There's Hope For Todayનમૂનો

November 17, 1800: It was moving day in Washington. A homeless government moved into a new Capitol Building. Whether it has been a “habitat for humanity” depends on your level of political cynicism.

I was born outside these United States, and my first visit to the Capitol was fascinating, awe inspiring, and emotionally moving. For all the wrangling and demagoguery, the world is a better place for the good that has flowed out of her domed chambers. The Capitol Building that I visited was quite different from the one occupied by Congress, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and the D.C. Courts in 1800. My Capitol was wrapped in security precautions.

If you had been around on moving day in 1800, you could have walked right in and had a look around. There is an inscription in the dome of the Capitol that few people know about. It says: “One far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves.” It’s a line by Tennyson captured in the Westminster Confession.

It is also a sign that we once gave reverence to Christian doctrines and divine providence. I hesitate to mention it. Someone may challenge it under the establishment clause and sue for its removal.