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Is the US a Christian country?

Is the US a Christian Country?


  • Total voters
    80
Yes it is
But Do we have to do this Again?

http://www.debatepolitics.com/polls/197222-america-not-christian-nation.html

running 55 pages and a Month last summer.
(The OP is newer however)

Didn't ANYONE else who posted previous/in both remember?


Well, you are wrong, and if most people had a hissy fit because a thread to discuss something that had been discussed before was started, then just about every thread would be a hissy fit.

And making your font bigger does not make you right, it just looks ugly.
 
As Christian as Israel is Jewish.

Why was Jefferson a faithful attendant at the Sunday church at the Capitol? He once explained to a friend while they were walking to church together:

"No nation has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I, as Chief Magistrate of this nation, am bound to give it the sanction of my example."

President Jefferson even closed presidential documents with “In the year of our Lord Christ”

WallBuilders - Issues and Articles - Is President Obama Correct: Is America No Longer a Christian Nation?

I don't think so:

“And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away all this artificial scaffolding...

{Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823}”
― Thomas Jefferson, Letters of Thomas Jefferson
 
As Christian as Israel is Jewish.

Why was Jefferson a faithful attendant at the Sunday church at the Capitol? He once explained to a friend while they were walking to church together:

"No nation has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I, as Chief Magistrate of this nation, am bound to give it the sanction of my example."

President Jefferson even closed presidential documents with “In the year of our Lord Christ”

WallBuilders - Issues and Articles - Is President Obama Correct: Is America No Longer a Christian Nation?

Greetings, WCH. :2wave:

I have little to say except this: You do not speak for most Christians, Mr. President, and everything the well-organized groups of anti-Christians can do to harass and belittle them does not make it so. It unites them in ways you will never understand, whether they attend a church regularly or not! They are the group you sneeringly referred to as "working class people who cling to guns and religion." Your own words made it clear that you acknowledge that "Christians" are not a fringe group you can easily wish away and dismiss! Christians are not beheading and burning people alive and committing other atrocities in the name of their God, as the terrorists in the ME are doing in the name of theirs! They contribute to charities to help the disadvantaged, they expect our flag to be honored, and they respect our Constitution and Bill of Rights, as set forth by this nation's founders!
 
The USA is a plethora of religions and non-religions. That is what makes it great.
 
Greetings, WCH. :2wave:

I have little to say except this: You do not speak for most Christians, Mr. President, and everything the well-organized groups of anti-Christians can do to harass and belittle them does not make it so. It unites them in ways you will never understand, whether they attend a church regularly or not! They are the group you sneeringly referred to as "working class people who cling to guns and religion." Your own words made it clear that you acknowledge that "Christians" are not a fringe group you can easily wish away and dismiss! Christians are not beheading and burning people alive and committing other atrocities in the name of their God, as the terrorists in the ME are doing in the name of theirs! They contribute to charities to help the disadvantaged, they expect our flag to be honored, and they respect our Constitution and Bill of Rights, as set forth by this nation's founders!

You might try reading some sources other than your usual
Christian militias take bloody revenge on Muslims in Central African Republic | World news | The Guardian

Muslims came here to trade in the early 19th century and made up 15% of the CAR's population a year ago, but since then untold thousands have been killed or displaced or have fled to neighbouring countries. The UN said last week that while 130,000 to 145,000 Muslims normally lived in the capital, Bangui, the population had been reduced to around 10,000 in December and now stood at just 900.

Amnesty International has called it "ethnic cleansing" and warned of a "Muslim exodus of historic proportions".
 
Heya JF. :2wave: What did Martin Luther King have to say?

Do not know, but I am prepared to be enlightened.
And if I could get rid of that extra 10 - well maybe 20 lbs would be more truthful, I would be lightened and fit in some old clothes that mysteriously shrank.
Must be those new front loading washers.
.
 

Even a fairly cursory reading of the founding documents, letters, debates, and other writings the Founders left for us shows a very clear intent that this nation be guided and strengthened by moral principles that they believed were ordered by the "Christian" God even as they strongly believed no person must be compelled or required to be Christian or religious. They did not believe the Constitution would work for anything other than a religious and moral people.

George Washington: "While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian."
--The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343.

"Now I will avow, that I then believe, and now believe, that those general Principles of Christianity, are as eternal and immutable, as the Existence and Attributes of God; and that those Principles of Liberty, are as unalterable as human Nature and our terrestrial, mundane System."
--John Adams wrote this on June 28, 1813, excerpt from a letter to Thomas Jefferson.

"I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
--The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.

John Hancock: "Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual. ... Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us."
--History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229.

Benjamin Franklin: "Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped. . .

. . ."As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see. . . .
Benjamin Franklin wrote this in a letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University on March 9, 1790.

James Monroe: "When we view the blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good."
--Monroe made this statement in his 2nd Annual Message to Congress, November 16, 1818.

Benjamin Rush: "The gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!"
--The Autobiography of Benjamin Rush, pp. 165-166.

John Witherspoon: "While we give praise to God, the Supreme Disposer of all events, for His interposition on our behalf, let us guard against the dangerous error of trusting in, or boasting of, an arm of flesh ... If your cause is just, if your principles are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts.
--Sermon at Princeton University, "The Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men," May 17, 1776.

Patrick Henry: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."
--The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.​
 
I do not know what to answer, really. The country is not a religious country in the sense that the government idis not allowed to be. Just the opposite. But it does have a very large and vocal group of religious congregations. Much stronger than in other oecd countries.
But there is also a large group of people who see themselves as atheists and are antagonistic of the religious. And recently even constitutional rights thus far protected are being revoked.

so what's the buzz?
Don't know - Just came up before in discussions on other boards. Reason I went to the horses mouth as they say and see what people from the US think.
Though I am sure many secretly want to be Canadian.
 
You might try reading some sources other than your usual

The escape route for these kinds of arguments is:

A) They're not being Christians if they are killing people!
B) Muslims kill more people!

That's how it works in DP. Only 1.2 billion Muslims can be associated with the crazy stuff a small minority does. Christians are oppressed victims who never get to have their way about anything.
 
I know this'll really annoy the Libs here, but yes we are a Christian nation whether we like it or not. Our allies and enemies alike consider us a Christian nation. Some are our enemies in the first place for precisely that reason. Our Constitution would not be possible without the influence of English civil law, the whig-English idea of liberty grounded in the notion that rights are unalienable and not 'granted' by humans but endowed from the Creator, or the radical tendencies of the Christian sects that sailed across the Atlantic looking for a better life away from unjust monarchy. Yes, we are a nation where religious freedom is protected, but that's only possible because at our conception we codified into laws the Christian-whig ideas of the time.

We are overwhelmingly Christian nominally and one might argue that Christianity plays a role in all facets of public decision making, cultural mores, and social norms, because these were all formed within an entirely Christian framework. That's not to say other religions have not influenced an overarching American culture, but they're more minor and subtle, and manifest more in enclaves than in popular culture.

Attempts to down-play the influence Christianity has played on forming America, shaping its image and binding a set of values we can identify with, are done with obvious goals of robbing us of our heritage and invoking guilt.
 
It's a Christian majority country, it is not ruled by Christians. In fact, the Constitution basically says that it is not a Christian country.
 
Categorically not.

It is not a Theocratic state, therefore cannot be considered a "Christian Nation".

Those that push that particular mantra often have a nefarious reason behind it, you look at all of those on the fringe right that really, really push that, there's an Anti-Abortion, Anti-Gay tinge to alot of it that is primarily theocratically motivated and it's downright disturbing.

Right, because wanting to protect the most innocent among us is soooo "nefarious". :roll:
 
You might try reading some sources other than your usual

Greetings, Somerville. :2wave:

Didn't the terrorist muslim group Boko Haram just commit the deadliest massacre in history of Christians in Nigeria, with 2000 feared dead? Aren't they bragging that they intend to hit Maiduguru in Nigeria next, with 200,000 Christians at risk of being slaughtered? Aren't they the group that abducted 300 schoolgirls a while back to use as slaves and sex objects, and no one has found them yet? Perhaps the Christian Militias are tired of being terrorized in Africa and are finally fighting back! We're seeing the same thing happen in the ME with countries that normally don't get along with each other joining together in the fight against ISIS! It's about time, IMO!
 
Don't know - Just came up before in discussions on other boards. Reason I went to the horses mouth as they say and see what people from the US think.
Though I am sure many secretly want to be Canadian.

:) How about dual citizenship? I could go for that.
 
It's a Christian majority country, it is not ruled by Christians. In fact, the Constitution basically says that it is not a Christian country.

That is correct. The First Amendment makes that abundantly clear as does the main body of the Constitution requiring that there must be no religious test for appointment or election to high office.

But not being a "Christian country" it nevertheless was founded by people who believed they were following Christian principles and Christian moral precepts and they honestly believed the Constitution would work only for a people who embraced those Christian principles and moral precepts.
 
:) How about dual citizenship? I could go for that.

Well we do not tax income earned by out of country citizens, something I strongly disagree with.
 

The majority of the poll believes as I do; "no it is not". The founders were very careful to exclude "A religion", or any religion precisely because of persecution. "God is God", or "there is no God" if that's your pleasure has shown itself to be a very good way to handle it. Many however, believe that we are a Christian nation because we were founded by many Christians but we are not however a sectarian state.
 
Yes it is. But there are so many that wish is wasn't, and expend great efforts to eradicate any Christian influence of any significance.

I don't know how you can say that based on the founding documents and religious histories in this country.
 
Well we do not tax income earned by out of country citizens, something I strongly disagree with.

That's okay. I don't earn any income these days so I don't have to worry about that and I wouldn't be annoying you. For that reason anyway. :)
 
That's okay. I don't earn any income these days so I don't have to worry about that and I wouldn't be annoying you. For that reason anyway. :)

You are not annoying me.
 
Clearly it is a Christian country. Not in the sense, obviously, that a citizen must be Christian or that non-Christians are persecuted. But most of the population comes from a Judeo-Christian culture, as does all in Europe and the Americans and Australia. Most in the culture know the biblical stories and are familiar with Christian ethics and morality. Even agnostics and atheists understand and have internalized Christian morality. The proof of this is the social justice, social welfare, and progressive tax system, all of which are part of Christian ethics and morality. No other culture is as pro-charity and anti-wealth as the Christian culture.
 
Well we do not tax income earned by out of country citizens, something I strongly disagree with.

Just to understand you. Canada does not tax Canadian earnings while residing out of Canada while the US taxes its citizens anywhere they reside. Are you saying that Canada should be like the US on this issue? And I understand that there are pressures to restrict overseas residence of Canadians to 6 months or less. This seems like a major restriction on freedom.
 

No the U.S. is not specifically a Christian nation. There are synagogues that were established here long before many Christian denominations.

Before the Constitution there was the Declaration of Independence where the writer did not refer to God as Jesus but did acknowledge a belief in a Supreme Being. Throughout the document a reference to God is made four some say five times. I'll start off with two that are connected, " Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God". Who is responsible for “the laws of nature” but God......certainly not man nor nature itself? From the “laws of nature” sprang an awareness of natural law sometimes called common sense which we seem to be in real short supply these days. It was understood by early philosophers to be a source of higher law that never changes. Nature's law is best explained by Cicero, a Roman politician, as early as the 1st Century B. C. and whose philosophy influenced the Founders. Of course what Cicero wrote predated the existence of Christianity when he stated “Nor may any other law override it, (Nature's Law) nor may it be repealed as a whole or in part… Nor is it one thing at Rome and another at Athens, one thing today and another tomorrow, but one eternal and unalterable law, that binds all nations forever.” Of “Nature’s God,” the second reference to deity is, of course, more explicit and needs no explanation.

The third reference to God in the Declaration of Independence is the word “Creator” found in the second paragraph. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This boldly identified our base for at least three unalienable rights as God, and the Founders identified this truth as self-evident. Any person endowed with common sense or reason (as Cicero explained in the laws of nature) should come to this conclusion without difficulty.

The fourth and fifth references to God are found in the last paragraph. “We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown…”

The fifth and last reference to God asks for God's divine protection in our course of action. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
There was no dissent noted with respect to these references to God in this document by any of the participants then, nor should there be now.
The Founders understood in order to have a self governing system it requires people to be of good moral character. Something quite lacking in today's society which requires more laws to be implemented and with each new law freedom is lost.
 
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