What does "one nation under God" do? It provides "liberty and justice for all" its citizens. This remarkable phrase "with liberty and justice for all" is a precise and concise summary of both the Jubilee/Sabbatical laws (Lev. 25 and the New Testament kingdom of God (Isa. 9:6-7; 61:1-4; and Luke 4:18-19).
The famous cracked Liberty Bell has this biblical inscription: "Proclaim liberty through all the land unto all the inhabitants." The full message of the Jubilee ties liberty (freedom for the poor and oppressed) with doing justice (restoring land to poor families). The Liberty Bell precedes the Pledge by 140 years. Both the Liberty Bell (1752) and the Pledge (1892) emphasize the same point---liberty---, as does the Declaration of Independence (1776)---"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." But only the Pledge specifically ties liberty and justice together. If I were given permission to change one word in the Declaration, I would make the following change: "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Justice."
Rumor has it that the Pledge was written by a socialist, but don't tell anybody.
What would the priorities be of one nation, under God, that pursues justice: the needs of the poor and oppressed, widows and orphans, immigrants and ethnic groups (our equivalent to the despised Samaritans and Gentiles). Pure religion, according to James, is reaching out to oppressed and neglected widows and orphans. But it seems like most white American Christians are like the Pharisees who "neglected justice and the love of God." (Luke 11)
Job did not neglect justice and the love of God (NIV, Job 29:12-17).
I rescued the poor who cried for help
and the fatherless who had none to assist him;
The man who was dying blessed me;
I made the widows heart to sing
I put on righteousness as my clothing;
justice was my robe and turban.
I took up the case of the immigrant;
I broke the fangs of the oppressor.
If Job were living today, he might add:
I stopped unjust mass incarceration;
I ended the racial wealth gap.
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