My friend Aaron pointed out this op-ed article and I found it to be mostly well thought out provocative. As Amber pointed out, a thoughtful Christian should be wary of anyone proclaiming "Scripture says" anything because Scripture is both ambiguous and contradictory at times. It's preferable to state that "some places in Scripture say...", or even better to use precise references to the places in Scripture. However, aside from the part where Meacham uses Scripture, which many Americans don't consider authoritative, as support for his reasoning, he has thought his argument through well and he makes his point. I've thought for quite some time that America's claim to the title of "Christian Nation" is faulty - one needn't look any further than the separation of church and state to realize that our nation was not founded as a "Christian Nation", per say. It was founded by people who sought to escape religious persecution, not by those who desired to establish a new nation where religion ruled.While I, myself, proclaim the Christian faith, I do not believe that the nation in which I live was founded as a Christian Nation, nor do I believe that we act as a Christian Nation. Meacham is right when he writes that Christ's Kingdom is not of this world, though we are called to bring about His Kingdom in this world. The Kingdom of God is not bound by nation states, hemispheres or borders. We must remember these truths if we are to truly follow in the footsteps of Christ. America has not co opted Christianity, nor do we have a corner on the proverbial market of Christ's blessing, though we may think we have.
4 comments:
Yes. I agree. I'm still working my way through Boyd's "Myth of a Christian Nation," which is right along these lines.
I shall have to pick that one up. Sounds like a good read. Thanks for the inadvertent tip. :)
Some more thoughts on this...
As a religion major and America history minor, I have been so frustrated with people who blur the political/religious lines in the name of the founders... it is such a misunderstanding of history. First of all, there was Columbus, an egomaniac who "discovered" America and proceeded to kill 2/3 of its inhabitants. (No wonder it was so easy for the future settlers to proclaim it their territory in the next two hundred years.) The pilgrims came to escape persecution in the 1600s, and to create a "city on a hill," a settlement which would be an example of proper Christian living to the world. They couldn't do that in England. I would say that they didn't come to establish a Christian America, as much as set up a little Puritan commune in no man's land. The next wave into Jamestown, etc was looking for gold and self-gain. Nothing about establishing a nation under Jesus Christ. Both projects basically failed when most people died. By the revolution days, it was fashionable to be a Deist, one who believed in a God that created the world and then stepped back and let it run itself. The language about God-given human rights and Creation refer to this sense of natural law, very vogue in philosophical circles. Anyone who really believes in a Biblical basis should revisit their Hobbs and Locke.) The rebellion began because of unfair taxation, and not because they wanted to establish a nation of fanatical Christianity. It was decades after the Revolution that religious fervor actually swept the nation, thanks to migrant preachers spreading the Great Awakening. So, to wrap up this little history lesson, four waves of settlers came in before there was an "America", and only one arguably had ambitions of a Christian nation (and these weren't the ones who signed the Constitution, my friend.)
Sorry for the rant. I miss college.
Amber, thank you for your rant. I love your passion. It was also really great to read an "American History as it Pertains to Christian Foundations in Review". Well done.
As for missing college... we'll just have to use our blogs to continue intellectually stimulating conversation.
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