The headlines of the Wednesday, December 25^th, 1968, New York Times read, "3 MEN FLY AROUND THE MOON ONLY 70 MILES FROM SURFACE; FIRE ROCKET, HEAD FOR EARTH."

The New York Times' account records that Major William Anders read from Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and voice(sic void); and darkness was upon the face of the deep... "

Captain James Lovell then continued, "And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night."

Colonel Frank Borman then continued, "And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the water called He Seas: and God saw that it was good."

Isn't it interesting how Americans and America in general find it necessary and satisfying to quote the Bible in times of majestic awareness, great exhilaration, exploration, discovery, and tragedy. What is absolutely confounding and ironical is that reading the Bible in the public schools or publicly praying during a school ceremony is forbidden, even if men of various or all religious persuasion are called upon to participate. Such would at least communicate that we, as a nation, do believe in God, which is stated in our Declaration Of Liberty, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." Alan Keyes, a 1996 presidential candidate, states it so clearly when he says:

The doctrine of the separation of church and state -- as it has been articulated in recent years by our courts, including the Supreme Court -- is an erroneous misinterpretation of the Constitution that actually provides the framework for massive violations of our First Amendment rights.

The First Amendment was never intended to exclude all references to God and religion from our governmental institutions or our public life. The surest sign of the absurdity and danger of this doctrine is the fact that its application means that the Declaration of Independence itself can only be taught in our government schools as an historical artifact, rather than as the living expression of our moral identity as a people.

I believe that the First Amendment prohibition of established religion aims at forbidding government-sponsored coercion of religious conscience. It does not forbid all religious influence upon politics or society.

The free exercise of religion means nothing if, in connection with the ordinary events and circumstances of life, individuals are forbidden to act upon their religious faith. Recent administrative attempts to banish religion from the workplace, or court decisions that prevent teachers and other government workers from personally pursuing or displaying their faith, in my opinion constitute clear efforts to prohibit the free exercise of religion.

American culture and society was not designed to be a "religious free zone" where any expression or discussion about the existence and nature of God was to be silenced or delegated to only the province of the church building or the home. Religion was part of every aspect of life in 1776 and that was true even into the generation of those who are reading this column. One of the factors that caused this restricted view towards the expression of religion is the change of America's moral climate. Clearly, Christian principles express unmistakable moral values and specifically sexual values. The Bible, the same Bible which was quoted at the memorial service held for the disaster in Oklahoma and during the exploration of space by our American astronauts, also teaches sexual abstinence until marriage, monogamy, and stands against "free-sex", promiscuous sexual behavior, and homosexuality.

I well imagine that the real antagonism towards religion and Christian principles is directed towards the clear implications of Bible truth, implications that impact the lives of far too many Americans and present-day American culture. It is not that we don't understand what the Bible says, but that we, as Americans, understand all too well and many, far too many, Americans do not want their life-style decisions identified for what they really are, sinful.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the tombs of the righteous. . . . but you are the sons of them who killed the prophets." They gave lip service and outward show to what the prophets taught, but they would have killed the prophets for what they said had they been there, just as they crucified the greatest of the prophets, Jesus himself.

American society honors the truths of the Bible with their mouth and quote it at times of great disaster and discovery, but the truth is we truly do not like it interfering with our day-to-day life-style choices. Maybe, that is why Alan Keyes states, "We don't have money problems, we have moral problems" in America!