Washington is so filled with references to God and scriptural quotations that the city is virtually a Bible engraved in stone. The Washington Moment is crowned with an aluminum tip bearing the Latin phrase Laus Deo—“Praise be to God.” At its base is a 24,500-pound cornerstone with space hollowed out for a zinc case containing a copy of the Holy Bible. Up and down the giant obelisk, a host of Bible verses and prayers are etched into its walls.
Lincoln’s second inaugural address, inscribed on the wall of the Lincoln Memorial contains fourteen references to God and four Bible verses. At the National Archives, there is a bronze emblem of the Ten Commandments in the floor and the display of the original Declaration of Independence with its its four references to God:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature’s God entitle them.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.
Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world.
with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Moses and the Ten Commandments are all over the Supreme Court Building, where every session opens with the words: “God save the United States and this honorable court.” Across the street, the US Capitol Rotunda contains eight massive oil paintings. Two portray prayer meetings and a third shows a baptism. One of the paintings has a large open Bible at the center of it where you can read the words “God with us.” Two of the paintings feature the cross being held aloft.
At the US House of Representatives, above the speaker’s rostrum are the words: “In God We Trust.” At the US Senate you’ll see “In God We Trust” over the south entrance, and over the east entrance the phrase Annuit Coeptis—“God has favored our undertakings.” In Statuary Hall, there's a bronze statue of missionary Marcus Whitman holding a Bible; another of missionary Junipero Serra, holding a cross. Plans are underway to add evangelist Billy Graham to the Hall.
Along the ornate Cox Corridor of the Capitol are the words “America! God shed His grace on thee.” In the private congressional chapel, a stained-glass window depicts George Washington kneeling in prayer. Over him are the words “THIS NATION UNDER GOD,” and around him in beautiful golden letters is Psalm 16:1: “Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust.”
In the Library of Congress there is the Giant Bible of Mainz and the Gutenberg Bible. On the ceilings and walls of the Great Hall are inscribed Bible verses like John 1:5 and Proverbs 4:7. A bronze statue of Moses stands in the Main Reading Room, and nearby are more verses—Micah 6:8, Leviticus 19:18, and Psalm 19:1. The apostle Paul gazes down from the balustrade.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial displays a quotation from the book of Amos. At the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, you’ll find Proverbs 28:1: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth but the righteous are bold as a lion.” The US Holocaust Memorial Museum highlights these words: “You are my witnesses—Isaiah 43:10.”
Etched into the wall of the Jefferson Memorial is a prophetic summary and warning for all generations of America...
GOD WHO GAVE US LIFE GAVE US LIBERTY. CAN THE LIBERTIES OF A NATION BE SECURE WHEN WE HAVE REMOVED A CONVICTION THAT THESE LIBERTIES ARE THE GIFT OF GOD?
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