|
America, A
Christian Nation? By Dave Racer March 6, 2002 A group that calls itself “Kingdom Now” triggered what they believe will be a spirited debate about whether or not America is or ever was a Christian nation. Okay. Let’s debate. Their leaders identify themselves as pastors of House Churches in Cincinnati, Ohio, and their main concern is their conviction that American Christians have made nationalist fervor into an idol. Their website, www.kingdomnow.org, carries this explanation: “We expect that the 95 Theses will spawn much antagonism and discussion. This discussion can be funneled through the website at first, but ultimately we imagine that a publication will be necessary to defend the basic beliefs that the theses embody (that the Church in the U.S. is idolatrous, that America is not a ‘Christian Nation’, etc.). The 95 theses they refer to are listed on their website. They summarize their argument in these 95 statements and assert them to be as important as were Luther’s 95 theses. It is too bad that they asked the wrong question at the beginning of the debate. It would have saved them much angst and allowed them to focus on the most important question: “What is the first, foremost and primary duty of a Christian?” But you will have to read the rest of my comment before I answer that question. I have observed that some people call themselves Christian businessmen. Does this mean that their businesses are Christian businesses? Some Christians write novels. Does this mean they write Christian novels? Some Christians teach at colleges that foster a Christian worldview? Does this mean these are Christian colleges? Some pastors call themselves Christians? Does this mean their churches are Christian churches? Institutions cannot, to my understanding, make a personal confession of faith. Neither can pieces of paper that contain words or buildings. Each human being is faced with the decision whether or not to declare their faith in Christ—that is, to be and claim to be a Christian. Theologians argue about the nuances of that statement, but my point is that faith is personal, not institutional nor corporate nor national. On the other hand, institutions, books, schools, businesses and the like are run by humans who are or are not Christians and who have or have not decided to live under instruction of a Christian worldview. Should they choose to live by faith, it adds a Christian perspective to all that they do. They become a landscaper who is a Christian, a homemaker who is a Christian, a President who is a Christian. And the homeowner, family and nation are better off for it. If in 1776, 56 men who lived in a predominantly protestant era in which churches played a central role in individual, community and government life, gathered together to write a statement of belief about government, it is likely that the document they produced would reflect their predominantly Christian worldview. Such is the American Declaration of Independence. Ideas of the supreme value of humans who live by the rule of God’s laws, who appeal to the Supreme Judge of the Universe, are not ideas that spring from human reason. The words chosen by the Committee of Five that produced the Declaration show that those 56 men appealed to the God of the Bible. And by any honest evaluation of their lives, human as they were, even the most irreligious of them were guided by or lived in a society dominated by a Christian worldview. So here, in 2002, comes the well-intentioned fellows at Kingdom Now—confused fellows, I think. The question of whether or not America is a Christian nation is a red herring and the wrong question to ask. It is also the wrong position to support. America is no more a Christian nation than a church bus is a Christian bus. But would anyone really disagree that it makes more sense to have a sober Christian driving that bus than a drunk atheist bent on self-destruction? It is critical, however, that the real question be asked and answered that nags at the hearts of the naysayers. Was the guiding creed at America’s creation a Christian creed? The answer is absolutely, without a doubt. Acknowledging that our founding creed was formulated from a Christian worldview is a good thing, I think. And it has made the United States of America possible. Yet I do want to answer the real question my brothers at Kingdom Now have asked. I am a Christian American citizen and grateful to God for liberty. But I do not worship America, I worship God. I celebrate Christ. I place my life in His hands. My Christian faith informs my civic life and so, I hold these truths to be self-evident: “That all men have been created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (that is, the right to own property).” This is a Christian worldview. I urge Kingdom Now to rephrase their question and then rewrite their theses. “How can Christians live out their faith at home, at work and in governance, and always place Christ first in their hearts?” And I would add, “What should Christians do to help draw others to faith? What role has the Holy Spirit assigned to them in His process of drawing men to Christ?” The more men and women who call Christ their Lord, the more America will reflect Christian values and, maybe, can, eventually, rightly be labeled a Christian nation. |