October 16, 2003
Atheism
Whenever Bishop Jim Pike was confronted by a self-confessed atheist, he would ask, “Tell me about the God you don’t believe in.” The ensuing conversation would inevitably ring changes on a lot of theology that hadn’t much ever surfaced before.
Theology has a way of surfacing at the most unexpected, even inopportune times. In spite of the fact that God is such a heavy player in the founding documents of our nation and in the building of so much of its history, there comes along the inevitable atheist who wants to make it otherwise by taking advantage of the very opportunities the American political experiment made possible in the first place.
Now, somebody wants to excise the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. The argument is that reciting it that way is offensive to people who don’t believe that God exists. Nobody seems ever to ask Pike’s question or one like it, “Tell me about the God whom you don’t believe exists.” Perhaps they couldn’t handle the answer so well as Pike even if they got one.
Maybe the Supremes, who’ve just now agreed to consider the Pledge and its rather recently (1954) included phrase, will ask, but I doubt it. On the other hand, they might just avoid “God” altogether, and concentrate on the preposition “under.” That way, they could give us a grammar lesson and keep their distance from the onerous task of defining “God” and then watching things really hit the fan.
Now that Werner Heisenberg’s left us so uncertain as a matter of principle, “up” and “down” don’t mean much anymore. So even to suggest “over God,” which may be closer to the complaining person’s theology, still wouldn’t help much. As good theologizing takes into account good cosmology, why not turn to another preposition perhaps more consistent with quantum reality? What about “with”?
“One nation, with God… ” would preserve the aura of rugged individualism and partnership so indigenous to the American character. But “with” in quantum mechanics also implies “without,” depending on how one looks at it. So maybe the better solution might be “one nation, with or without God…”, thus preserving not only our character, but reaffirming and even expanding the meaning of “liberty and justice for all.”