AMERICA IS NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION
America is a Christian nation and it was founded on Christian principles. This is the Big Lie that is constantly being uttered fromfundamentalist pulpits. This untruth has been repeated so often, thatmost Christians believe that Jesus Christ was one of the FoundingFathers of our great nation.
This was not true when America was founded more than two centuries ago,and it's certainly not true today ;America is one of the mostreligiously diverse nations on the planet. It's this ethnic, religiousand political diversity that's our greatest strength; religiouspolarization can only weaken our union.
If fundamentalists lie about this important matter -- they shouldn't bebelieved when they wax indignant on moral and spiritual matters.America is not a Christian nation; abortion is not murder; feministsare not witches; abstinence-only sex education does not work; SpongeBoband Tinky Winky are not gay (not that there is anything wrong withbeing homosexual); and George W. Bush does not have a direct line tothe Almighty.
Our nation was founded not on Christian principles but on Enlightenmentideals.The intellectual leaders who created America believed that humanreason could be used to combat ignorance, superstition and tyranny ;they had a natural animosity toward organized religion. It's notsurprising that God is only a footnote in the grand documents that arethe bedrock of our democracy.
The Constitution makes no mention whatever of any deity. In theeighty-five essays that make up The Federalist Papers, the SupremeBeing is mentioned only twice. In the Declaration of Independence, theBig Guy gets two brief nods: A reference to "the Laws of Nature andNature's God," and the often quoted line about men being "endowed bytheir Creator with certain inalienable rights."
If the Founding Fathers were Christians and they wanted to establish aChristian nation, then why didn't they mention Jesus Christ even oncein a document that they knew would be the cornerstone and foundation ofthe emerging democracy? That's like Marx writing the "CommunistManifesto" without mentioning "socialism".
The distinguished leaders of the American revolution were not devoutindividuals, and they fought energetically to erect, in ThomasJefferson's immortal words, "a wall of separation between church andstate."
If we define a Christian as a believer in the divinity of Jesus Christ,then most of the leading lights of the American Revolution were notChristians at all. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Tom Painewere deists -- they believed in one Supreme Being but rejectedrevelation and all the supernatural elements of evangelicalChristianity. John Adams was a professed liberal Unitarian; in hispublished writings he seemed more deist than Christian. In other wordsif these gentlemen were alive today, they would be more at home in aliberal Presbyterian congregation than at Jerry Falwell's Thomas RoadBaptist Church.
It's latter-day interlopers who have breached the wall of separationbetween church and state. In God We Trust" did not appear on ourcoinage until the Civil War, and "under God" was introduced into thePledge of Allegiance during the McCarthy hysteria in 1954.
If we really want to abide by the spirit of the Constitution and TheDeclaration of Independence -- we will put an end to all thisfoolishness about bringing back God into our public schools. Those whoimagine a Christian America would be paradise, would be well advised toconsider the theocracies of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan underthe Taliban.
Ironically, as our nation becomes less Christian and more religiouslydiverse, evangelicals redouble their efforts to make America moreChristian.
Everyone who loves democracy and freedom must fight the efforts offundamentalists to tear down the wall of separation between church andstate. Jesus Christ may reign supreme in evangelical churches, but Heshould be kicked to the curb if He tries to scale the wall ofseparation and enter the political arena.
America is not a Christian nation. America is not a Christian nation.America is not a Christian nation. God, it feels good telling thetruth. I may be a "little voice crying in the wilderness", but with thetruth on my side, I will defeat a lie -- no matter how big.
This was not true when America was founded more than two centuries ago,and it's certainly not true today ;America is one of the mostreligiously diverse nations on the planet. It's this ethnic, religiousand political diversity that's our greatest strength; religiouspolarization can only weaken our union.
If fundamentalists lie about this important matter -- they shouldn't bebelieved when they wax indignant on moral and spiritual matters.America is not a Christian nation; abortion is not murder; feministsare not witches; abstinence-only sex education does not work; SpongeBoband Tinky Winky are not gay (not that there is anything wrong withbeing homosexual); and George W. Bush does not have a direct line tothe Almighty.
Our nation was founded not on Christian principles but on Enlightenmentideals.The intellectual leaders who created America believed that humanreason could be used to combat ignorance, superstition and tyranny ;they had a natural animosity toward organized religion. It's notsurprising that God is only a footnote in the grand documents that arethe bedrock of our democracy.
The Constitution makes no mention whatever of any deity. In theeighty-five essays that make up The Federalist Papers, the SupremeBeing is mentioned only twice. In the Declaration of Independence, theBig Guy gets two brief nods: A reference to "the Laws of Nature andNature's God," and the often quoted line about men being "endowed bytheir Creator with certain inalienable rights."
If the Founding Fathers were Christians and they wanted to establish aChristian nation, then why didn't they mention Jesus Christ even oncein a document that they knew would be the cornerstone and foundation ofthe emerging democracy? That's like Marx writing the "CommunistManifesto" without mentioning "socialism".
The distinguished leaders of the American revolution were not devoutindividuals, and they fought energetically to erect, in ThomasJefferson's immortal words, "a wall of separation between church andstate."
If we define a Christian as a believer in the divinity of Jesus Christ,then most of the leading lights of the American Revolution were notChristians at all. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Tom Painewere deists -- they believed in one Supreme Being but rejectedrevelation and all the supernatural elements of evangelicalChristianity. John Adams was a professed liberal Unitarian; in hispublished writings he seemed more deist than Christian. In other wordsif these gentlemen were alive today, they would be more at home in aliberal Presbyterian congregation than at Jerry Falwell's Thomas RoadBaptist Church.
It's latter-day interlopers who have breached the wall of separationbetween church and state. In God We Trust" did not appear on ourcoinage until the Civil War, and "under God" was introduced into thePledge of Allegiance during the McCarthy hysteria in 1954.
If we really want to abide by the spirit of the Constitution and TheDeclaration of Independence -- we will put an end to all thisfoolishness about bringing back God into our public schools. Those whoimagine a Christian America would be paradise, would be well advised toconsider the theocracies of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan underthe Taliban.
Ironically, as our nation becomes less Christian and more religiouslydiverse, evangelicals redouble their efforts to make America moreChristian.
Everyone who loves democracy and freedom must fight the efforts offundamentalists to tear down the wall of separation between church andstate. Jesus Christ may reign supreme in evangelical churches, but Heshould be kicked to the curb if He tries to scale the wall ofseparation and enter the political arena.
America is not a Christian nation. America is not a Christian nation.America is not a Christian nation. God, it feels good telling thetruth. I may be a "little voice crying in the wilderness", but with thetruth on my side, I will defeat a lie -- no matter how big.
posted by Biff Downey | 6:50 AM
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