Yeah, but, no...
This article has been cross-posted to my website. Read it there!
Lately I have been painfully aware of well-meaning Christians who genuinely believe that we still live in a Christian nation, and/or that we were founded by Christians or under Christian principles. This breaks my heart, for I wish it were true... but it is not. Let me give you an example.
Today, I received this email from a dear friend at Fuller:
The White House is under fire for a blog post asking supporters to send "fishy" information received through rumors, chain e-mails and casual conversations to a White House e-mail address, flag@whitehouse.gov. "
(Retrieved August 5, 2009 from: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/05/white-house-draws-requesting-fishy-information-supporters-health-reform/)
White house officials qualify this effort by asserting that they are attempting to gain insight on public opinion regarding President Obama's proposed Health Care Initiative, but I am sure they would appreciate additional information. So, for those of you who care to turn me in, I believe:
That the government bailout plan, the cash-for-clunkers plan and the healthcare initiative are well-meaning but ill-concieved plans that will achieve short-term goals but will fail horrendously in the long run;
That citizens of the United States have the right to keep and bear arms;
That our men and women in uniform have a duty perform at home and overseas, that they deserve our full support, and should persevere until the job is done;
That life, from the moment of conception is sacred;
That freedom of speech is sancrosanct and should not be employed or manipulated to compile an "Enemies List" so that patriotic Americans can be censured or censored;
That the United States of America was founded with a clear commitment to the principles established in the Bible...One Nation, under God...not Brahma, not some "Ultimate Reality", not the God of Islam but the Triune God consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...and those foundational principles should be maintained. We do live, in contrast to the Commander in Chief's assertion, in a Christian Nation;
But then, Jesus himself said, "On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will repel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stand firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 19:18-22, NIV)
Now, while I could write on for pages and pages as have done the other intelligent Americans in this country about how this sounds WAY more like 1984 and Big Brother than I could have imagined for a man who has held his office for a mere seven months and change, but I think that has been articulated very well by others. (Although, may I point you in this direction? Here I found a quote I really liked: "If anything, this kind of reaction to dissent is going to make the dissenters even angrier than they already are. The United States was founded by just the sort of people that President Obama and his Congressional allies disdain, gun toting, tax resisting red necks who didn't flinch when the King's men came marching up the lane to put down a group of patriots that they thought of as a 'mob' as well.")
But, like I said, that's not my point. My point is the last two paragraphs of the email I was sent (and let me stress that I enjoyed it to that point). To reiterate:
That the United States of America was founded with a clear commitment to the principles established in the Bible...One Nation, under God...not Brahma, not some "Ultimate Reality", not the God of Islam but the Triune God consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...and those foundational principles should be maintained. We do live, in contrast to the Commander in Chief's assertion, in a Christian Nation;
But then, Jesus himself said, "On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will repel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stand firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 19:18-22, NIV)
How I wish it was so! But, as they say, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Wishful thinking will not get us anywhere. We are not a Christian nation. We are a nation which is so fortunate as to enjoy the presence of many, many Christians, who have had a formative impact on the development of our country. But those men we affectionately refer to as "Founding Fathers" were mostly deists, tainted by the enlightenment disdain for anything that smacks of the supernatural and denying that ultimate truth is to be found in Jesus Christ or in the Bible (which, by the way, is not the only, or even the greatest, manifestation of God's word - that honor goes to the former: Jesus). The truth is, while we have liked to think of ourselves as a Christian nation, there are many, many people who are not Christian, whether or not they hold to any other faith, and the truth is, we have to deal with that. The truth is, we know that Christianity is True, but we aren't going to convince the rest of the nation of that overnight. The truth is, the Triune God was rejected by at least some of the founding fathers, if not all of them.
We need to quit living like we're a Christian nation with some bad leadership. We need to start living like we're Christians who are fortunate enough to live in a nation that guarantees that we are free from the most severe persecution and free to worship with other Christians in the manner we see fit.
Now, I do not advocate for the fictitious separation of church and state. The Constitution only insists that there be no state religion; it does not say that the state must approach the church as though it were poisionous for its very existence. I think that anyone who calls himself a Christian and does not allow his Christianity to influence every single aspect of his life - politics especially - is a hypocrite.
But if we are going to be effective in our work under the Great Commission, we need to quit thinking that we're a Christian nation that has gone astray. The USA is not the new nation of Israel. It's not the nation that God has singled out to be his new people and there aren't going to be any prophets sent from God to the USA calling his people back to a right relationship with him. God's people are the Christians (and whether or not his people are also still the Israelites is an issue I am not going to address here). If he chooses to send prophets - and prophetesses! - to the Christians to call them back to a right relationship with him, which I think he does, all the better. But he sends them to Christians, not to the USA. God's people are no longer confined to a political or geographical boundary, but are found throughout the world, and that means that you don't have to be an American to be a Christian - nor do you have to be a Christian to be an American. I am not saying whether this is right or wrong. I am saying that's the way it is, and we need to learn to deal with reality, and quit living in a little American=Christian bubble. It's irresponsible and harmful to the spreading of the gospel and living truly Christlike lives.
Because, you see, we can call out other Christians when they are not following Christ in love. They have, so to speak, signed up for living a Christian lifestyle, and when they fail to do so we have a responsibility to call them out (lovingly) and guide them back to the path they have chosen to walk. But how can we force those who have not signed up for Christianity to follow the rules of Christianity? May I remind you of 1 Corinthians 5:12-13? "For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside." Please, read 1 Corinthains 5-6. We are supposed to judge those inside the church, to arbitrate differences and to keep each other in line - lovingly, as always. We are supposed to let God judge those outside the church.
This is going to require a radical change in the way we Christians live our lives. We cannot assume that we live in a Christian nation. We must live as though the people we meet are in need of the Gospel, not as though they already have it. And if we want to demonstrate the good that Christianity can do for our nation, we need to show the good that it does in our lives, in the lives of our churches, and in the relationships we have with non-Christians. Only then can we begin to say that Christian values ought to inform what the nation does - when we have proved that they are good values, worth following, when we can point to our churches and our lives and our relationships and say, "That's why Christianity is so wonderful, so worth having, and that's why we should incorporate its principles back into our government."
There is more to be said about this, but I think I've rambled long enough for now. Hopefully this has given you some food for thought, and I welcome any comments you might have on what I've said.
Blessings to you all!
-Jaya-
Lately I have been painfully aware of well-meaning Christians who genuinely believe that we still live in a Christian nation, and/or that we were founded by Christians or under Christian principles. This breaks my heart, for I wish it were true... but it is not. Let me give you an example.
Today, I received this email from a dear friend at Fuller:
The White House is under fire for a blog post asking supporters to send "fishy" information received through rumors, chain e-mails and casual conversations to a White House e-mail address, flag@whitehouse.gov. "
(Retrieved August 5, 2009 from: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/05/white-house-draws-requesting-fishy-information-supporters-health-reform/)
White house officials qualify this effort by asserting that they are attempting to gain insight on public opinion regarding President Obama's proposed Health Care Initiative, but I am sure they would appreciate additional information. So, for those of you who care to turn me in, I believe:
That the government bailout plan, the cash-for-clunkers plan and the healthcare initiative are well-meaning but ill-concieved plans that will achieve short-term goals but will fail horrendously in the long run;
That citizens of the United States have the right to keep and bear arms;
That our men and women in uniform have a duty perform at home and overseas, that they deserve our full support, and should persevere until the job is done;
That life, from the moment of conception is sacred;
That freedom of speech is sancrosanct and should not be employed or manipulated to compile an "Enemies List" so that patriotic Americans can be censured or censored;
That the United States of America was founded with a clear commitment to the principles established in the Bible...One Nation, under God...not Brahma, not some "Ultimate Reality", not the God of Islam but the Triune God consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...and those foundational principles should be maintained. We do live, in contrast to the Commander in Chief's assertion, in a Christian Nation;
But then, Jesus himself said, "On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will repel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stand firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 19:18-22, NIV)
Now, while I could write on for pages and pages as have done the other intelligent Americans in this country about how this sounds WAY more like 1984 and Big Brother than I could have imagined for a man who has held his office for a mere seven months and change, but I think that has been articulated very well by others. (Although, may I point you in this direction? Here I found a quote I really liked: "If anything, this kind of reaction to dissent is going to make the dissenters even angrier than they already are. The United States was founded by just the sort of people that President Obama and his Congressional allies disdain, gun toting, tax resisting red necks who didn't flinch when the King's men came marching up the lane to put down a group of patriots that they thought of as a 'mob' as well.")
But, like I said, that's not my point. My point is the last two paragraphs of the email I was sent (and let me stress that I enjoyed it to that point). To reiterate:
That the United States of America was founded with a clear commitment to the principles established in the Bible...One Nation, under God...not Brahma, not some "Ultimate Reality", not the God of Islam but the Triune God consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit...and those foundational principles should be maintained. We do live, in contrast to the Commander in Chief's assertion, in a Christian Nation;
But then, Jesus himself said, "On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will repel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stand firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 19:18-22, NIV)
How I wish it was so! But, as they say, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Wishful thinking will not get us anywhere. We are not a Christian nation. We are a nation which is so fortunate as to enjoy the presence of many, many Christians, who have had a formative impact on the development of our country. But those men we affectionately refer to as "Founding Fathers" were mostly deists, tainted by the enlightenment disdain for anything that smacks of the supernatural and denying that ultimate truth is to be found in Jesus Christ or in the Bible (which, by the way, is not the only, or even the greatest, manifestation of God's word - that honor goes to the former: Jesus). The truth is, while we have liked to think of ourselves as a Christian nation, there are many, many people who are not Christian, whether or not they hold to any other faith, and the truth is, we have to deal with that. The truth is, we know that Christianity is True, but we aren't going to convince the rest of the nation of that overnight. The truth is, the Triune God was rejected by at least some of the founding fathers, if not all of them.
We need to quit living like we're a Christian nation with some bad leadership. We need to start living like we're Christians who are fortunate enough to live in a nation that guarantees that we are free from the most severe persecution and free to worship with other Christians in the manner we see fit.
Now, I do not advocate for the fictitious separation of church and state. The Constitution only insists that there be no state religion; it does not say that the state must approach the church as though it were poisionous for its very existence. I think that anyone who calls himself a Christian and does not allow his Christianity to influence every single aspect of his life - politics especially - is a hypocrite.
But if we are going to be effective in our work under the Great Commission, we need to quit thinking that we're a Christian nation that has gone astray. The USA is not the new nation of Israel. It's not the nation that God has singled out to be his new people and there aren't going to be any prophets sent from God to the USA calling his people back to a right relationship with him. God's people are the Christians (and whether or not his people are also still the Israelites is an issue I am not going to address here). If he chooses to send prophets - and prophetesses! - to the Christians to call them back to a right relationship with him, which I think he does, all the better. But he sends them to Christians, not to the USA. God's people are no longer confined to a political or geographical boundary, but are found throughout the world, and that means that you don't have to be an American to be a Christian - nor do you have to be a Christian to be an American. I am not saying whether this is right or wrong. I am saying that's the way it is, and we need to learn to deal with reality, and quit living in a little American=Christian bubble. It's irresponsible and harmful to the spreading of the gospel and living truly Christlike lives.
Because, you see, we can call out other Christians when they are not following Christ in love. They have, so to speak, signed up for living a Christian lifestyle, and when they fail to do so we have a responsibility to call them out (lovingly) and guide them back to the path they have chosen to walk. But how can we force those who have not signed up for Christianity to follow the rules of Christianity? May I remind you of 1 Corinthians 5:12-13? "For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside." Please, read 1 Corinthains 5-6. We are supposed to judge those inside the church, to arbitrate differences and to keep each other in line - lovingly, as always. We are supposed to let God judge those outside the church.
This is going to require a radical change in the way we Christians live our lives. We cannot assume that we live in a Christian nation. We must live as though the people we meet are in need of the Gospel, not as though they already have it. And if we want to demonstrate the good that Christianity can do for our nation, we need to show the good that it does in our lives, in the lives of our churches, and in the relationships we have with non-Christians. Only then can we begin to say that Christian values ought to inform what the nation does - when we have proved that they are good values, worth following, when we can point to our churches and our lives and our relationships and say, "That's why Christianity is so wonderful, so worth having, and that's why we should incorporate its principles back into our government."
There is more to be said about this, but I think I've rambled long enough for now. Hopefully this has given you some food for thought, and I welcome any comments you might have on what I've said.
Blessings to you all!
-Jaya-