Today was to be preamble day for my manifesto, but a couple of questions have been asked that need to be addressed. I will deal with the first one today and the second tomorrow.
Question: On what basis do you say that America is a Christian nation? Another way of asking the question - if Jesus were to give an assessment of Christ like behavior, what would he say?
In a strict theocratic since America has never been a Christian nation. I think it is fair to say, however, that the founding fathers, living at a time when the majority of people had a Christian consensus, utilized the Scriptures as a framework for establishing human dignity, God given rights, and the need for law. They did not apply this equally across the board (Slavery and native Americans) but it laid a foundation to deal with their inconsistencies later. And though many of the framers were Christian they were very careful not to use Christian language in the writing of the Constitution, though they acknowledged God’s providential hand in all that they did.
Since its inception the US has been influenced by spiritual men who believed that God’s plan was good and should be followed as closely as possible. That does not mean that all men were equally spiritual and that they lived righteous lives. Yet, there was a greater sense that ‘religion’ was important to the life of the community. The same sins that have always plagued men bit at the heels of men in the US from the beginning until now. The difference between then and now is that in the past evil behavior was considered sinful, even by those who lived unrighteously. Part of that was an acknowledgment of God and part was the imposition of public shame. Today there is not a consensus of either. In the past, because religion was important, communities, large and small, attempted to live out their religion locally and dealt with issues of law and compassion as a community problem and people contributed as they saw fit. The church was a central part of these activities and the Pastor a guiding force.
Today the church is not longer central and it would be safe to say that Public Schools have become more influential in developing attitudes about life and community. As schools have become more centralized in government and God removed from them the moral temperature of the country has fallen. And though there are many other influences to the moral degradation of the US, the public school system has become a battleground for liberal humanistic philosophies. This has made being a Christian teacher both difficult and important. I would dare to venture that the smaller the community the greater its moral influence of the school system.
Today there is no more moral consensus and whatever Christlikeness was evident in the beginning has been eroded by humanism. We are no longer guided by righteousness but by polls, opinions, fear, and guilt. When there is no standard of Truth the people will lose their way. Jesus’ assessment? Not good. That is why we need a savior.
Tomorrow’s Question: In what ways has the government strayed too far in applying biblical principals of helping those in need?
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