Print Story: A pious nation? on Yahoo! News
This is a very interesting article as to whether or not America is a Christian Nations. The article seems to suggest that America is Christian in on only in the rhetoric of right-wing Christians who are trying to rewrite history. Here is a short excerpt.
Let's start with violence, a phenomenon hard to square with New Testament teachings about living in peace and Old Testament commandments not to kill one another. For all our virtues, we are beyond doubt a violent society, inundated by weapons, murders and pop culture glorification of violence to a degree unmatched by other First World nations.
The massacre at Virginia Tech this spring might seem an extreme case. Defenders of gun rights warn against overreaction, claiming that mass shootings, however horrific, are quite rare. In truth, Virginia Tech-style massacres happen every day, albeit in less dramatic form. Statistics show that gun violence kills close to 30,000 people a year in America, or about 80 a day - more than double the number slain in Blacksburg, Va. Is this what one should expect of a country guided by Jesus, the "Prince of Peace"?
Then there is the violence projected by our government. Here, too, it is impossible to claim that America is a peaceful nation in the image of Christ. Under the Bush administration, the United States has pursued an aggressive foreign policy and a war in Iraq that theologians struggle to justify with Christian doctrines about morally defensible war. Certainly, the case can be made that dangerous forces left our government with no choice but to fight. But the question must be raised again: Is our behavior as a nation consistent with our ostensibly Christian character?
You will really want to read the whole article. Please read and comment.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing the article. It is not that surprising that when government (or a single political party) claims to represent Christians, they will abuse the power to achieve their own purposes.
The GOP was able to maintain control for a long time because they 'represented' the faithful in America. They used hot-button issues such as gay marriage to bring out the voters, while largely ignoring more important issues like eliminating poverty.
As Christians we should try to be mindful of what issues Jesus would be most concerned about. Would Jesus care more about making a law so that two men can't form a state-recognized union, or finding a way to feed the 800,000 chronically malnourished people around the world?
Over the past few years I have observed growing awareness among Christians that no one party can be trusted to represent their values. Next November there will still be congregations where "vote for the GOP or be damned" will be heard from the pulpit, but surely this will happen less often than it did four years ago (at least I hope so!).
Instead of pledging allegiance to one party, Christians need to think about what issues are most important and decide which leaders are more likely to take positive action on those issues.
Wes,
Thanks far you excellent comment. I could not agree more with you sentiments.
Post a Comment