Believers and Nonbelievers?

Question

Just wondering, What do you think when you spend money and it says IN GOD WE TRUST, or sign a Certificate of Marriage and it says IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, or stand in a court of law and swear to tell the truth the whole truth SO HELP ME GOD or write a date and put B.C. BEFORE CHRIST OR A.D. AFTER DEATH.

How do people who don't believe get around doing these things?

I guess it depends on the state but my Certificate does say that, and In court you have to repeat after the officer and say the oath which does include God in it. I wasn't meaning to get any feathers ruffled, I just think if it was me and I didn't believe in God I might have a problem with some of these things, and again maybe I just wouldn't care. So I just wondered how people who are in that position feel about it.

And just so you know I watch one and maybe on some weeks two hours of T.V. all week. If that, I don't think thats two much T.V. do you? And yes I have been in court a few times, and was sworn in as a witness, (you raise your right had and they say repeat after me) ( Do you) I swear to tell the truth , the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. And thanks for clarifying A.D.

Answer 1

Because we are forced into it even though it is meaningless to us. It is old history and culture that requires updating.
It is an insult to me.

Answer 2

One can always scribble out the motto on the money. It spends just as well. Our state's marriage certificates say no such thing and our court oaths do not mention "God". When I need to specify a date range, I use B.C.E. and C.E. When I read otherwise, I copy it down corrected. So I don't have problems with such things.

Incidentally, A.D. does NOT mean "After Death". (Hint: It's Latin and you've already mentioned its translation.) If it did, there's be a 30-odd-year gap in the calendar, wouldn't there?

Answer 3

Being a non-believer, I can tell you how I do it.
I don't carry cash, I use plastic and my plastic says that there's a witch behind the money.
As far as the coins are concerned, they could say,
"Pigs can fly" for all I care.
As long as it spends.
My marriage certificate,
(which by the way,
also says that it expires in 30 days,
which I always found to be quite humorous.)
does not mention any spiritual entity on it.
Nor does it say in the
year of our lord.
All my official documents state the current era ,
not A.D. (Anno Domini)
When I go for jury duty, I explain that
I am not christian
&
that either they take my word for it
or
they can excuse me.
So far, They accept my word.
I do not use that particular phrase
because it means as much to me,
as if I was to swear to a bottle of Tylenol.
I never write B.C
but I will use BCE=Before common Era
and
ACE=After Common Era.
In the United States of America,
we have this wonderful little thing
called "Separation of Church & State"
and
we have been using it in our family
for over 6 generations.
My two youngest daughters
are attending military school
in New Mexico
and
are following our family traditions,
so far they have yet,
to have encountered any problems.
We have a strong support system in our family.

Answer 4

1.) I don't think about the money issue. I could really care less.

2.) It says that on my marriage certificate? again, no biggie.

3.) I do not go to court or am not subpeonad on a regular basis. And when I do have to go to court it is usually for a traffic violation. Not sworn in then.

4.) When I write the date, I write Sept. 28, 2007. Not Sept. 28, 2007 AD. Who does this? I have NEVER seen anyone use it in their daily life.

Also AD does not mean "after death". It is Latin for Anno Domini, translated it means "in the year of our Lord".

Answer 5

The only thing like this that really bothers me as a believer - is when someone (like the President at an inauguration or a witness in a court trial) has to take an oath with his right hand on the Bible.

I think that is unscriptural ("let your yea be yea and your nay be nay") and unseemly.

Answer 6

Well I have no problem calling today "Friday" and yesterday "Thursday", even though they were named after the Norse gods Freya and Thor. Nor to I have a problem with the names of the planets.

"In the year of our Lord" is simply what you get when you write "A.D." in full instead of an abrreviation in Latin (it does NOT stand for "after death", but "anno domini"). It's usually a rule of good grammar to not use abbreviations for official documents.

When writing dates, I use the convention of "BCE" and "CE" ("Before common Era" / " "Common Era"). That dating is used not only because it's a secular recognition that not everybody in the world is Christian (and some cultures do not measure this year as "2007"), but also because estimates for Jesus's year of birth (for those who assume he even existed in the first place) are not placed around the year 1 but rather later.

Answer 7

Dear Sister

To tell you the truth, you know i believe those who are nonbelievers just go on and signed the Certificate of Marriage and spent the money without a doubt and do all the other things without a doubt. They don't allow that to stop them from being happy. They just live their lives from day to day.

Answer 8

My marriage cert didn't say that.

When I was in court I wasn't required to swear or say so help me god. I was asked to affirm that I would tell the truth.

I don't use BC or AD. I use the more accurate BCE and CE.

Having IGWT on the money is childish and silly but it's there. It would be better if it weren't there. It contributes to making the US look like a religiously obsessed country. And makes the country look like a hypocrite when confronting other countries that are radically religious.

What do you think Jesus would think of putting God on money?

Answer 9

Our calendar is based on Christ, so it doesn't bother me a bit that my marriage certificate says that on it.

Why do you WANT to get around that or the fact that "In God we trust" is on our currency?

This country was founded on Christian/Judeo principals and while it is a secular country, God has blessed it immeasurably!

God bless!

Answer 10

Why would it matter what is on a piece of paper? Believe it or not we will sign papers even when they have talk of god on it. We aren't petty we would like to comply with rules and orders to get things done and over with and get on with our lives. Money is going to be spent why bother read whats on it? Things are going to with that money are;

a) be exchanged for products, food, house, cars, bill pay and etc.

b) goes into the bank for safe keeping and a little return on it

c) used to be spent electronically from bank accounts via checks, credit card, debit card, prepaid and etc.

Answer 11

How do YOU like having money declared as your God?

You watch too much TV, no one is required to swear "SO HELP ME GOD" in court.
AD BC, who puts that in writing? Most just put the date as 27 Sept 2007