Public Religious Testimonies in our National Capital
The words "In God We Trust" are inscribed in the House and Senate chambers.[21]
On the walls of the Capitol dome, these words appear: "The New Testament according to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."[21]
The
Capitol Rotunda contains eight massive oil paintings, each depicting a major event
in history. Four of these paintings portray Jesus Christ and the Bible: 1) Columbus
landing on the shores of the New World, and holding high the cross of Jesus Christ,
2) a group of Dutch pilgrims gathered around a large, opened Bible, 3) a cross
being planted in the soil, commemorating the discovery of the Mississippi River
by the Explorer DeSoto, and 4) the Christian baptism of the Indian convert Pocahontas.[14]
Also in the Rotunda is the figure of the crucified Christ.[21]
Statuary Hall contains life size statues of famous citizens that have been given by individual states. Medical missionary Marcus Whitman stands big as life, holding a Bible. Another statue is of missionary Junipero Serra, who founded the missions of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Monterey and San Diego. Illinois sent a statue of Francis Willard, an associate of the evangelist Dwight L. Moody.[14]
The Latin phrase Annuit Coeptis, "[God] has smiled on our undertaking," is inscribed on the Great Seal of the United States.[21]
Under the Seal is the phrase from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "This nation under God."[21]
President Eliot of Harvard chose Micah 6:8 for the walls of the Library of Congress: "He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (KJV).[21]
Also
inscribed on the walls of the Library of Congress honoring the study of art, is
"Nature is the art of God." A quote honoring Science says, "The
heavens declare the glory of God."[14]
The lawmakers' library quotes the psalmist's acknowledgment of the beauty and order of creation: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork" Psalm 19:1 KJV).[21]
Engraved on the metal cap on the top of the Washington Monument are the words: "Praise be to God." Lining the walls of the stairwell are numerous Bible verses: "Search the Scriptures" (John 5:39 KJV), "Holiness to the Lord," and "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6 KJV).[21]
At the opposite end of the Lincoln Memorial, words and phrases from Lincoln's second inaugural address allude to "God," the "Bible," "providence," "the Almighty," and "divine attributes."[21]
A plaque in the Dirksen Office Building has the words "IN GOD WE TRUST" in bronze relief.[21]
The Ten Commandments hang over the Supreme Court bench.[21]