Posted by Steve K [pool-68-163-229-153.bos.east.verizon.net at 68.163.229.153] on November 25, 2004 at 04:05:12:
In Reply to: Why is reference to God Not Allowed on Christian/Jewish Board? posted by Stephen Keohane, USN (Ret) on November 25, 2004 at 04:01:41:
: In my Forum Admin I removed "Detect Offensive Words", and there are no "offensive words" in my Admin List. Yet the below post was still disallowed.
My Message Board I refer to is at:
http://www.hwforums.com/2113/index.html
: When I post the below post that has no offensive words I get an "Error Message", saying; "ERROR!
: "Your text contains one or more words that the webmaster finds offensive."
: NOT ALLOWED POST FOLLOWS:
: PLease fix this. Very unsat for a Christian & Jewish Message Board....
: Subject: Better Men & Women than you believed in an Almighty God
:
: To those School Districts who think they can remove God from this country, shame on you.
: First, read the Declaration of Independence. God is all over it. Next, read the U.S. Constitution - what's this? God is there also!
: Take Him out, and He just may erase your name also...
: George Washington, 1789
: Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
: Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war -- for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
: And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us -- and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
: Abraham Lincoln, 1862
: It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the land and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal rebellion, and at the same time to avert from our country the dangers of foreign intervention and invasion.
: It is therefore recommended to the people of the United States that at their next weekly assembages in their accustomed places of public worship which shall occur after notice of this proclamation shall be have been received they especially acknowledge and render thanks to our Heavenly Fathers for these inestimable blessings, that they then and there implore spiritual consolation in behalf of all who have been brought into affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and civil war, and that they reverently invoke the divine guidance for our national counsels, to the end that they may speedily result in the restoration of peace, harmony, and unity throughout our borders and hasten the establishment of fraternal relations among all the countries of the earth.
: Theodore Roosevelt, 1906
: The time of year has come when, in accordance with the wise custom of our forefathers, it becomes my duty to set aside a special day of thanksgiving and praise to the Almighty because of the blessings we have received, and of prayer that these blessings may be continued. Yet another year of widespread well-being has passed. Never before in our history or in the history of any other nation has a people enjoyed more abounding material prosperity than is ours; a prosperity so general that it should arouse in us no spirit of reckless pride, and least of all a spirit of heedless disregard of our responsibilities; but rather a sober sense of our many blessings, and a resolute purpose under Providence, not to forfeit them by any action of our own.
: Material well-being, indispensable though it is, can never be anything but the foundation of true national greatness and happiness. If we build nothing upon this foundation, then our national life will be meaningless and empty as a house where only the foundation has been laid. Upon our material well-being must be built a superstructure of individual and national life in accordance with the laws of the highest morality, or else our prosperity itself will in the long run turn out a curse instead of a blessing. We should be both reverently thankful for what we have received, and earnestly bent upon turning it into a means of grace and not of destruction.
: Accordingly, I hereby set apart Thursday, the 29th day of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and supplication, on which the people shall meet in their home or their churches, devoutly to acknowledge all that has been given them, and to pray that they may in addition receive the power to use these gifts aright.
: Woodrow Wilson, 1918
: It has long been our custom to turn in the autumn of the year in praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for His many blessings and mercies to us as a nation. This year we have special and moving cause to be grateful and to rejoice. God has in His good pleasure given us peace. It has not come as a mere cessation of arms, a mere relief from the strain and tragedy of war. It has come as a great triumph of right. Complete victory has brought us, not peace alone, but the confident promise of a new day as well in which justice shall replace force and jealous intrigue among the nations. Our gallant armies have participated in a triumph which is not marred or stained by any purpose of selfish aggression. In a righteous cause they have won immortal glory and have nobly served their nation in serving mankind. God has indeed been gracious. We have cause for such rejoicing as revives and strengthens in us all the best traditions of our national history. A new day shines about us, in which our hearts take new courage and look forward with new hope to new and greater duties.
: While we render thanks for these things, let us not forget to seek the Divine guidance in the performance of those duties, and divine mercy and forgiveness for all errors of act or purpose, and pray that in all that we do we shall strengthen the ties of friendship and mutual respect upon which we must assist to build the new structure of peace and good will among the nations.
: Wherefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Thursday, the twenty-eighth day of November next as a day of thanksgiving and prayer, and invite the people throughout the land to cease upon that day from their ordinary occupations and in their several homes and places of worship to render thanks to God, the ruler of nations.
: Franklin Roosevelt, 1933
: I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do set aside and appoint Thursday, the thirtieth day of November 1933, to be a Day of Thanksgiving for all our people.
: May we on that day in our churches and in our homes give humble thanks for the blessings bestowed upon us during the year past by Almighty God.
: May we recall the courage of those who settled a wilderness, the vision of those who founded the Nation, the steadfastness of those who in every succeeding generation have fought to keep pure the ideal of equality of opportunity and hold clear the goal of mutual help in time of prosperity as in time of adversity.
: May we ask guidance in more surely learning the ancient truth that greed and selfishness and striving for undue riches can never bring lasting happiness or good to the individual or to his neighbors.
: May we be grateful for the passing of dark days; for the new spirit of dependence one on another; for the closer unity of all parts of our wide land; for the greater friendship between employers and those who toil; for a clearer knowledge by all nations that we seek no conquests and ask only honorable engagements by all peoples to respect the lands and rights of their neighbors; for the brighter day to which we can win through by seeking the help of God in a more unselfish striving for the common bettering of mankind.
: Harry Truman, 1945
: In this year of our victory, absolute and final, over German fascism and Japanese militarism; in this time of peace so long awaited, which we are determined with all the United Nations to make permanent; on this day of our abundance, strength, and achievement; let us give thanks to Almighty Providence for these exceeding blessings.
: We have won them with the courage and the blood of our soldiers, sailors, and airmen. We have won them by the sweat and ingenuity of our workers, farmers, engineers, and industrialists. We have won them with the devotion of our women and children. We have bought them with the treasure of our rich land. But above all we have won them because we cherish freedom beyond riches and even more than life itself.
: We give thanks with the humility of free men, each knowing it was the might of no one arm but of all together by which we were saved. Liberty knows no race, creed, or class in our country or in the world. In unity we found our first weapon, for without it, both here and abroad, we were doomed. None have known this better than our very gallant dead, none better than their comrade, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Our thanksgiving has the humility of our deep mourning for them, our vast gratitude to them.
: Triumph over the enemy has not dispelled every difficulty. Many vital and far-reaching decisions await us as we strive for a just and enduring peace. We will not fail if we preserve, in our own land and throughout the world, that same devotion to the essential freedoms and rights of mankind which sustained us throughout the war and brought us final victory.
: Now, therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, in consonance with the joint resolution of Congress approved December 26, 1941, do hereby proclaim Thursday November 22, 1945, as a day of national thanksgiving. May we on that day, in our homes and in our places of worship, individually and as groups, express our humble thanks to Almighty God for the abundance of our blessings and may we on that occasion rededicate ourselves to those high principles of citizenship for which so many splendid Americans have recently given all.
: Lyndon Johnson, 1968
: Americans, looking back on the tumultuous events of 1968, may be more inclined to ask God's mercy and guidance than to offer Him thanks for his blessings. There are many events in this year that deserve our remembrance, and give us cause for thanksgiving:
: The endurance and stability of our democracy, as we prepare once more for an orderly transition of authority;
: The renewed determination, on the part of millions of Americans to bridge our divisions;
: The beginning of talks with our adversaries, that will, we pray, lead to peace in Vietnam;
: The increasing prosperity of our people, including those who were denied any share in America's blessings in the past;
: The achievement of new breakthroughs in medical science, and new victories over disease.
: These events inspire not only the deepest gratitude, but confidence that our nation, the beneficiary of good fortune beyond that of any nation in history, will surmount its present trials and achieve a more just society for its people.
: In this season, let us offer more than words of thanksgiving to God. Let us resolve to offer Him the best that is within us -- tolerance, respect for life, faith in the destiny of all men to live in peace.
: NOW, THEREFORE, I, LYNDON B. JOHNSON, President of the United States of America, in consonance with Section 6103 of title 5 of the United States Code designating the fourth Thursday of November in each year as Thanksgiving Day, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 28, 1968 as a day of national thanksgiving.
: Richard Nixon, 1970
: In 1863 Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, lifted the downcast view of a war-weary Nation to see the evidence of God's bounty. He proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving to be observed by each American in his own way. President Lincoln wisely knew that a man's declaration of his gratitude to God is, in itself, an act which strengthens the thanksgiver because it renews his own realization of his relationship to his God.
: As thanksgiving enriches the individual it must bless his home, community and his country. It is, therefore, appropriate that we set aside such a day this year. All about us, doubts and fears threaten our faith in the principles which are the fiber of our society; we are called upon to prove their truth once again. Such challenges must be seen as opportunities for proof of these verities; such proof can only strengthen our Nation.
: Although some may see division, we give thanks that ours is one Nation, of many diverse people, living in unity under the precept E Pluribus Unum. The fulfillment of this national principle, every day, is our task and privilege;
: Although some may only see strife, we give thanks that this Nation moves each day closer to peace for all its citizens and all the world;
: And we give thanks for God's strength and guidance upon which we confidently rely today and every day.
: NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD NIXON, President of the United States of America, in accordance with the wish of the Congress as expressed in Section 6103 of Title 5 of the United States Code, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 1970, as a day of national thanksgiving. I call upon all Americans to give thanks in homes and in places of worship for the many blessings our people enjoy.
: We should not forget that for many older citizens, Thanksgiving Day may be less meaningful than it should be because it might be spent alone. For this reason I urge all public officials, voluntary organizations, private groups and families in every part of the country to welcome our senior citizens as special participants in their Thanksgiving Day festivities.