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Book: One Nation Under God: Religious Symbols, Quotes, and Images in Our Nation’s Capital Author: Eugene F. Hemrick Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, IN, 2001, pp.142 Excerpt from Jacket: Explore a dimension of Washington, D.C., most tourists never see with this unique guide to the religious imagery and art contained in our most famous public monuments and buildings. With beautiful pictures and descriptive text, One Nation Under God is more than a guidebook — it’s a lesson in the all-too-often ignored heritage that makes our nation great. Discover the fundamental Christian principles literally carved in stone by our Founding Fathers. Trace the conjoined history of our nation and our salvation Uncover the heroes of the Catholic Faith immortalized in the U.S. Capitol Examine some of the finest religious art in the world Marvel at the all-too-often forgotten religious foundation of our nation Table of Contents: Introduction Finding Our Way Around Capitol Hill Chapter 1 Finding God’s presence in the U.S. Capitol Chapter 2 Passing on the Tradition Chapter 3 Explorers and Saints Passing on the Tradition Chapter 4 Virtues Everywhere on Capitol Hill Chapter 5 Profound Religious Lessons Within Sounding Distance of the U.S. Capitol Sources A Selected Excerpt From Book: What is the real essence of virtues, and why are they so highly exalted by great civilization? Is it because they are human behaviors we need to cultivate in order to behave properly? Are they ethical standards for living just and righteous lives? Are they ideals that civilizations have come to cherish for the glory they create? Or are they divine inspirations from God that transform our natural way of living into a supernatural life? All of the above reasons are true, but there is more to them than this. Virtues are a sacred spirit with which God endowed us at the moment of our creation. Why we feel honorable when we live them — and guilty when we don’t live them — can only be attributed to God. They act as our voice of conscience, which is at peace when we are in accord with it, and which makes us restless when we act contrary to it. References to virtues on Capitol Hill are everywhere and are designed to stand out. I believe it is true to say that one reason our nation inscribed reminders of them in its halls and on its facades is to keep alive within us our voice of conscience. Like the All-Seeking Eye of God in the U.S. Senate and on our dollar bills, the references to virtues signify that they are one of God’s says of watching over us. |