First, let me ask you to remove all biases. If you are a Christian, don't look at this from a Christian perspective but rather look at this from a [b][i][u]legal[/u][/i][/b] perspective.
[i]NOTE: Remember that Christianity is not special, and there are roughly 3,000 religions just like it. Also remember that Christianity is not the oldest religion, there are about 8 religious texts older than the Hebrew Bible from which it stems.[/i] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion
"[i][b]Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion[/i][/b], or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." - First Amendment
The Pledge of Allegiance is technically a piece of legislation that was passed by Congress. You can read the U.S. Flag Code and its provisions here: http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30243.pdf
Now, here are the two most recent versions of the Pledge of Allegiance.
[u][b]1924 - 1954 Version[/b][/u]
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
[u][b]1954 - Present Version[/b][/u]
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation [u]under God[/u], indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Let's not kid ourselves here, the "God" with a capital [b]G[/b] is referring to the Abrahamic God which exists in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Mormonism. It is definitely violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and should not remain in the Pledge. How would you feel if it was [u]under Brahma[/u] or [u]under Zeus[/u] or [u]under Allah[/u] or [u]under Ra[/u] or [u]under Satan[/u]? Chances are, you would feel much different. Religion and government work best when they are [b]separate[/b].
[b]Edit #1:[/b] I understand the Pledge is voluntary, but that isn't the point. The point is that religion has intruded where it doesn't belong. You can't cherrypick the Constitution. And also, I have heard from multiple people that some teachers will make you say it.
[b]Edit #2:[/b] No, I am not offended. No, it really doesn't bother me. No, I really don't care that much. I just felt like bringing awareness to this topic, and see what bungie.net thought about it. This has nothing to do with Atheism vs. Christianity. This is not about my personal feelings or anybody else's. This is simply a matter of the Constitution.
[b]Edit #3:[/b] You either support the First Amendment or you don't. You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the First Amendment suit your own personal feelings.
[b]Final Edit:[/b] I can't believe how many people are whining and crying. Relax, this is just a bungie.net post. You can agree or disagree with it; that's why I made two options (three for the people who don't really care). Why so much butthurt?
[b]Super Final Edit:[/b] This post has made me realize that 70% of bungie.net is made up of whiny butthurt kids. I guess this doesn't really surprise me. Thank you to the other 30% of you who [b]respectfully[/b] agreed or disagreed with me.
[b]My Compromise:[/b] So, I've been thinking, and why don't we just edit the Flag Code to allow 30 seconds for anybody to silently say a prayer, after the pledge is recited? This way, everybody wins. The pledge doesn't endorse any specific religions, and religious people are still allowed to freely express their religion.
English
#Offtopic
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25 답변My view is that because it actually was founded on the basis of Christianity, then this nation is in fact under God.
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1 답변... I like that compromise. Although, I don't think it really matters if we keep it there or not. And I think it might generate a lot more butthurt if it was removed, than if it was kept.
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3 답변The United States was built upon Christianity. So yes, the "under God" part should stay in the pledge.
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3 답변where does it say that the god mentioned in the pledge of allegiance is THE god of Christianity? it simply says god, nothing more nothing less,and the concept of god is simply the supreme being, this means ANY and ALL the gods, and the intrepetation is left to the individual whose recites the pledge,
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I believe I've posted here before but I'll say it again... Honestly, it shouldn't be in the Pledge at all. It was only recently added in, anyway. But people will get butthurt if you remove it. And when Christians are butthurt, God help you, because they get really fu[i]c[/i]king annoying about it. I always just skipped the line when reciting the Pledge.
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7 답변This country was built on Religion. Actually, truth be told. The day that Religion is abolished from America, will be the same day Racism disappears. And all you have to do is look at the people on this forum to know that's never going away.
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Our nation guarantees freedom of religion, which means you can choose to believe - or not believe - whatever you want. Our nation has no official religion, and is banned from establishing one. The Constitution says there is to be no test of a person's religion to run for office. It's asinine that our official pledge refers very specifically to the god one of religion. Anyone who argues otherwise is lying about their reasoning. They just want Christianity to dominate.
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2 답변Here's an idea: if you want to say under God, say it. If you don't, then *gasp* don't day it.
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9 답변I am in law school right now (not trying to shove credentials down anyone's throat, just telling you where this is coming from). Many individuals misunderstand the establishment clause in the first amendment. Based on its original intent, it was to prevent the government from promoting or establishing a [u]specific[/u] religion. It was not intended to remove all semblance of religion from anything government related. This is a modern trend in thinking and is not supported by most case law. We are guaranteed freedom [u]of[/u] religion, not freedom [u]from[/u] religion.
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11 답변Christians are always trying to legislate their religion into everyone's life. Show me a world without religion, I'll show you a world without war.
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1 답변
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11 답변Just say, very loudly, "one nation, under almightly Allah" Watch. Everyone. Lose. Their. Minds.
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10 답변Wether anyone likes it or not, this country was based on Christian/Catholic beliefs. Even the the ROTC creed ends with "May God give me the strength to live by this creed" It is just fact that this religion is deeply interwoven into America's culture.
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3 답변https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150605/stop-obamas-planned-gag-order-on-firearm-related-speech
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7 답변I got threatened with suspension from my school because i didn't say the pledge because i don't believe in god. xD