I'm not sure it matters whether the US was founded on Christianity

[Avatar4321]

Nations rise and fall. What's important is that we found our lives on Christianity and the principles Christ taught us. When we fix our own lives, our nation will fix itself.

 

[Foxfyre]

Nations rise and fall. What's important is that we found our lives on Christianity and the principles Christ taught us. When we fix our own lives, our nation will fix itself.

The nation was not founded on Christianity. It was founded by men guided by their Christian convictions that unalienable rights come from God and no man or nation should have ability to take away or interfere with those rights. And the Founders knew that this principle embodied in our U.S. Constitution would not survive except in the care and custody of a religious and morally virtuous people.

Having said that, I do believe that men of faith from the ancients to Jesus and his Disciples and through the ages have always preached various versions of 2 Chronicles 7

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, then I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

It's a pretty good prescription for revival I think.

 

[Avatar4321]

Also, what does it matter if we were founded on Christianity if we as people have turned away from it?

We need to fix ourselves as a people to fix the nation we love.

 

[Dr.Drock]

It was founded on good principles, so people will always attach those principles to their religion, just the way it is.

I'm an atheist, some christians of the time had principles they would label christian and used those in their thinking of framing our gov't, some of the agnostics involved in the process had the same principles which i'm certain they wouldn't call christian. So in my opinion it's not a black and white answer.

I'm an atheist who likes a lot of Jesus's teachings, especially teaching of peace/loving your enemy/anti-violence. Just seems the more christian you are in the US the more likely you are to be outspokenly pro-war which is the exact opposite of those specific teachings, it's weird to me.

 

[bodecea]

Nations rise and fall. What's important is that we found our lives on Christianity and the principles Christ taught us. When we fix our own lives, our nation will fix itself.

The nation was not founded on Christianity. It was founded by men guided by their Christian convictions that unalienable rights come from God and no man or nation should have ability to take away or interfere with those rights. And the Founders knew that this principle embodied in our U.S. Constitution would not survive except in the care and custody of a religious and morally virtuous people.

Having said that, I do believe that men of faith from the ancients to Jesus and his Disciples and through the ages have always preached various versions of 2 Chronicles 7

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, then I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

It's a pretty good prescription for revival I think.

No arguments here.

 

[LumpyPostage]

How will Christians and/or Americans feel when China is the world's dominant power?

 

[bodecea]

How will Christians and/or Americans feel when China is the world's dominant power?

I understand that Buddhism is already growing in this country.

 

[Foxfyre]

It was founded on good principles, so people will always attach those principles to their religion, just the way it is.

I'm an atheist, some christians of the time had principles they would label christian and used those in their thinking of framing our gov't, some of the agnostics involved in the process had the same principles which i'm certain they wouldn't call christian. So in my opinion it's not a black and white answer.

I'm an atheist who likes a lot of Jesus's teachings, especially teaching of peace/loving your enemy/anti-violence. Just seems the more christian you are in the US the more likely you are to be outspokenly pro-war which is the exact opposite of those specific teachings, it's weird to me.

A good idea is a good idea regardless of who thought it up. When we start rejecting good ideas just because we don't share the ideology or religious faith or race or nationality or any other criteria of another person I think we won't make much worthwhile progress. And that is why I say that the nation was not founded on Christianity so much as on a concept of unalienable rights that happened to be developed by mostly or all Christians.

But certainly that concept was shared by the one or two founders who probably were not Christian. And of course you are right that many "Christian" convictions are not exclusively Christian.

Would we have the first and only national Constitution in the history of the world that is based on unalienable rights had our Founders not been mostly Christian? I don't know.

 

[Avatar4321]

How will Christians and/or Americans feel when China is the world's dominant power?

I'm likely going to feel the same way. That we need to repent of our evils and eliminate corruption in our lives and then the Lord will bless us as He has promised.

 

[Dr.Drock]

It was founded on good principles, so people will always attach those principles to their religion, just the way it is.

I'm an atheist, some christians of the time had principles they would label christian and used those in their thinking of framing our gov't, some of the agnostics involved in the process had the same principles which i'm certain they wouldn't call christian. So in my opinion it's not a black and white answer.

I'm an atheist who likes a lot of Jesus's teachings, especially teaching of peace/loving your enemy/anti-violence. Just seems the more christian you are in the US the more likely you are to be outspokenly pro-war which is the exact opposite of those specific teachings, it's weird to me.

A good idea is a good idea regardless of who thought it up. When we start rejecting good ideas just because we don't share the ideology or religious faith or race or nationality or any other criteria of another person I think we won't make much worthwhile progress. And that is why I say that the nation was not founded on Christianity so much as on a concept of unalienable rights that happened to be developed by mostly or all Christians.

But certainly that concept was shared by the one or two founders who probably were not Christian. And of course you are right that many "Christian" convictions are not exclusively Christian.

Would we have the first and only national Constitution in the history of the world that is based on unalienable rights had our Founders not been mostly Christian? I don't know.

I dunno either, good post.

 

[Steelplate]

I was raised a Christian... however, sometimes I find myself leaning towards a more Deist philosophy.

Take the verse that gets shown at every stadium in the US.. John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

I do believe that Message.. but I think it goes deeper than what is written on the printed page. I think that God brought his son down to pay for our mortal sins. But, I also am starting to think That "God" goes by different names in different cultures.

After all, when you look at the big picture, why would God Condemn a devout Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu to Hell, just because they were raised in a culture different from ours? Are we not all God's Children? Now please realize... I am not talking about some radical that is willing to strap a bomb on their chest to kill the "infidel". That is not devout, that is militant and radical. I am talking about people who live their lives in peace and harmony, according to the beliefs they were raised upon.

Don't you think that an entity with the power to create and/or destroy universes can understand basic psychology and cultural mores? Sometimes I think that WE as humans make this salvation thing way too complicated. God doesn't want ANY of us to perish.

 

[uscitizen]

Nations rise and fall. What's important is that we found our lives on Christianity and the principles Christ taught us. When we fix our own lives, our nation will fix itself.

Well you halfway caught on.
No it does not matter if the USA was founded on christianity.
What matters is where we are and where we are going. We cannot redo the past.

And yes the main problem with the USA us US as individuals being collectivley stupid in so many self destructive ways.

We are the main problem with the education system.

With everything being made in China. If we did not buy it back then would not be an issue now.

Etc

 

[AllieBaba]

It matters whether or not we were founded on christianity from a historical perspective. We cannot effectively take control of our destiny if we deny or lie about our past.

Why the compulsion to deny the facts and change history from what it undeniably is to something else? Who does that benefit?

 

[uscitizen]

We only have the future Allie and to improve on it by learning from past mistakes.
Argueing about the founding fathers intents is pretty pointless.

Christianity or any religion will live or die on it's own merits.
If it is worthwhile and properly executed by it's followers it will thrive.
If decadent and misused it will die a lingering death as it should.

 

[Avatar4321]

We only have the future Allie and to improve on it by learning from past mistakes.
Argueing about the founding fathers intents is pretty pointless.

Christianity or any religion will live or die on it's own merits.
If it is worthwhile and properly executed by it's followers it will thrive.
If decadent and misused it will die a lingering death as it should.

It's remembering our past that drives our present and changes our future.

 

[uscitizen]

We only have the future Allie and to improve on it by learning from past mistakes.
Argueing about the founding fathers intents is pretty pointless.

Christianity or any religion will live or die on it's own merits.
If it is worthwhile and properly executed by it's followers it will thrive.
If decadent and misused it will die a lingering death as it should.

It's remembering our past that drives our present and changes our future.

why we are stuck in a rut I suppose.

We seem to keep repeating our mistakes.

You seem to be describing early onset altzheimers. Remember the past well, current not so well.

It is LEARNING from our past that drives our present and changes our future. Not just remembering.

 

[AllieBaba]

Well duh, you can't learn from it if you don't know it, or if you have a bastardized version.

 

[Foxfyre]

Well duh, you can't learn from it if you don't know it, or if you have a bastardized version.

So true. The Founders envisioned a nation in which a Constitution to guide the Federal Government would recognize, secure, and defend the rights of the people and then the people would be free to form whatever sort of society it wanted. It was the first such concept in the history of the world.

That concept produced a society that was the most free, most creative, most inventive, most innovative, most daring, most productive, and most prosperous in the world.

We have for the past hundred years been chipping away at the foundations of that Constitution to our detriment. I think too many Americans no longer even think about the concept; perhaps most were never taught it and never knew it. Too many have never studied the thoughts and debates of our Founders. And that is to our great detriment.

 

[LumpyPostage]

They should be drinking Samuel Adams.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P85BXvLMOk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P85BXvLMOk[/ame]

 

[sinister59]

Nations rise and fall. What's important is that we found our lives on Christianity and the principles Christ taught us. When we fix our own lives, our nation will fix itself.

it doesn't matter ./ its just a last ditch effort to have a state sanctioned religion