Essay:A Breakdown of Contemporary Government Religion

The Modern Day USA Government religion summarized

There is a distinct USA government religion, a traditional cannon of scripture which has been handed down over generations, and a concordant system of faith-based beliefs, relating to an order of existence with its own abstract non-corporeal higher "powers".

The National "Sovereign"(supreme power or authority), or Leviathan as it was called by Thomas Hobbes, the imaginary "Corporate person" or "Legal Person" of the USA is anthromorphized (given its own imaginary personal characteristics) and reified (this abstract non-corporeal imaginary higher power is literally believed in as "real").

Aside from the supreme Leviathan Deity, there are a collection of 50 secondary Leviathan-type deities called the "States", according to the Dogma of the government belief system. When I talk about the Leviathan-type deity I mean when people talk about the "State of xxx" or simply "the state" as its own distinctive "person" in the abstract and use this imaginary supernatural "person" to explain phenomena of the physical uinverse. Such as "Colorado just voted to legalize weed" or "The state executed another prisoner" or "The State passed 5 bills this session." Referring to the leviathan called the "National Sovereign" in colloquial speech one might say something like: "The United States is mad at Russia" or "America has always been a friend of Canada," where we treat "The United States" or "Russia" as distinct entities unto themselves with their own personalities. These "persons" or "Entities" are said to be "Sovereign" (meaning supreme authority) and are sometimes referred to as "Superpowers".

The Supreme Leviathan Deity of the American Government religion is called "The United States of America" in its full and proper name. It is referred to by the priests of the religion as the "National Sovereign". In other words it is the supreme "being" of the USA government religion. This "National Sovereign" isn't actually a person(as in a flesh and blood human), place or thing in the conventional sense although it is sometimes equivocated or conflated with people, places, or things, but rather it is an idea, an abstraction of the mind. Further, it is not an empiric observation of brute fact, but an article of faith, the thought-product of faith or magical thinking, and it is not a logical conclusion of reasoned evidence.

In God we trust

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_we_trust

""In God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956 as an alternative or replacement to the unofficial motto of E pluribus unum, which was adopted when the Great Seal of the United States was created and adopted in 1782.

"In God we trust" first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864 and has appeared on paper currency since 1957. Some secularists object to its use.

It is also the motto of the U.S. state of Florida."

"The phrase appears to have originated in "The Star-Spangled Banner", written during the War of 1812. The fourth stanza includes the phrase, "And this be our motto: 'In God is our Trust.'" According to Ted Alexander, Chief Historian at Antietam National Battlefield, the contracted "In God We Trust" was first used by the 125th Pennsylvania Infantry as a battle cry on September 17, 1862, during the Battle of Antietam of the American Civil War.""

"The Reverend M. R. Watkinson, in a letter dated November 13, 1861, petitioned the Treasury Department to add a statement recognising "Almighty God in some form in our coins." At least part of the motivation was to declare that God was on the Union side of the Civil War.

Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase acted on this proposal and directed the then-Philadelphia Director of the Mint, James Pollock, to begin drawing up possible designs that would include the religious phrase."

"In 1956, the nation was at a particularly tense time in the Cold War, and the United States wanted to distinguish itself from the Soviet Union, which promoted state atheism. As a result, the 84th Congress passed a joint resolution "declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States." The law was signed by President Eisenhower on July 30, 1956, and the motto was progressively added to paper money over a period from 1957 to 1966. (Public Law 84-851) The United States Code at 36 U.S.C. § 302, now states: "'In God we trust' is the national motto."

A framed poster displaying the national motto of the United States in a New Philadelphia High School classroom.

In 2006, on the 50th anniversary of its adoption, the Senate reaffirmed "In God we trust" as the official national motto of the United States of America. In 2011 the House of Representatives passed an additional resolution reaffirming "In God we trust" as the official motto of the United States, in a 396-9 vote. According to a 2003 joint poll by USA Today, CNN, and Gallup, 90% of Americans support the inscription "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins.

The phrase has been incorporated in many hymns and religio-patriotic songs. During the American Civil War, the 125th Pennsylvania Infantry for the Union Army assumed the motto "In God we trust" in early August 1862.

In Judaism and Christianity, the official motto "In God we trust" resounds with several verses from the Bible, including Psalm 118:8, Psalm 40:3, Psalm 73:28, and Proverbs 29:25. Feisal Abdul Rauf, a Muslim imam writes that the phrase “In God we trust” also resonates with early Islamic teaching, adapted from Christianity and Judaism, offering two verses from the Qur’an, Quran 3:193 and Quran 2:285.

Melkote Ramaswamy, an Hindu American scholar, writes that the presence of the phrase “In God we trust” on American currency is a reminder that “there is God everywhere, whether we are conscious or not.”

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, many public schools across the United States posted "In God We Trust" framed posters in their "libraries, cafeterias and classrooms." The American Family Association supplied several 11-by-14-inch posters to school systems and vowed to defend any legal challenges to the displaying of the posters."

Incidentally, the Wiki article I quote above contains a great example of statist reification: "the United States wanted to distinguish itself from the Soviet Union". The "United States" is reified as a "real" entity and anthromorphized as having its own personality and its own wants/desires as if it is a "real" distinct person unto itself.

What is the "United States" when used in such a context? It is used as a noun: A person, place, thing, or idea? It is an idea. It is the "corporate person", the Leviathan, an abstraction of the mind which was imagined into existence and codified into constitutional scripture by the "founding fathers", the creators of the modern day orthodox government religion of America. It is an abstract, invisible "sovereign" higher power which is believed in through scriptural revelation from the constitutional scripture rather than from actual empirical observances. Who claims to have actually seen the "Sovereign" "entity" called the "United States" for themselves? It is a supernatural belief in a religious deity. It is the thought-product of magical thinking and faith.

The supernatural deity of the Government Religion: On the Corporate Person of the State, or Leviathan

Pictured is the front Cover of a classic work of medieval statist religious philosophy, Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, by Thomas Hobbes. On the front cover, the Leviathan, that is to say, the Corporate person of the State is pictured as an anthropomorphic titan-like giant, towering over the kingdom, sword-in-hand ready to defend against foreign invaders or punish those who would defy the scriptures of the government religion.

On the left hand side of the page, we see symbology representing the "civil state": a castle, a crown, a cannon, an arsenal of weapons, and an army being commanded by a general.

On the right hand side of the page, we have symbology representing the "eccesiasticall", or religious aspects of the "Commonwealth": A church, A bishop's hat, Thunder and lightning (threat of supernatural punishment), tridents like Poseidon carried (representing religious idolatry), and a religious-looking ceremonial scene.

Quoted for fair use, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_%28book%29:

"In it, a giant crowned figure is seen emerging from the landscape, clutching a sword and a crosier, beneath a quote from the Book of Job—"Non est potestas Super Terram quae Comparetur ei. Iob. 41 . 24" ("There is no power on earth to be compared to him. Job 41 . 24")—linking the figure to the monster of that book. (Because of disagreement over where chapters begin, the verse Hobbes quotes is usually given as Job 41:33 in modern Christian translations into English, Job 41:25 in the Masoretic text, Septuagint, and the Luther Bible; it is 41:24 in the Vulgate.) The torso and arms of the figure are composed of over three hundred persons, in the style of Giuseppe Arcimboldo; all are facing inwards with just the giant's head having visible features. (A manuscript of Leviathan created for Charles II in 1651 has notable differences – a different main head but significantly the body is also composed of many faces, all looking outwards from the body and with a range of expressions.)

The lower portion is a triptych, framed in a wooden border. The centre form contains the title on an ornate curtain. The two sides reflect the sword and crosier of the main figure – earthly power on the left and the powers of the church on the right. Each side element reflects the equivalent power – castle to church, crown to mitre, cannon to excommunication, weapons to logic, and the battlefield to the religious courts. The giant holds the symbols of both sides, reflecting the union of secular and spiritual in the sovereign, but the construction of the torso also makes the figure the state."

Who - or rather what - is this crowned titanic being? This "Leviathan", this towering giant? Let's have a look at what Hobbes has to say (quoted for fair use) in Chapter XVII (the emboldened text is added by LM to highlight the key concepts):

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-c.html#CHAPTERXVII

"The only way to erect such a common power, as may be able to defend them from the invasion of foreigners, and the injuries of one another, and thereby to secure them in such sort as that by their own industry and by the fruits of the earth they may nourish themselves and live contentedly, is to confer all their power and strength upon one man, or upon one assembly of men, that may reduce all their wills, by plurality of voices, unto one will: which is as much as to say, to appoint one man, or assembly of men, to bear their person; and every one to own and acknowledge himself to be author of whatsoever he that so beareth their person shall act, or cause to be acted, in those things which concern the common peace and safety; and therein to submit their wills, every one to his will, and their judgements to his judgement. This is more than consent, or concord; it is a real unity of them all in one and the same person, made by covenant of every man with every man, in such manner as if every man should say to every man: I authorise and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition; that thou give up, thy right to him, and authorise all his actions in like manner. This done, the multitude so united in one person is called a COMMONWEALTH; in Latin, CIVITAS. This is the generation of that great LEVIATHAN, or rather, to speak more reverently, of that mortal god to which we owe, under the immortal God, our peace and defence. For by this authority, given him by every particular man in the Commonwealth, he hath the use of so much power and strength conferred on him that, by terror thereof, he is enabled to form the wills of them all, to peace at home, and mutual aid against their enemies abroad. And in him consisteth the essence of the Commonwealth; which, to define it, is: one person, of whose acts a great multitude, by mutual covenants one with another, have made themselves every one the author, to the end he may use the strength and means of them all as he shall think expedient for their peace and common defence.

And he that carryeth this person is called sovereign, and said to have sovereign power; and every one besides, his subject."

Here Hobbes uses an appeal to consequence with the use of reification to imagine into existence via "the secret"-style magical thinking his conceptualization of the "Commonwealth", the Corporate Person of "the state"(the multitude so united in one "person"). And the supernatural force of "sovereign power". Notice Hobbes uses "men" to refer to actual flesh and blood human men yet refers to this "being" as "person" to differentiate that he is speaking of an abstraction rather than a flesh and blood "man" when talking about the "Leviathan". Yes the government religion really is founded upon these magically conjured abstractions and their reification - that is to say the make belief that these abstractions are literally "real".

From the body of canonical scriptures called "case law"

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-182b5e1.pdf

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

ARIZONA, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. UNITED STATES ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

"JUSTICE SCALIA, concurring in part and dissenting in part."

"The United States is an indivisible “Union of sovereign States.”"LogicMaster777 (talk) 03:40, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

"Today’s opinion... ...deprives States of what most would con- sider the defining characteristic of sovereignty: the power to exclude from the sovereign’s territory people who have no right to be there."

Of course, this is circular reasoning since whether people have a right to be there is supposedly a function of "sovereign power" to decide. But that criticism of Scalia's "logic"(reification fallacy notwithstanding) aside, What is this "sovereign" Scalia refers to? It is the Leviathan-type entity of Arizona or the "corporate person" called "State of Arizona" in this case. The corporate person or "legal person", the Commonwealth of Arizona. An abstraction of the mind, yet this imaginary "person" of "Arizona" is anthromorphized by scalia, that is to say "it" is given characteristics of an actual person: "It" can, or should be able to decide who should or shouldn't be in the geographic area of Arizona and then kick those whom "it" deems unworthy out of the territory. Bear in mind "it" is an abstraction. Yet Scalia describes it as an anthromorphized "entity" with its own motivations and personality. This statist reification forms the supernatural basis of Government Religion. This thought process of imagining the "Entity" of "Arizona" and then Reifiying it as "real" and giving it its own "Personhood", "Personality", and motivations and supernatural "powers". Remember, we're still talking about something which only exists in the mind.LogicMaster777 (talk) 03:56, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

Scalia goes on to say:

"As a sovereign, Arizona has the inherent power to exclude persons from its territory, subject only to those limitations expressed in the Constitution or constitutionally imposed by Congress. That power to exclude has long been recognized as inherent in sovereignty."

So this imaginary person can own land and kick people off its land. Except when Congress says no. According to the theoretical musings of the Wizard Priest Scalia. His opinion was actually as "dissenting opinion". In other words, the majority of the "Supreme" "judges" actually voted contrary to him on the matter they were "hearing". I just cite his language to show how the scriptural teachings of the contemporary wizard priest are quite in line with the medieval magical theories of Hobbes. Scalia is perhaps the most verbose of those currently empaneled on the "Supreme Court"(A special club for elite wizard-priest lawyers that makes big decisions for the Federal Government by interpreting scripture to formulate new scripture and dogma which they call "case law" and by bossing people around, mostly by written orders which they formulate by a quasi-democratic process meant to establish consensus among themselves). LogicMaster777 (talk) 04:18, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

But let's examine some other writings from others among the elites of the legal field.LogicMaster777 (talk) 08:48, 25 December 2014 (UTC)

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=474&invol=82

"U.S. Supreme Court

HEATH v. ALABAMA, 474 U.S. 82 (1985)"

"(a) The dual sovereignty doctrine provides that when a defendant in a single act violates the "peace and dignity" of two sovereigns by breaking the laws of each, he has committed two distinct "offences" for double jeopardy purposes. In applying the doctrine, the crucial determination is whether the two entities that seek successively to prosecute a defendant for the same course of conduct can be termed separate sovereigns. This determination turns on whether the prosecuting entities' powers to undertake criminal prosecutions derive from separate and independent sources. It has been uniformly held that the States are separate sovereigns with respect to the Federal Government because each State's power to prosecute derives from its inherent sovereignty, preserved to it by the Tenth Amendment, and not from the Federal Government. Given the distinct sources of their powers to try a defendant, the States are no less sovereign with respect to each other than they are with respect to the Federal Government. Pp. 87-91."

"(b) The application of the dual sovereignty principle cannot be restricted to cases in which two prosecuting sovereigns can demonstrate that allowing only one sovereign to exercise jurisdiction over the [474 U.S. 82, 83] defendant will interfere with the second sovereign's unvindicated "interests." If the prosecuting entities are separate sovereigns, the circumstances of the case and the specific "interests" of each are irrelevant. Pp. 91-92."

"(c) The suggestion that the dual sovereignty doctrine be overruled and replaced with a balancing of interests approach is rejected. The Court's rationale for the doctrine is not a fiction that can be disregarded in difficult cases; it finds weighty support in the historical understanding and political realities of the States' role in the federal system and in the Double Jeopardy Clause itself. Pp. 92-93."

So here, in Heath v Alabama, we have more of the same sort of faith-based statist dogma theorized by Hobbes. In the modern version of USA Government religion, there are 50 "sovereign" "entities",called "States" in addition to the "National Sovereign". What are these "entities"? Each "State" in this context is a Leviathan-type deity. By Leviathan-type deity I mean the corporate person of the State, the imaginary abstract "person" of the "State". There is no evidence they actually exist as tangible physical objects, but rather they are articles of faith in the government religion.

When these "Judges" dress up in their priest robes and sanctimoniously preach this faith-based dogma of imaginary "sovereign entities", what do they mean "sovereign"? By "sovereign", they mean they are a "higher power" compared to "normal people", a "supreme authority". Bare in mind these "entities" are imaginary.LogicMaster777 (talk) 20:43, 18 February 2015 (UTC)

George Washington (1840 statue), A tax-funded sculpture depicting Washington as a classical greek god based on an ancient sculpture of Zeus

George Washington (Photo, Wknight94, May 23^rd, 2011)

George Washington (Photo, ca. 1899)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_(1840_statue)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The U.S. Congress commissioned Greenough to create a statue of Washington for display in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. When the marble statue arrived in Washington, DC in 1841, however, it immediately generated controversy and criticism. Many found the sight of a half-naked Washington offensive, even comical. The statue was relocated to the east lawn of the Capitol in 1843. Disapproval continued and some joked that Washington was desperately reaching for his clothes, then on exhibit at the Patent Office several blocks to the north. In 1908, the statue was brought back indoors when Congress transferred it to the Smithsonian Castle, where it remained until 1964. It was then moved to the new Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History).

The second coming: Lincoln

Lincoln is the second coming, the next messiah to come after Washington in the government religion.

From Abe Lincoln's sermon known as the "Lyceum Address" (1838)http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm

"Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap--let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars."LogicMaster777 (talk) 17:51, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

"But I do mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in force, for the sake of example, they should be religiously observed."LogicMaster777 (talk) 19:26, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Kind of highlights one of the inherent logical contradictions of the statist belief system. Some laws are bad, but we should still follow them. In essence the assertions of Lincoln lead one to the conclusion that it can be good to do what is bad (if the legal scripture is "bad" it is still "good" to follow it because the religion of government says so).LogicMaster777 (talk) 16:35, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

The ancient goddess of the Government religion

This 1872 painting depicts Columbia as the "Spirit of the Frontier", carrying telegraph lines across the Western frontier to fulfill Manifest Destiny

Columbia wearing a warship bearing the words "World Power" as her "Easter bonnet" (cover of Puck, April 6, 1901).

Personified Columbia in American flag gown and Phrygian cap, which signifies freedom and the pursuit of liberty, from a World War I patriotic poster.

Personification of Columbia, from a Columbia Records phonograph cylinder package.

The Bust of Columbia depicted on U.S. Fractional currency.

Columbia

"Columbia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_(name)

"Columbia" (/kəˈlʌmbiə/; kə-lum-bee-ə) is a historical and poetic name used for the United States of America and also as one of the names of its female personification. It has given rise to the names of many persons, places, objects, institutions, and companies; e.g., Columbia University, the District of Columbia (the national capital), and the ship Columbia Rediviva, which would give its name to the Columbia River. Images of the Statue of Liberty largely displaced Columbia as the female symbol of the U.S. by around 1920.[1]"LogicMaster777 (talk) 19:40, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

"Especially in the 19th century, Columbia would be visualized as a goddess-like female national personification of the United States, comparable to the British Britannia, the Italian Italia Turrita and the French Marianne, often seen in political cartoons of the 19th-early 20th century. This personification was sometimes called "Lady Columbia" or "Miss Columbia".

The image of the personified Columbia was never fixed, but she was most often presented as a woman between youth and middle age, wearing classically draped garments decorated with the stars and stripes; a popular version gave her a red-and-white striped dress and a blue blouse, shawl, or sash spangled with white stars. Her headdress varied; sometimes it included feathers reminiscent of a Native American headdress, sometimes it was a laurel wreath, but most often it was a cap of liberty.

Statues of the personified Columbia may be found in the following places:

• The 1863 Statue of Freedom atop the United States Capitol building, though not actually called "Columbia", shares many of her iconic characteristics.
• Atop Philadelphia's Memorial Hall, built 1876
• The replica Statue of the Republic ("Golden Lady") in Chicago's Jackson Park is often understood to be Columbia. It is one of the remaining icons of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
• In the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, dedicated 1949."

Uncle Sam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the national personification of the United States."

"J. M. Flagg's 1917 poster, based on the original British Lord Kitchener poster of three years earlier, was used to recruit soldiers for both World War I and World War II. Flagg used a modified version of his own face for Uncle Sam, and veteran Walter Botts provided the pose."

"Uncle Sam (initials U.S.) is a common national personification of the American government or the United States in general, that according to legend, came into use during the War of 1812 and was supposedly named for Samuel Wilson. The first use of Uncle Sam in literature was in the 1816 allegorical book "The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After His Lost Honor" by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq. An Uncle Sam is mentioned as early as 1775, in the original "Yankee Doodle" lyrics of the Revolutionary War.[3] It is not clear whether this reference is to Uncle Sam as a metaphor for the United States, or to an actual person named Sam. The lyrics as a whole clearly deride the military efforts of the young nation, besieging the British at Boston. The 13th stanza is:

Old Uncle Sam come there to change

Some pancakes and some onions,

For 'lasses cakes, to carry home

To give his wife and young ones."

Earlier personifications

"The earliest known personification of what would become the United States was "Columbia" who first appeared in 1738 and sometimes was associated with Liberty."

"With the American Revolutionary War came "Brother Jonathan" as another personification and finally after the War of 1812 Uncle Sam appeared.

However, according to an article in the 1893 The Lutheran Witness Uncle Sam was simply another name for Brother Jonathan:

"When we meet him in politics we call him Uncle Sam; when we meet him in society we call him Brother Jonathan.""

The goddess of liberty as conceptualized by Frédéric Bartholdi and a Masonic-themed consecration ritual dedicated to the statue, including a hymn dedicated to the goddess Columbia played by an army band.

From http://www.masonicworld.com/education/articles/Masonry-and-the-statue-of-liberty.htm

"Two weeks later, while standing on the deck of the ship Pereire steaming up Lower New York Bay, he caught a vision of a magnificent god- dess holding aloft a torch in one hand and welcoming all visitors to the land of freedom and opportunity.

Quickly obtaining paper and brush, Bar- tholdi sketched in water-color the idea of the Statue of Liberty substantially as it appears to- day. It was his thought to have this symbolic structure tower over the steeple of Trinity Church, then the tallest building on the New York skyline. He wrote to Laboulaye, "these outlines may well aim beyond the mere monu- ment at a work of great moral value."

Bartholdi returned to France in 1874 and soon thereafter the Franco-American Union was established in Paris to raise funds for the Statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World." That same year, Bartholdi began his work at the Parisian firm of Gaget, Gauthier & Cie. His model for the face of the "Goddess of Liberty" was his mother, Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi. First, he made a four-foot clay miniature, then a nine-foot cast in plaster, and then propor- tionately enlarged each section four times, making as many as nine thousand measurements with each increase in size."LogicMaster777 (talk) 18:52, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

"Around this time, Bartholdi, who was a member of Lodge Alsace Lorraine in Paris, which was composed of intellectuals, writers and government representatives, invited his brothers to view his masterpiece prior to its leaving their native land for America. It is also reported that in November of that year, he delivered a lecture and gave the Lodge a report on the history and various methods used in the creation of the statue. In 1887, after the statue was dedicated at its final resting place, Bar- tholdi told his Lodge brothers of the ardent welcome he had received in New York and of the wide enthusiasm created by his work.

Meanwhile, in America plans were being made for the laying of the cornerstone of the pedestal. Chairman William M. Evarts of the American Committee contacted the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, and requested a Masonic ceremony "appropriate to the occasion."

It had been a tradition in America to have the cornerstone of major public and private buildings and monuments consecrated with full Masonic rites, ever since President George Washington, on September 18, 1793, had per- sonally laid the cornerstone of the United States Capital, with the assistance of the Grand Lodge of Maryland. Similarly, the cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid in a Masonic ceremony.

The Evart's invitation, however, was more than a local manifestation of the influence of the Craft or the continuance of a national prac- tice. The presentation and erection of the Statue of Liberty was an occasion of world- wide significance, and delegating the laying of the cornerstone to the Masonic Fraternity was a fitting tribute rendered to free men of high principles and recognized international reputa- tions throughout the world.

The date set for the ceremony was August 5, 1884. The American Committee sent invitations to all the leading state and municipal leaders across the Nation. The ceremony was scheduled to begin at two o'clock. Everything humanly possible was carefully planned. But one factor could not be controlled--the weather. On August 5, 1884, it did more than just rain--it poured!

However, the ceremony went off as schedul- ed. The gaily decorated vessel Bay Ridge, draped with the Tricolor of France and the Stars and Stripes, ferried approximately 100 members of the Grand Lodge of New York and visiting Masonic Grand Officers, along with many civic officials, to Bedloe's Island. Because of limited space, the traditional Masonic parade was omitted and the program was begun immediately.

A United States Army band played " La Marseillaise," the French National Anthem, following with the very popular "Hail Colum- bia." Then began, on the raised northeast cor- ner of the pedestal, the formal cornerstone ceremony.

Brother Richard M. Hunt, principal ar- chitect of the pedestal, presented the Working Tools to M. .W. . William A. Brodie, Grand Master, who in turn distributed them to the Grand Lodge officers: R. .W. . Frank R. Lawrence, Deputy Grand Master; R. .W. . John W. Vrooman, Senior Grand Warden; and R. .W. . James Ten Eyck, Junior Grand Warden.

R. .W. . Edward M.L. Ehlers, Grand Secretary and a member of Continental Lodge 287, read the list of items to be included in the copper box within the cornerstone: A copy of the United States Constitution; George Washington's Farewell Address; 20 bronze medals of Presidents up through Chester A. Ar- thur (including Washington, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Johnson, and Garfield who were proven Freemasons); copies of New York City newspapers; a portrait of Bartholdi; a copy of Poem on Liberty by E.R. Johnes; and a list on parchment of the Grand Lodge of- ficers.

By traditional ceremony, the cornerstone was then tested and being found, square, level and plumb, the Deputy Grand Master com- pleted the work by applying the mortar and by having the stone lowered firmly into place. The Grand Master then struck three blows with the gavel and declared the stone duly laid. The elements of consecration, corn, wine and oil, were next presented by R. .W. . Brothers Lawrence, Vrooman and Ten Eyck.

The most Worshipful Grand Master then gave a brief but pointed talk. He posed a ques- tion: "Why call upon the Masonic Fraternity to lay the cornerstone of such a structure as is here to be erected?" His answer, which is as true to- day as it was then, was: "No institution has done more to promote liberty and to free men from the trammels and chains of ignorance and tyranny than has Freemasonry.""LogicMaster777 (talk) 18:52, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

The Apotheosis of Washington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apotheosis_of_Washington

"The Apotheosis of Washington, as seen looking up from the capitol rotunda

The Apotheosis of Washington is the fresco painted by Italian artist Constantino Brumidi in 1865 and visible through the oculus of the :dome in the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building."LogicMaster777 (talk) 19:17, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

"Symbolism

Upside down above Washington is the banner E Pluribus Unum meaning "out of many, one".

The Apotheosis of Washington depicts George Washington sitting amongst the heavens in an exalted manner, or in literal terms, ascending and becoming a God (apotheosis). Washington, the first U.S. president and commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, is allegorically represented, surrounded by figures from classical mythology. Washington is draped in purple, a royal color, with a rainbow arch at his feet, flanked by the goddess Victoria (draped in green, using a horn) to his left and the goddess Liberty to his right. Liberty wears a red Phrygian cap, symbolizing emancipation, from a Roman tradition where sons leaving the home and/or slaves being emancipated would be given a red cap. She holds a fasces in her right hand and an open book in the other.

Forming a circle between Liberty and Victory are 13 maidens, each with a star above her head, representing the original 13 colonies. Several of the maidens have their backs turned to Washington, said to represent the colonies that had seceded from the Union at the time of painting. Upside down above Washington is the banner E Pluribus Unum meaning "out of many, one". Surrounding Washington, the two goddesses and the 13 maidens are six scenes lining the perimeter, each representing a national concept allegorically: from directly below Washington in the center and moving clockwise, "War," "Science," "Marine," "Commerce," "Mechanics," and "Agriculture". The perimeter scenes are not fully visible from the floor of the Capitol."LogicMaster777 (talk) 19:17, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

Scene	Description
	War Freedom, also known as Columbia, is directly below Washington in the personification of War. The scene depicts a woman fighting for liberty with a raised sword, a cape, and a helmet and shield (in the colors of the American flag) trampling figures representing Tyranny and Kingly Power. To Freedom's left assisting her is a fierce bald eagle (the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States) carrying arrows and a thunderbolt (reminiscent of the arrows carried by the eagle in the Great Seal of the United States).
	Science Minerva, the Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom, is portrayed with helmet and spear pointing to an electrical generator creating power stored in batteries next to a printing press, representing great American inventions. American scientists and inventors Benjamin Franklin, Samuel F. B. Morse, and Robert Fulton watch. In the left part of the scene a teacher demonstrates the use of dividers.
	Marine This scene shows Neptune, the Roman sea-god, with trident and crown of seaweed riding in a shell chariot drawn by sea horses. Venus, goddess of love born from the sea, is depicted helping to lay the transatlantic telegraph cable which ran from America to the Telegraph Field in Ireland. In the background is an ironclad warship with smokestacks.
	Commerce Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, with his winged petasos and sandals and a caduceus, is depicted giving a bag of gold to American Revolutionary War financier Robert Morris. To the left, men move a box on a dolly; on the right, the anchor and sailors lead into "Marine."
	Mechanics Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge, is depicted standing at an anvil with his foot on a cannon next to a pile of cannonballs. A steam engine is in the background. The man at the forge is thought to represent Charles Thomas, the supervisor of ironwork during the construction of the Capitol dome.
	Agriculture Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, is shown with a wreath of wheat and a cornucopia, symbol of plenty, while sitting on a McCormick mechanical reaper. The personification of Young America in a liberty cap holds the reins of the horses, while the goddess Flora gathers flowers in the foreground.

The Messianic Saint Washington Depicted as an exalted religious figure in the artwork of the Capitol building; the Leviathans of the States personified as cherubic maidens surrounding Washington as the personation of the supreme deity of the government religion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apotheosis

"Apotheosis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Apotheosis (from Greek ἀποθέωσις from ἀποθεοῦν, apotheoun "to deify"; in Latin deificatio "making divine"; also called divinization and deification) is the glorification of a subject to divine level. The term has meanings in theology, where it refers to a belief, and in art, where it refers to a genre.

In theology, apotheosis refers to the idea that an individual has been raised to godlike stature. In art, the term refers to the treatment of any subject (a figure, group, locale, motif, convention or melody) in a particularly grand or exalted manner."LogicMaster777 (talk) 20:41, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

The "National Sovereign", the supreme being of the government religion is divided into the holy trinity of the Executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The office of the presidency is one aspect of the trinity of the invisible higher power, the supreme deity of the government religion, the Leviathan-type deity called "The United States of America" in its full proper name. The man (or in theory woman) who wins a political popularity contest called the "Presidential Election" or "National presidential election" sometimes colloquially referred to as simply "the election" is then ritualistically consecrated as the Avatar of this aspect of the state-head through ceremonial magic including a religious oath to support and defend the supreme scripture, the Constitution. Since the other two aspects of the Trinity are divided up amongst the other living avatars of "congress" and the "supreme court" which are groups of persons the president most directly bares the person of the supreme deity of the government religion, the "United States". As the number 1 president, Washington even more directly than other presidents (with perhaps the exception of whoever is acting as president at the time) bares the person of the "sovereign" "higher power" of "The United States", the supreme god of the government religion. LogicMaster777 (talk) 07:24, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

The American goddess of "Freedom", Columbia is pictured among the Gods equal in importance in a similar setting to the traditional Pagan Gods of Rome, implying she herself is a god-like being. Centered around the figure of Washington who personates the supreme being of the government religion, the "United States" are 13 cherubic Maidens, the Leviathan-type deities of the 13 "States" who are the "inner circle" of the Supreme Being of the government religion personified in female form. These beings are exalted even among the other gods such as Poseidon and the Saints depicted such as Saint Franklin (the patron saint of "science").LogicMaster777 (talk) 07:42, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

The Most Approved Plan: The Competition for the Capitol's Design

From http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/us.capitol/s2.html Open Competition

"Thomas Jefferson decided that the Capitol's design should be chosen by a public competition, and advertisements began appearing in American newspapers in March 1792. The entries were disappointing to the judges -- Washington, Jefferson, and the Commissioners of the District of Colombia. Most of the entries survive to this day; they are a revealing reflection of the talent available among America's amateurs, builder-architects, and professionals.

The published guidelines stipulated matters of fact -- size and number of rooms and materials -- not issues of taste, such as style of architecture, historical association, or symbolic meaning. Thus the competitors themselves proposed ideas of how to convey America's new political structure and social order. Their suggestions, ranging from simple to complex, economical to expensive, reflected commonly held beliefs about America's governing population -- primarily farmers and merchants -- or promoted benefits promised by the Constitution.

Most competitors drew upon Renaissance architectural models, either filtered through the lens of eighteenth-century English and American Georgian traditions or based directly on buildings illustrated in Renaissance treatises. The Capitol competition coincided with nascent Neoclassicism in America, in which forms and details from Greek and Roman architecture were revived. Three of the competition entries were inspired by ancient classical buildings.

The Roman Pantheon -- the circular domed rotunda dedicated to all pagan gods -- was suggested by Jefferson, who later shepherded it through several transformations."LogicMaster777 (talk) 18:17, 11 January 2015 (UTC)

The religious traditions which influenced the Modern USA Government Religion

1. The Government religion of King George and England. Based on Divine right to rule and Christianity/Church Politics and a traditional canonical body of faith-based "legal" scriptural writings (Acts of Settlement, Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, "Common Law", Etc).

2. Statist religion in general and statist philosophy like Locke, Rousseau, and Hobbes especially.

3. The political religion of Rome based around the abstract higher power of the "state" of "Rome".

4. Freemasonry - a religion based around rituals and symbols meant to impart mystical wisdom pertaining to an order existence.

5. Rosicrucian-ism: a magical quasi-religious philosophy based on alchemy and mysticism which itself is sort of the backbone of the Freemason religion.

6. Christianity and the Bible

7. Perhaps some indirect influence of Germanic Paganism and Roman Paganism as well as other major religions of the world at least indirectly.

The Sacred Scriptures of the State(s)

The scripture generally held to be most sacred among adherents of the government religion is the constitution.

The Deceptive Doctrine

One of the most deceptive doctrines of the government belief system is called "Separation of Church and State".

This doctrine is based around the idea that government is a supposedly "secular" institution, completely separate from the realm of religion. This is one of the most deceptive doctrines of the government belief system. The greater ones faith and devotion to the government religion, the less one will perceive it as a religion. Because part of the religious doctrine of the government religion is that the religion is not actually a religion.LogicMaster777 (talk) 00:49, 24 December 2014 (UTC)

The Theocratic Mob's Street Enforcers

The theocratic gang called government has many squads of street enforcers. They can often be identified by special costumes or magic jewelry. It is their job to enforce the scriptures of the invisible higher power of state. Coincidentally(or not) they also pull in tons of money for the mob through shakedowns such as traffic tickets, taking cash, and enforcing taxation which is essentially an institutionalized protection racket. These bandits are magically different from other pirates because they have magic jewelry and they are among the chosen ones of the invisible higher power called "the state".

Magic Jewelry of Authority

Wearing this magic jewelry imparts a supernatural power called "authority" to those who wear it. But only if they are among the chosen ones of the "State(s)". In order for the magic jewelry to work properly and to activate the jewelry's magic the chosen one must first partake of a sacred ritual including a religious oath to support and defend the scriptures of the "State(s)".

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Anointing the chosen ones

Here we see some ceremonial magic in which the chosen ones are anointed and ordained with special powers through sacred rituals including a religious oath to signify faithful devotion to the scriptures of the "State(s)". Notice the hands on bibles.

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Worshiping the idol and praying to the Leviathan, the deity of statist religion

Here are some young children being coercively indoctrinated into the government religion through compulsory ritualistic idol worship.

The American Idol

A popular object of worship in the context of American Statist religion.

George Washington Inaugural Bible

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Inaugural_Bible

"The George Washington Inaugural Bible is the book that was sworn upon by George Washington when he took office as the first President of the United States. The Bible itself has subsequently been used in the inauguration ceremonies of several other U.S. presidents. St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons, is the owner of what is now known as the George Washington Inaugural Bible. On April 30, 1789 it was upon this Bible that George Washington took his oath of office as the first President of the United States. The Bible is the King James Version, complete with the Apocrypha and elaborately supplemented with the historical, astronomical and legal data of that period."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:24, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

"The Bible has since been used for the inaugurations of Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush (whose 1989 inauguration was in the bicentennial year of Washington's). The Bible was also intended to be used for the inauguration of George W. Bush, but inclement weather didn't allow it. However, the Bible was present in the Capitol Building in the care of three freemasons of St. John's Lodge, in case the weather got worse."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:29, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

"Because of its fragility the Bible is no longer opened during meetings of St. John's Lodge. In addition to its duties, the Bible has been used in the funeral processions of Presidents Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The Bible has also been used at the center-stone laying of the U.S. Capitol, the addition of the Washington Monument, the centennials of the cornerstone laying of the White House, U.S. Capitol, and the Statue of Liberty, the 1964 World's Fair as well as the launching of the aircraft carrier George Washington."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:29, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

From http://www.stjohns1.org/portal/gwib

"It has also been present at numerous public and Masonic occasions, including Washington's funeral procession in New York, December 31st, 1799; the introduction of Croton water into New York City, October 14th, 1840; the dedication of the Masonic Temple in Boston, June 24th, 1867, and of that in Philadelphia on May 24th, 1869; the dedication of the Washington monument in Washington, February 21st, 1885 and its rededication in 1998; and the laying of the cornerstone of the Masonic Home at Utica on May 21st, 1891."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:42, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

"It was also used at the opening of the present Masonic Hall in New York on September 18, 1909, when St. John's Lodge held the first meeting, and conferred the first Third Degree, in the newly completed Temple. More recently it featured at the World Fair in New York, has been displayed at the CIA Offices outside Washington D.C., and at the Famous Fathers & Sons exhibition at the George Bush Memorial Library outside Dallas, Texas in 2001."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:42, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

"The Bible is still in active use by the Lodge. When not being used by St. John’s Lodge or on tour, it is on display at Federal Hall, Wall Street, New York."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:42, 20 February 2015 (UTC)

Some similar historical religiopolitical concepts to the modern ideas of the "State as a Person", the "Sovereign" and the deification of "The State" and "the sovereign"

It's hard to say when this concept of "State Personhood" emerged - it seems to have evolved slowly over the centuries. In Hobbes' Leviathan we find one the earliest fully formed written theories of "State personhood" in the modern-day Western World. One of best written descriptors of the concept of the "corporate" "person" of the "state" - what Hobbes called the "Leviathan", presumably named after the biblical figure (since the book's cover contains a biblical reference to the sea monster). I think it is clear that Hobbes is using this term "Leviathan" as metaphor to connote the "Power" the "State" is presumed to have rather than literally equating the biblical sea creature with the corporate person of the State although he doesn't explicitly explain this. Note Hobbes literally refers to his "Leviathan", the corporate "person" of "the State" as a "god".LogicMaster777 (talk) 11:50, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

"it is a real unity of them all in one and the same person,... the multitude so united in one person... This is the generation of that great LEVIATHAN...of that...god... which...is: one person."

For some similar concepts of the modern "god" of government, the magical "entity" called the "sovereign state" or the abstraction statist philosophers call "the sovereign" I point to Athena, tyr, and the similar "entities" of Chinese governmental religion.LogicMaster777 (talk) 14:20, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Athena

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena

"She is the virgin patroness of Athens. The Athenians founded the Parthenon on the Acropolis of her namesake city, Athens (Athena Parthenos), in her honour."LogicMaster777 (talk) 11:56, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

"Veneration of Athena was so persistent that archaic myths about her were recast to adapt to cultural changes. In her role as a protector of the city (polis), many people throughout the Greek world worshipped Athena as Athena Polias (Ἀθηνᾶ Πολιάς "Athena of the city"). While the city of Athens and the goddess Athena essentially bear the same name (Athena the goddess, Athenai the city), it is not known which of the two words is derived from the other."LogicMaster777 (talk) 11:56, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

"Etymology of the name and origins of the cult

Athena is associated with Athens, a plural name, because it was the place where she presided over her sisterhood, the Athenai, in earliest times. Mycenae was the city where the Goddess was called Mykene, and Mycenae is named in the plural for the sisterhood of females who tended her there. At Thebes she was called Thebe, and the city again a plural, Thebae (or Thebes, where the ‘s’ is the plural formation). Similarly, at Athens she was called Athena, and the city Athenae (or Athens, again a plural)."LogicMaster777 (talk) 12:03, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Týr

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Týr

"Týr (/ˈtɪr/;[1] Old Norse: Týr [tyːr]) is a god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as one-handed."LogicMaster777 (talk) 12:24, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

From http://www.thetroth.org/Lore/Odin%20Tyr%20and%20the%20Function%20of%20Sovreignty.pdf

"...Tyr is associated with the Thing, which Simek defines as “the legislative and executive assembly of free men in Germanic antiquity”LogicMaster777 (talk) 12:33, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

City God (China)

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_God_(China)

"The City God(s) or Town God (Chinese: 城隍; pinyin: Chénghuáng, and transcribed Shing Wong, from Cantonese) is a deity or deities in Chinese mythology or Chinese religion thought to be mystically or supernaturally responsible for protecting the people and the affairs of the particular city or associated afterlife area for which each City God deity was held to be specifically concerned."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:24, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

"There are temples dedicated to local town gods in many cities of China. Much as the ancient Greeks, the Chinese traditionally believed that guardian gods watched over cities."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:27, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

"Various towns have their own City God; usually, these patron gods are deified deceased officials. City gods are believed to hold an important position in the divine bureaucracy, and their role in the spiritual world is much like the role of an official in the human world. In Imperial times it was often debated whether local gods such as the city god held more power than the local officials. There could also be a relation between the city god and the official. The official or magistrate would often turn to the city god for advice and help in governing the city."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:32, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Worship of the City God

"Chinese culture traditionally maintained a distinction between official religion and popular religion. In official religion, worship of the City God was according to the dictates of written legislation and was to be performed by officials and degree holders. The associated activities were designed to help legitimize the state in the eyes of the common people and preserve local social status distinctions."LogicMaster777 (talk) 13:53, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

Tu Di Gong

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_Di_Gong

"Tu Di Gong (also known as Tu Di, Tu Gong, Tudi Yeye and Dabo Gong), is a Chinese earth god worshipped by Chinese folk religion worshippers and Taoists. In China, every village had a shrine to Tu Di Gong, who is believed to be in charge of administering the affairs of a particular village."LogicMaster777 (talk) 14:11, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

The Temple of The Savior

https://archive.org/stream/presidentharding00hard#page/n1/mode/2up

"It is a supreme satisfaction officially to accept on behalf of the Government this superb monument to the savior of the republic."

"I am thus inclined because the true measure of Lincoln is in his place today in the heart of American citizenship, though more than half a century has passed since his colossal service and his martyrdom. In every moment of peril, in every hour of discouragement, whenever the clouds gather, there is the image of Lincoln to rivet our hopes and to renew our faith."

"He treasured the inheritance handed down by the founding fathers, the ark of the covenant wrought through their heroic sacrifices, and builded in their inspired genius. The union must be preserved. It was the central thought, the unalterable purpose, the unyielding intent, the foundation of faith. It was worth every sacrifice, justified every cost, steeled the heart to sanction every crimsoned tide of blood."

-Warren G Harding's address at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial

File:Inscription of the Temple of Lincoln.jpg