President Obama failed to include the words "under God" while reading from the Gettysburg Address for a PBS documentary. As first reported by Chris Plante on WMAL, the president recited the Gettysburg Address, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863. The video clip is part of a PBS documentary created by filmmaker Ken Burns that includes speeches by other celebrities.

The most historically accurate version of the Gettysburg Address includes the words "under God." This is known as the "Bliss Copy" and it's the version most often reproduced and referenced. This copy is displayed on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.. The relevant passage reads as follows:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

It appears that Obama purposely used a "first draft" version of the Gettysburg Address, which omitted the words "under God." This unofficial copy of the speech, referred to as the "Nicolay Copy," did not mention God:

It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

How did Obama the "Constitutional scholar" pick the "first draft" versus the "official version" of the Gettysburg Address? This cannot be just a "mistake."

Obama has censored God from his remarks before. During an October 18, 2010 speech at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) he glaringly left out the mention of a "Creator" as the source of man's "unalienable rights," when quoting the Declaration of Independence. The president failed to say "by their Creator" when referencing the inalienable rights we are all endowed with.

...as much as we have been blessed by the bounty of this magnificent continent that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, what makes this place special is not something physical. It has to do with this idea that was started by 13 colonies that decided to throw off the yoke of an empire, and said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that each of us are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

As everyone knows, the actual and correct wording of the United States Declaration of Independence specifically mentions our Creator, God, as the source of all our unalienable rights:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

There are other instances when this president has purposely removed God from his speeches. This disturbing pattern was highlighted by the Blaze back in October 2010.

This isn't the first time the president has selectively edited the Declaration in not acknowledging the role of God in bestowing these rights upon man. During a Sept. 15 speech before the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's Annual Awards Gala, the president omitted the religious reference, but the White House dismissed criticism, saying that Obama "went off script and adlibbed when he made that mistake." But just a week later, the president made the exact same "mistake" speaking during another fundraiser, this time in New York City.

When asked why the president did not use the words "endowed by their Creator" in his Monday speech, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Tuesday, "I can assure you the president believes in the Declaration of Independence."

What would prompt a sitting president of the United States, one who claims that he's a practicing Christian and believes in God, to deliberately avoid mentioning God, his Creator, in so many of his public speeches and remarks? Is he ashamed of God or does he no longer believe in Him?

Chris Banescu regularly blogs at www.chrisbanescu.com and www.orthodoxnet.com/blog