Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Have you ever noticed...?

     A lot of people say that the US was founded as a "christian nation" (leaving the Treaty of Tripoli aside, for the moment.) Yet, when certain unpleasant actions committed in the name of christianity are pointed out (e.g. the Inquisition) these same people will say that those who committed the actions "were not real christians." Well, it doesn't work. Slavery and wife-beating were endorsed by this country for many decades from its foundation. How could this nation possibly have been a christian nation if no one was "a real christian"?

3 comments:

J Curtis said...

A lot of people say that the US was founded as a "christian nation"

I guss you would " leave aside" the National Park Service as well? Link

Misguided people did kill people thinking theyt were doing right by God.

What is the excuse of atheist regimes?

Slavery and wife-beating were endorsed by this country for many decades from its foundation. How could this nation possibly have been a christian nation if no one was "a real christian"?

Times changed. I would only point out that the staunchest abolishionists were Christians that pointed out that the institution of slavery as it existed in the antebellum south was completely different than that which existed in Biblical times. feel free to look it up.

Pvblivs said...

     "I guss you would " leave aside" the National Park Service as well?"
     The treaty that I left aside, signed by president John Adams and unanimously ratified by the U.S. Senate (seldom unanimous on anything) expressly denies this being a christian nation. I assure you, I did not leave anything aside due to it being inconvenient.
     My point is that christians will claim or deny that the same person was christian based on whether it is convenient at the time. They will identify Washington as a christian to assert the nation was founded on christianity, but insist that he was a "false convert" when the fact that he was a slaveholder until the day he died is brought up.

J Curtis said...

The treaty that I left aside, signed by president John Adams and unanimously ratified by the U.S. Senate (seldom unanimous on anything) expressly denies this being a christian nation. I assure you, I did not leave anything aside due to it being inconvenient

The statement that this nation is not officially christian is not false.

By the same token, in 1607, it would appear that a large cross (not a minorah, cresent or representation of Zues) was planted in the sand at Cape Henry and the book of Matthew was read from. Not the Koran.

Individual states had official religions (Massachussetts-Congregationalist, Virginia-Anglican). Just not all of them and not at the federal level either. This was to try not and make the mistake that England and the Scandinavian countries did by doing so.

What are the firt words of the Treaty of Paris?, a much more important document that we could use for comparison?