Prayer to Whom?

Today, Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain, delivered the first Hindu prayer in the chamber of the United States Senate since the formation of that body in 1789. According to the Senate Chaplain's office, Zed came at the invitation of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). The full text of his prayer will be included in the Congressional Record. In the United States, prayer before legislative debates or meetings dates back to June 27, 1787 when the Constitutional Convention meeting in Philadelphia was at a standstill. Ben Franklin, the eldest member at the Convention at the age of 81, stood and said, "I've lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: That God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?" No one can legitimately challenge the fact that the God America refers to in the pledge, our national motto, and other places is the monotheistic God of the Jewish and Christian faith. There is no historic connection between America and the polytheistic creed of Hinduism. I seriously doubt that Americans want to change the motto, "In God We Trust," which Congress officially adopted in 1955, to "In gods we Trust." That is essentially what the United States Senate did today.