Rolling Sermonette a Hit with Hoosiers

Spirituality Column # 24
April 24, 2007
Current! In Carmel (IN) newspaper

Rolling Sermonette a Hit with Hoosiers
By Bob Walters

Some folks believe the wildly popular “In God We Trust” Indiana license plate is offensive, an infringement on their individual rights and will make Hoosiers a national “religious nut” laughing stock.

At least they believe something.

Perhaps they believe divisive things about U.S. currency as well, which if read carefully also offends.

“In God We Trust.” It’s the best sermonette on the roadways since highway signs first began preaching “Keep Right.”

The new specialty tag, announced last summer and offered January 1, 2007, is available for no extra charge when Indiana license plates are renewed. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union says it is unfair for one interest group to get special treatment.

God is an interest group? Note to ICLU: Good luck with St. Peter.

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles initially, crazily, ordered a half-million plates. To the undoubted chagrin of leftists, Church-State extremists, ICLU’ers, liberal commentators and leave-me-alone-about-that-God-stuff curmudgeons across the Hoosier state, more than 400,000 have been distributed (it’s only April) and another half million have been ordered.

God wants us to be kind, humble and loving. When we put one of those plates on our car, some deem us to be arrogant, backwards and endangering the Union (America, I mean).

The plates are reverent to God, not to the “Church of Me.”

For the attentive, there is great entertainment in deciphering the two-letter branch code on the plate … and likely even more fun watching the secular-or-else crowd’s heads explode when they realize all those letter combinations can actually have scriptural significance.

“J R”? How about Jesus Redeemer? “A O”? Why not Alpha Omega? “J C”? Um, that one’s easy. There are 50; and 50 more on the way. How many have you seen?

Interesting that former House speaker Bob Garton, who for years blocked the “God” plate, relented in 2006 when he was challenged for his Columbus district seat by an overtly Christian contender. The plate, with no fee attached, sailed through the legislature and Garton lost his seat to the Christian anyway.

God Bless America, and the Indiana BMV.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com), a Carmel resident, urges those who are squeamish about the plate to read Romans 13 for comfort.