A federal appeals court ruled this week that Ohio’s state motto – "with God, all things are possible" – is a government endorsement of religion and, therefore, a violation of the Constitution.

Thursday, April 27, 2000

A federal appeals court ruled this week that Ohio’s state motto – "with God, all things are possible" – is a government endorsement of religion and, therefore, a violation of the Constitution.

The challenge of the motto came, of course, from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU and the plaintiff it represents, the Rev. Matthew Peterson, a Presbyterian minister in suburban Cleveland, objected to Ohio’s use of the motto and challenged all of Ohio’s official uses of the motto. It has appeared for years on the Ohio secretary of state’s stationery, on some state reports and on Ohio tax returns.

It seems rather ridiculous that with all the real problems that this country is facing, and on the heels of the recent shootings at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., that anyone would waste time on such a seemingly insignificant lawsuit.

The provisions in the Constitution were meant to protect citizens from persecution by the government for their religious beliefs. The idea, of course, was to avoid one, state-supported religion to the exclusion of other faiths.

There is nothing wrong with making sure individual citizens’ rights to believe as they wish are protected. But, it is also wrong, too, to reject a phrase that threatens no religion and only endorses faith, not necessarily the exercise of that faith.

The reality is, most Americans are Christians and try to live their lives with the sentiment of the state motto in mind. No matter what they call their God, they put their trust in faith.

Sometimes it seems that the only group no one seems to want to protect anymore is Christians.

In today’s rather self-centered society, there seems to be little harm in reminding people that there is a greater good, a deeper meaning and a moral code by which we should all try to live our lives.

There will probably be a lot of money spent during the next few months arguing about the state motto. Perhaps the ACLU’s efforts would be better spent trying to do something about the deterioration of the nation’s families.