A Christian Nation?
The subject of America being a Christian nation was addressed to me in an email by a friend. I was very glad to receive the opportunity to discuss the issue, as it afforded me the opportunity to begin to dig into my own thoughts on the subject. And the following paragraphs are the initial result of this quest.
Jesus' message was clear in that the "key" or "theme" of his message was "The Kingdom of God." The Kingdom of God was the people of God doing the will of God on earth today and together. If I go into a room, a store, a house, a country, I either bring with me the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of hell. God's Kingdom is brought with me when I obey the teachings of Christ whose words are literally God's words. Hell's kingdom is brought with me when I don't obey Christ's words to heal, help, serve, feed, et cetera.
We are to establish the Kingdom of God on earth as Jesus directed. With this as the case, to call ourselves a Christian nation is a lie at worst and silly at best. We are no more a Christian nation than the ocean is a Christian ocean. And I'm not sure that Jesus wanted us to create a Christian nation. After all, it was after the death of Constantine when all other religions except for Christianity were declared illegal that a nation of Christians who were persecuted became a nation of Christian persecutors.
I'm not as interested in being a Christian nation as much as I am interested in being a nation that accepts Christians who are free to enter and invite others to enter the Kingdom of God.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to discover what I think about this topic.
In His dust,
Johnny
5 comments:
Thanks, Johnny. Interesting thoughts. We try to make too many things "Christian," instead of using whatever tools we have available - were the Cretan prophets that Paul quoted "Christian" Cretan Prophets?
It's interesting to me how so many people play the Christian card, instead of living the Christian life.
Being a Christian nation would require much more than going to Christian churches, saying "Merry Christmas," and not being Muslim. To be a Christian nation would mean our entire nation has entered the Kingdom of Heaven with the fruits of the Kingdom being evident by all who experience America. That is obviously not the case.
In His dust,
Johnny
I think there is an epidemic in this country of Christians who make Christ look bad. Who are so harsh and hateful to anyone who is different OR they condone the 'whatever feels good do it' mentality of manipulating scripture and only living bits and pieces of it in order to make it fit for them.
Overall, alot of Christians are embarrassing their faith and their brothers and sisters by being uneducated as to why they believe what they believe an undisciplined in their walk and relationship with Christ.
If living in a Christian nation means being exposed to church groups holding derogatory signs outside of gay pride parades or being embarrassed by tele-evagelists who offer a green cloth of healing for every financial seed sown then I would much rather be a Christ-follower in a non-Christian nation...I think the name of Jesus will have seen less damage there.
You are so right...it IS interesting how many people play the Christian card without living the Christian life. That is the key to the whole problem.
Thanks for bringing this up Johnny.
I agree. Thanks, Kathy for your comments.
We should be doing more to bring the Kingdom of God into every place we go and to every person we are near.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
I respect your views on this issue. Being dogmatic on any such subject can be dangerous. That's why I try to keep my mind open and listen to views like the one you raised concerning prayer in school.
One of the problems with mixing religion and politics is that we no longer view ourselves as full-time followers of God. And when I say "we," I am refering to the U.S. population as a whole.
The only way to call ourselves a Christian nation, as I've stated before, is to have every human being within our country be committed to being in the Kingdom of God by doing His will.
Believing that Jesus is the Messiah is not enough to call ourselves a Christian nation, even if every citizen believed it. But, if every American were to live his and her life to imitate Jesus, then and only then could we claim that our nation is a nation of Christians.
Still, the best approach is to be what we were created to be in this country, which is a nation that allows all religions to practice their faith.
In His dust,
Johnny
Post a Comment