Is this a Christian nation or NOT

excon · Mar 19, 2008, 07:45 AM

Hello Christians:

We have a nice argument going on about Obamas pastor. Most people think he's a separatist. I dunno that he's not.....

But my questions are about YOU. Does YOUR church teach that America is a Christian nation? Certainly, my experience on these boards tell me that it’s not an unpopular belief among Christians. Do you believe it? If you don't, and you hear it in church, do you say anything about it? Do you stay in that church? If your church doesn't teach that, do you know of other churches that do? What do you do about that?

Do you think that the belief that America is a Christian nation is a belief that divides us, or brings us together? Do you care?

excon

excon · Mar 20, 2008, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

yup and Irving Berlin was a great Christian also . "God Bless America......"

Hello again, tom:

Really??? I thought he was a yid. Hmmm, his birth name is Israel Isidore Baline. That's a nice Christian name.

excon

tomder55 · Mar 20, 2008, 07:28 AM

I was joking ........ Happy Purim

George_1950 · Mar 20, 2008, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by De Maria

Have you ever heard the Battle hymn of the Republic sung in your Church. We sing it every fourth of July:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;

This is from the Bible. The Lord refers to Jesus:
Luke 2 29 Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; 30 Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

Vintage means wine. Wine is the fruit of the grape.

Apocalypse 14 10 He also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of his wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb.

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;

Ezechiel 29 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will bring the sword upon thee: and cut off man and beast out of thee.

His truth is marching on.

John 14 6 Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

John 1 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Psalms 20 6 His glory is great in thy salvation: glory and great beauty shalt thou lay upon him.

Psalms 104

1 Alleluia. Give glory to the Lord, and call upon his name: declare his deeds among the Gentiles.

This hymn has been sung for centuries in the United States. I'm pretty sure it assumes belief in Christ.

Sincerely,

De Maria

You never know what is in someone else's heart. I agree with Martin Luther, that the Book of James could have been left out of the New Testament, but James does affirm that 'by your works shall you be known', or to that affect.
When "Battle Hymn" is sung, I see Generals Grant and Sherman, and Honest Abe, prosecuting their version of ethnic cleansing in Georgia and South Carolina. Jesus is the farthest thing from my mind.

michealb · Mar 20, 2008, 07:37 AM

The bible has many references on how slavery is acceptable(Exodus 21:8). So slavery would be one of those Christian values that America was founded on.

Dark_crow · Mar 20, 2008, 09:21 AM

WASP, ever heard the term? White Anglo-Saxon Protestant’s founded this country and were the Power behind the government until beginning of the 20th centaury.

De Maria · Mar 20, 2008, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michealb

The bible has many references on how slavery is acceptable(Exodus 21:8). So slavery would be one of those Christian values that America was founded on.

No. Slavery as it was practiced in America was essentially kidnapping and therefore a sin against the dignity of man. Slavery or more accurately, servitude as seen in the Bible was simply recognizing of the hardships of life.

Exodus 21:1 These are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. 2 If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee: in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3 With what raiment he came in, with the like let him go out: if having a wife, his wife also shall go out with him. 4 But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons and daughters: the woman and her children shall be her master's: but he himself shall go out with his raiment. 5 And if the servant shall say: I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free:

6 His master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be set to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever. 7 If any man sell his daughter to be a servant, she shall not go out as bondwomen are wont to go out. 8 If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered, he shall let her go: but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation, if he despise her.

The Bible recognized the hardship of those times and permitted people to sell themselves and their children into slavery to seek a better life. Note that they were expected to be freed after seven years however. And note that they were not to be sold to their enemies.

Even today, every nation practices a legal form of slavery called imprisonment in which people lose their freedom as a penalty for breaking the law.

So, to compare slavery documented in the Bible during those ancient times one must put the practice in context of those times.

Sincerely,

De Maria

excon · Mar 20, 2008, 11:18 AM

Hello again:

I guess this means that you Christians ain't gonna answer my questions. Instead, you'd rather lay some bible on me...... Oh well, I coulda figured.

excon



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