One of the things I keep hearing these days is that if the current occupant of the White house gets
reelected America will never be the same. This is true but the fact is America is, and has been changing for a long time. It is certainly changed from the time I was a kid! It's changed economically, socially, and morally.
I hear people get angry over President Obama's assertion that the United States is not a Christian nation but he is only stating the obvious! Yes, at one time America WAS a Christian nation, and yes, even today America is nominally Christian by majority, but there is no way we can be considered a Christian nation. If we were, President Obama would NEVER have been elected and neither would many of the present office holders in his administration, a number of members of the Senate, a few from the House of Representatives, and others, from the Governors of states on down to the local level!
Just look at the national debates over birth control, abortion, gay rights and same sex marriage. If this were a Christian nation none of these things would be debatable! Every true Christian knows that same sex marriage is wrong; every true Christian knows that abortion is wrong! How can a Christian nation allow the Ten Commandments to be kicked out of our public schools? How can a Christian nation even consider whether prayer should be allowed in schools? Christian nation?...far from it!
If ours were a Christian nation the television and movie industry would be churning out G movies only. If we were a Christian nation the National Endowment For the Arts would be strictly regulated. If we were a Christian nation stores would still be closed on Sunday. If we were a Christian nation Christianity would be held in high regard. If we were a Christian nation our leaders would have to profess Christianity or they would not be elected, which, by the way, was true at one time in our history. If we were a Christian nation Israel would be confident of our alliance. If we were a Christian nation Muslims would not come here!
When I was a boy things had already changed! I was born in 1947 and WWII had ended just shortly before. Women were now in the work place. America was in recovery economically from a costly war. Sometime early in my youth we had a black and white television set and, as I recall, though there were comedy programs like Sid Caesar and Jackie Gleason shows, there was never any foul language and there certainly was no sexual innuendo, let alone nudity. There were programs like Roy Rodgers and Dale Evans, the Lone Ranger, the Cisco Kid. You never heard a swear word from television. My dad could swear pretty good but we didn't see it on t.v. Dress was modest and men and women alike had a sort of code about beach wear. Not everyone was a Christian. I did NOT grow up in a Christian family but there was a Christian culture that was understood. It was evolving and not for the better! During my teenage years I saw this change speed up.
Now, here we are in 2012 and what do we have? Is this a Christian nation? Definitely not! Our president claims he is a Christian but he does nothing to show it. It fact, according to his own testimony regarding his "Muslim faith", one would better assume he is a Muslim. Personally I don't think he's anything but self-worshipping but he is correct when he says we are not a Christian nation. Perhaps it's just the way he says it, as though he's bragging about our not being a Christian nation; as though that is something to be admired. But friends, we have been changing for a very long time and NOT for the best.
You see the truth is, that relatively few in our society are true Christians. Many claim to be Christians because they have been, at some time in their past, part of a Christian group, or had Christian relatives, or embrace certain Christian associations, but relatively few are true Christians. And because they are not true Christians they cannot discern moral issues the same way that Bible believing Christians do. A large percentage of nominal Christians do not believe in absolute truth and, of course, to the Christian, the Bible is absolute truth. A very high percentage of nominal Christians do not accept the whole Bible; they pick and choose. And high percentage of nominal Christians don't know where they stand on the major doctrines of the faith. And, since most "Christians" are nominally so, they cannot discern those politicians who are bad for our country. The very nature of a politician is to do whatever it takes to get elected, so lying is a necessary means to an end. And if the politician is not a true Christian than we cannot expect him to have Christian values. He may have values but they will not be Christian values. Truth and honor will not be high on his list of priorities!
If we were to go back to the founding of our nation we would find that Christian principles mattered. In fact, the Mayflower Compact clearly states the establishment of a Christian community as its goal. The early settlers were Puritans and their communities were Christian. They may have been a bit prejudiced regarding their particular brand of Christianity. It took some struggles, for instance, for Baptists to finally establish a free Christian community in Rhode Island. BUT, THEY WERE CHRISTIAN!
So, in closing, I know for certain that we, at our founding (by founding I mean in regards to white settlers) were Christian. But, as it goes, Christians are not born physically, but spiritually, so Christianity, true Christianity is not inherited. And if the Christian message is not propagated, if the gospel is not passed on and preached by mothers and fathers then the children will end up "Christian" in name only except by the election of God. Therefore, if we desire a Christian nation it will take every Christians influence. I personally believe things have gone too far and that there is no chance of remedy. Our forefathers let us down by not standing for Christian truth and Christian principles and our country has changed. It's not changing only, it has changed!
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