Politicians and commentators often say, erroneously in my view, that the United States is a christian nation, that our founders had christian doctrine in mind, whatever they actually said on the subject not withstanding. Speaking as an outsider (to Christianity), I'd have to say that the United States is less christian now than perhaps it ever has been.
In the United States, you can eat if you have the money. You can go to a good school if you have the money. You can get decent health care if you have the money. You can live in a house if you have the money. The United States as a nation will not clothe the naked, or feed the hungry, or nurture the sick, or shelter the poor. At least not well and worse every day.
So what is christian about this country? Surely there has to be more to christian-ness than killing abortionists and sodomites. After all, that seems decidedly Old Testament. Maybe the United States is a Hebrew nation. God knows we don't need another one of those. There is also a remarkable overlap with shiria law, except for the charity part.
I don't know. It's not my religion or heritage but I fail to see how the behavior of the American government or indeed the people ourselves can be in any way confused with christian tenets.
1 comment:
I agree with you that the notion of declaring America a 'Christian nation' is flawed. As you stated, the argument seems to be that the founding fathers were Christians and therefore embedded their ideals into the fabric of the country. What if one of the founding fathers was a pedophile? Could one make the argument that America is a nation of pedophiles?
I think the first amendment addresses this issue and clearly realizes that some religions of which our 'people' are free to practice aren't necessarily Christian in foundation.
I don't have actual data, but my opinion is that religious states tend to have the most volatile societies as they practice sanctioned intolerance - leaving no peaceful room for members within their borders to have differing views.
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