nting or architecture, as theology. A
man may have no ear for music, and yet remember what he hears. He
may care nothing about painting, and yet is able to tell what he
sees. So he may deny every creed, and yet be able to tell the
facts as he remembers them.

Thomas Jefferson was wise enough so to frame the Constitution of
Virginia that no person could be deprived of any civil right on
account of his religious or irreligious belief. Through the
influence of men like Paine, Franklin and Jefferson, it was provided
in the Federal Constitution that officers elected under its authority
could swear or affirm. This was the natural result of the separation
of church and state.

_Question_. I see that your Presidents and Governors issue their
proclamations calling on the people to assemble in their churches
and offer thanks to God. How does this happen in a Government
where church and state are not united?

_Answer_. Jefferson, when President, refused to issue what is
known as the "Thanksgiving Proclamation," on the ground that the
Federal Government had no right to interfere in religious matters;
that the people owed no religious duties to the Government; that
the Government derived its powers, not from priests or gods, but
from the people, and was responsible alone to the source of its
power. The truth is, the framers of our Constitution intended that
the Government should be secular in the broadest and best sense;
and yet there are thousands and thousands of religious people in
this country who are greatly scandalized because there is no
recognition of God in the Federal Constitution; and for several
years a great many ministers have been endeavoring to have the
Constitution amended so as to recognize the existence of God and
the divinity of Christ. A man by the name of Pollock was once
superintendent of the mint of Philadelphia. He was almost insane
about having God in the Constitution. Failing in that, he got the
inscription on our money, "In God we Trust." As our silver dollar
is now, in fact, worth only eighty-five cents, it is claimed that
the inscription means that we trust in God for the other fifteen
cents.

There is a constant effort on the part of many Christians to have
their religion in some way recognized by law. Proclamations are
now issued calling upon the people to give thanks, and directing
attention to the fact that, while God has scourged or neglected
other nations, he has been remarkab