Homeland Security: Turn to God in time of terrorism

To whom should Homeland Security officials turn when faced with terrorist threats?

They should turn to God, according to one state's law.

When Kentucky formed its state Office of Homeland Security in 2006, it listed the department's initial duty as "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Homeland Security must proclaim God's protection in its reports. The office also features a plaque at its Emergency Operations Center declaring, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God."

State Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, included the stipulation to acknowledge God in an amendment to the legislation. Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved it, according to the report.

The office is now required to put God above all else – including allocation of government grants and threat-risk analysis.

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Riner, a Southern Baptist minister, told the Herald-Leader giving God glory for his protection is of utmost importance.

"This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky," Riner said. "Government itself, apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for government."

Under Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Homeland Security mounted the plaque as directed and gave God credit in its annual reports – until last month.

Now the office of current Gov. Steve Beshear is saying it did not know about the plaque. Regardless, Homeland Security Chief Thomas Preston said he has no plans for its removal.

"I will not try to supplant almighty God," Preston said. "All I do is try to obey the dictates of the Kentucky General Assembly. I really don't know what their motivation was for this. They obviously felt strongly about it."

While God is not mentioned on Homeland Security's website or in its mission statement, Riner said he would like to see references to Him.

"We certainly expect it to be there, of course," he said.

But state Sen. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington disagreed. She said the office should concern itself with terrorist threats rather than evangelizing.

"It's very sad to me that we do this sort of thing," she told the Herald-Leader. "It takes away from the seriousness of the public discussion over security, and it clearly hurts the credibility of this office if it's supposed to be depending on God, first and foremost."

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