Most of us know by now the story of how the United States was founded and formed. European colonists formed their own autonomous political and legal systems which were not represented by the British Parliament The British Parliament tried to impose new taxes, The Stamp Act; which the colonists believed to be unconstitutional, because they were not represented in Parliament The conflicts between the Colonists and British Parliament continued to grow until a full fledged war broke out in the Spring of 1775. On July 4th, 1776 the colonies declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and became The United States of America.
 |
| Photo Credit: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/ |
When most people ask or debate on whether this country is founded on Christian principals, the two most common historical documents that are brought up, debated and presented as evidence of either side of the arguments are the Declaration of Independence and The U.S. Constitution. Other 'evidence' that is used in the argument include the motto "In God We Trust" on our currency and the phrase 'under God" in the pledge of allegiance I will break down these arguments using the same documents. For me to even try to pretend to be objective on this subject matter would be disingenuous to say the least.
The Declaration of Independence was written before the establishment of a formal lawful government. Many people believe that the Declaration of Independence is proof that this country is a christian nation simply because the document contains the word 'God' and 'creator.' The Declaration of Independence is a beautifully written document and what it does exactly is lists the grievances of the colonists against Great Britain. Since Great Britain was a religious monarchy, of course the word 'God' and 'creator' are going to appear since the grievances were directed at the monarchy and since the colonists were being persecuted for religious reasons.
The Declaration of Independence was specifically designed and made very clear that the power of a future government is derived from the people and upheld by the people--not based or derived on religion, god or superstition. It goes further to state that 'to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.' Nothing is said of our rights or government being secured by a god or Christianity.
'The pursuit of happiness' is a statement to attest to our freedom. We have the freedom to pursue happiness, but with no guarantee or promise of that from any organized religion or deity. Regardless if we fail or succeed in our pursuit, the Constitution, not the Declaration of Independence, protects our inalienable rights.
The Untied States Constitution is the document that serves as the law of the land. This document expresses the vision and intent our Founding Fathers had for the United States. Another beautifully written document, this document is a secular document. The omission of 'god' from the Constitution was done intentionally to keep up what Thomas Jefferson called a "wall of separation of church and state." referred to in a 1802 letter to the Committee of Danbury Baptist Association.
 |
| Photo Credit: http://stopplayingchurch.files.wordpress.com |
Most arguments on this subject matter usually surround these two important and historical documents, and the words and phrases contained within them. I would like to bring yet another important, and historical document in to the mix that I believe clearly answers and makes very clear that the United States is a secular nation and was not founded on christian principals. The Treaty of Tripoli, is a lesser known document that clearly establishes that in 1797, the United States Government was not founded on Christianity.
The Treaty of Tripoli was a peace and friendship treaty between The United States of America and Tripolitania. It was signed at Tripoli on November 4th, 1796. In June of 1797 it was ratified and signed by then Senate President John Adams, and became law on June 10th, 1797.
The reason this document is important is because it was a normal, routine diplomatic agreement, but had attracted attention due to the English version containing a clause regarding religion in the United States.
"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims],—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Mohammedan] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."
As for the belief that our motto 'In God We Trust' and our Pledge of Allegiance stating 'under God' is somehow proof that we are a christian nation, is probably in my opinion one of the most shallow and naive arguments on this topic. In 1954, the words "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. In 1956, "In God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States-both in response to the threat and fear of Communism.
No matter what evidence or historical documents are presented to prove whichever side of this argument one thing is clear. This is a debate that will rage on and continue no matter what. It is my opinion however that it is a insult to our Founding Fathers, to believe and state that this Country was founded on Christian principals when history has shown time and time again that it was not. It degrades the intellect of our Founding Fathers to imply that they 'forgot', or 'left out' important matters of religion when framing the Constitution and becoming independent from the British Parliament. How they could craft such a beautiful, nearly perfect document laying out the foundation of this country, yet be so careless when it came to addressing matters of religion--especially since their escape from Great Britain was in part due to religious persecution!
It also has baffled me and I could never make the cognitive correlation that the colonists were escaping England and the monarchy to form their own government, because they were not represented in parliament and because they were being persecuted by the crown. Only to establish a government that does the same thing, in the name of Christianity by forming a Christian Nation? And to me, if you believe that the United States is a Christian country, then by default you would have to believe that the colonists escaped Great Britain and the religious monarchy, to come form their own religious country and do the same thing, and engage in the same the of behavior, authority and rule that the crown had. That makes no sense to me and I have yet to hear a coherent explanation for that, nor do I expect to.
Personally, I will just stick to history and the knowledge that they left to pursue freedom. And among those freedoms, is a person's right to believe this country was founded on Christian Principals.
The Separation Of Church And Hate:
ReplyDeleteThere is a good reason why Church and State must always remain separate. Let’s get something straight, right from the start: A theocratic state is not a free state, and never will be. I’m sure it was never Jesus’ intention nor was it His will that anyone should be dominated in His name, the name of Christ. That is the will of men. To be accurate, the concept in itself is anti-Christian. You can only follow Christ by choice, not by legislation.
It seems some people are more intent on casting stones at perceived sinners than propagating the love of Christ. ~ “Above all else, I command you love one another”. ~ This was the message that Jesus preached, and as far as I can see, the worth of a soul will only be measured as such. But I can assure you of one thing, when your time of judgment comes, you won’t be asked to recite scripture, but rather, if anything, the question will be; did you get the message and live by it?
For all of you people out there on the religious right, you should try to remember that looking for sins to condemn, and people to persecute in the name of God, is simply Satan’s way of keeping you from seeing what is good and praiseworthy. It’s Satan’s favorite means of deceit; getting people to hate and kill each other in the name of God and Christ Jesus. Twisting scripture to incite hatred and division.
Understand this; that by doing so, you are defaming the name of Christ, associating Jesus with bigotry and hate. Jesus was never cursed with these feelings, these sins that you commit in His name. It’s widely agreed that He rose above it all, and to use His name for the justification of spreading contempt and hatred for anyone is true heresy. It isn’t Pro-Christ by any means, but clearly Anti-Christ.
The Christian Dilemma:
ReplyDeleteThe greatest threat to America, and indeed to the rest of world, at this point in history, comes from the staunch advocates of right wing ideology, and I must submit this warning to you: There is a grave problem with the right wing movement, in that; they seem to possess a distorted sense of entitlement. They’ve set themselves apart, and seem to think that their faith gives them the right to view the world from a platitude of conceit, through condescending eyes, and with a false sense of superiority. They actually believe themselves to be superior beings, with a manifest destiny and some strange notion that God is on their side. A people with a desire to conquer, under the false guise of Christianity, seeking to dominate in the name of Christ, their view of humanity being reduced to nothing more than a matter of “us” and “them”.
What they fail to realize is; if the Christ you believe in leads you to view other humans as lesser beings, then you are a follower of the anti-Christ. The plain truth is; God doesn’t have a religion and God doesn’t discriminate. Any religion that professes to be the only true religion,or that they‘re special in the eyes of God preaches false doctrine. If the Spirit of God is truly with you, it will only be known by acts of “unconditional” love and charity. No religion can claim exclusive rights to God. He belongs to all that He has created, and to foster a belief in “us” and“them” is to divide humanity, not unite it.
And so it will be, in The End, that those who have set themselves apart from their fellow man will find that they have set themselves apart from God. The worth of a soul will only be measured by how much it has loved, nothing more, nothing less. Woe to those who have taken the widow’s mite and built castles and empires in His name. They have incurred a great accountability, their suffering will be unending.
Even Jesus will not claim to be Christian, but will only proclaim the glory of the Father. And when He returns they will shout: "Here we are Lord!" And He will respond: "I never knew you". They have forsaken the Word and have become prisoners of the Numbers.
Those who have put themselves first will be last.