiveness and be welcomed with joy into the body of Christ!
