Is the US a Christian Country? Should it be?

by jst2laws 20 Replies latest social current

• 

  jst2laws

  In a different discussion another poster made a popularly accepted statement about the religious foundation of the United States
  
  

  "Some say that our nation has never been a Christian nation, but I think history shows that it has been, from the start." borgfree

  Yes, from the start the founders of this country were, for the most part, Christian. But few are aware of an enormous conflict between two factions of the founding fathers that set the stage for many issues now being debated.
  
  Appointment of a conservative Christian to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Reproductive Health & Drugs Advisory Committee. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/14/57605/1.ashx ,
  
  The Christian protests over the removal of the Ten Commandments from a public Judiciary building in Alabama
  
  Prayer in Public Schools, to name a few.
  
  Just in case anyone wants to discuss this I will simply throw out a statement of fact, although controversial, and see what happens.
  
  The framers of the constitution were very much influenced by hermetic-Rosicrucian-Masonic enlightenment. Hermitic teachings were at the root of modern thinking in England, France and Italy during the centuries the US was being colonized. The resulting esoteric western traditions molded important concepts found in the US Constitution. One of them is separation of Church and State. It appears that the writers intended for the church to stay out of government and the government to stay out of the church.
  
  The Puritan influence was totally opposite. The Puritans were of the Calvinist thought. Calvin we may admire as one who stood up to the Catholic Church, but then became the tyrant of Geneva, executing anyone who disagreed with him. So these Calvinists got control of England under Oliver Cromwell but were so religiously intolerant they were run out of England. They joined other Puritans here in the US who had arrived in 1620, shortly after the Pilgrims. (The Pilgrims are the folks who came here for religious freedom. The Puritans were driven here because of their intolerance of religious freedom) Remember the old Massachusetts law against celebrating Christmas, the hanging of witches and Ethan Allen conquering in the name of the Great God Jehovah? These religious fanatics hoped to establish a “Theocracy” in America but the wiser majority prevented this although it took an amendment, the first, to clearly establish separation of church and state.

  While some may still argue that this is a Christian nation by design it is NOT A CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENT. The attempt at that failed over 200 years ago.

  What we have today is the same conflict, Puritan-Calvinistic fundamentalism trying to meddle with a govenment that constitutionally must have nothing to do with religion, including Christianity. If we give in to their demands on abortion, birth control, euthanasia, display of the Ten Commandments, school prayer and other issues then we will have to also accommodate the Islamic fundamentalists as well as the Jewish fundamentalists and any other flaky religious group like Jehovah's Witnesses.

  What do you think?

  Jst2laws
• 

  Hamas

  I think for the most part the US is a Christian country, lots of Christian fundamentalists try to pull the strings.. yabba yabba.

  I also think that it does a lot of people good, and the US is probably a better place yabba yabba.

  But it would be a better place if they had a huge bible/Quran/any other religious book burning session to stop bullying the people into feeling guilt. It's exactly the same in the middle east ; it wouldn't be such a shithole if so called clerics take their head out their ass and moved with the times; allowing people to be happy and not so bogged down with religious spin and hypocritical beliefs, muttered to them by so called religious leaders.
• 

  StinkyPantz

  Yes.

  Yes & No.
• 

  Englishman

  Steve,

  There's some interesting comparisons made here about Christianity:http://www.teal.org.uk/stats/key.htm

  Englishman.
• 

  bigboi

  Is the US a Christian Country? Should it be?

  The answer to both questions is an emphatic NO!!!!!!!

  While it's true that the Framers of the Constituion and the majority of this country's population were and have always practiced various forms of the Christian religion, the First Amendment makes any kind of official endorsement of Christianity totally unconstitutional.

  A lot of fundamentalist Christians scream that there rights are being violated when school districts are prohibited from forcing students to pray, or statues of the ten commandments are taken out of government buildings. However, they forget that one of the premier tenets of any true democracy is the protection of the minority from the tyranny of the majority. If we cross that line then America simply becomes a Fundamentalist Christian state. We won't be much different than those Fundametalist States of another religion in the middle east.

  I think where a great deal of the confusion about this issue comes in is the fact that we see the government acknowledging it's Christian heritage all the time. It seems hypocritical for the gov to give you a day off on Christmas w/pay, yet at the same time say it's illegal to put a picture of the 10 commandments. However there is a difference between acknowledging a religion and endorsing it. Once we fail to understand that thne this great democratic experiment called the United States of America will have failed and hopefully will go the way of the Confederacy and the Soviet union before it.
• 

  jst2laws

  Hamas,

  But it would be a better place if they had a huge bible/Quran/any other religious book burning session to stop bullying the people into feeling guilt. It's exactly the same in the middle east ; it wouldn't be such a shithole if so called clerics take their head out their ass and moved with the times; allowing people to be happy and not so bogged down with religious spin and hypocritical beliefs, muttered to them by so called religious leaders

  

  Bigboi

  I agree,

  I think where a great deal of the confusion about this issue comes in is the fact that we see the government acknowledging it's Christian heritage all the time. It seems hypocritical for the gov to give you a day off on Christmas w/pay, yet at the same time say it's illegal to put a picture of the 10 commandments.

  The same old conflict of the fundys vs the less religious and enlighted. George Bush calling on the Christian God to defeat Allah radicals makes me sick. "In God We Trust" on the dollar bill. The Moral Majority endorsing fundamentalist politians.

  Its often the polititians themselves that cause the confusion.

  Eman

  I will check the site and get back to you.

  Jst2laws

  
  
  
  
• 

  Elsewhere

  To suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency is a dangerous fallacy which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own (Statute for Religious Freedom, 1779).

  
  ARTICLE 11.
  As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,-and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
  (Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Signed at Tripoli November 4, 1796)
  Enacted by a 100% vote of the US senate.
• 

  Double Edge

  It seems hypocritical for the gov to give you a day off on Christmas w/pay,

  may be, but you'f see all sorts of fanatics and non-fanatics, religious or otherwise come out of the woodwork if the government took that holiday away.
• 

  jst2laws

  Hey Elsewhere,

  As to the question, "Is the US a Christian country"?

  ARTICLE 11.
  As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,-.......(Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Signed at Tripoli November 4, 1796)
  Enacted by a 100% vote of the US senate.

  I guess that settles it. At least how the early American legislators felt.

  Jst2laws
• 

  Blueblades

  No.No.In GOD WE TRUST IS ON THE MONEY! Not in allah,buddah,mohammed,moses,jesus,lincoln,washington,no religion,just GOD.

  Now everyone handles the money.Muslim,Jew,Christian,agnostic,atheist,evolutionist.

  Many have a different perception of GOD,some dont believe in him at all.That don't stop any of us from using the money that says in GOD WE TRUST.

  On one city block you will see,Christian,Jew,Muslim,atheist,etc.The only reason they are in this country is not because of Christian beliefs,its because of the freedom to practice any belief,or, none at all!

  Just go to any big gambling place .they are using the in god we trust money,when they are trusting in luck to win.

  They need to take that in god we trust off the money and make it neutral and secular.

  I'm just ranting on,tired right now,didn't check the spelling.