Marilyn Musgrave: “Thank you, Mr. Forbes, for your leadership on this issue. As we ponder the importance of our spiritual heritage tonight…”

“Thank you, Mr. Forbes, for your leadership on this issue. As we ponder the importance of our spiritual heritage tonight, we need to remember that it's really central to the founding of America. We are reminded of this when we cite the Pledge of Allegiance at public events and in our children's classrooms. We all know that our Nation's motto is, ``In God We Trust,'' and that is printed on our currency, and it's really imprinted right here in the Capitol Building itself. Christianity was not only important in American life during the periods of discovery, exploration, colonization, and growth, but it has also been incorporated and acknowledged in all three branches of our American government since its inception. Our Founding Fathers firmly believed that America could not be built or governed without acknowledging that ``God rules in the affairs of men.'' John Quincy Adams once said, ``The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.'' It is in this religious tradition that our Nation has grown over the course of 300 years.”