In Theory:

To believe and trust in God is, for me, the core belief by which I define myself and seek to order my life. If this is the belief and practice of certain members of the City Council, I can understand their desire to proclaim their belief in the Council Chambers. But is this their role? I think it is not.

I am uncomfortable with the proposal to place an “In God We Trust” inscription in the chambers, for it does not belong to the council, or any government body, to promote religious belief and practice. Nor must it interfere with belief and practice.

I know that these words are found on our currency and other government entities, and I am not proposing their removal. But it is not in the competence of politicians, as politicians, to be promoters of religion.

There are many good people who are quite uncertain as to the existence of God. We all know such persons. How are they included in the “we” statement? They are equally members of the body politic with those who are believers and must not be excluded or maligned. I, as a church person, like to engage serious seekers in their wonderings about God. I would be delighted if they were to come to believe and trust in God. But this is not the task of the City Council.

MSGR. WILBUR DAVIS

Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church

Newport Beach

The Costa Mesa City Council should not allow the placement of “In God We Trust” in the Council Chambers, no matter how much Wendy Leece promotes the idea! The founders of our country intended to keep church and state completely separate, and that should apply to local governments as well as national.

How Leece thinks that “In God We Trust” can masquerade as being about unity, as noted in Wednesday’s Daily Pilot, is beyond belief. It is actually about as far from promoting unity as you can get. Whose God are we talking about?

And when she says that the use of the term is intended to promote patriotism, that is equally laughable. To express patriotism, we should honor the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and use the original and only proper motto: E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one). That really promotes both patriotism and unity!

Do we really trust a God that would, for instance, demand that people do all the evil things (including the mass murder of innocents) that the Christian God demanded be done, as noted in various places in Deuteronomy 3 to 22, as well as in many other parts of the Bible, including Joshua, Samuel and Kings?

JERRY PARKS

Member, Humanist Assn. of Orange County

As long as “In God We Trust” is the national motto of the United States of America, there should be no dispute about its being appropriate for our cities.

Our cities have no mandate to be more or less secular than our federal government does. Though secular fundamentalists would remove all references to faith from our culture, I find it troubling that they seek to override the rights of the rest of us. Most Americans express some faith.

Though secular fundamentalists are small in number, they demand that their version of life override the preferences of the rest of us. It is rare that people of faith have required belief from unbelievers; why shouldn’t people of faith experience the same respect about their beliefs?

America was intended to be free from religious requirements of any religion. Why is the secular religion the only group exempt from this? We are guaranteed freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

RIC OLSEN

Lead Pastor, The Beacon