Last week seems to have upset quite a few people in this country. Between the debate going on over the Confederate flag to the SCOTUS rulings on the ACA and Gay Marriage, quite a few of my Christian friends have become very vocal in the last week. Facebook has virtually exploded with meme's either praising, or damning, everything that's going on.
To all of my friends out there on either side I just want to say; take a breath. Chill out for a second or two. Their is plenty of time to freak out or take a victory lap (whichever you prefer). You need to pace yourselves.
I also want to point out a bit of hypocrisy I've spotted in the debate. Many of the same people who are touting rights and freedom regarding displaying the confederate flag are the same ones who have no problem trying to deny fellow citizens an 'equal right' to affordable healthcare or the 'freedom' to marry the person of their choice. Has anybody else noticed this?
Help me out -- if I'm supposed to be alright with you venerating a 150 year old symbol of racism on taxpayer funded locations because you are only 'celebrating your heritage', why can't you accept the fact that the ACA is now law and that same sex couples can now publicly take a vow to spend their lives together. I mean, c'mon. At least what the uninsured and the gay community are doing does not serve as an in-your-face reminder of the 'good ol' days' when an entire demographic group in this country was not even considered human.
But I want to set the flag and ACA debates aside for a second and talk about how people who call themselves Christian are caught up in this 'redefining marriage' debate. Well, actually debate may be the wrong term. Since most of the posts I've seen claim to have the force of 'God' on their side they seem to think they know what should have happened in the case; the court got it wrong. Especially since almost every one of these people is convinced that America was founded as a Christian nation on Christian values.
Folks, I know I'm not the first to tell you this... but you're mistaken.
The idea that a majority of the Founding Fathers were Christians is simply not true. Most were 'deists' – sure, they thought the universe had a creator, but he did not concern himself with the daily lives of humans, and did not directly communicate with humans, either by revelation or sacred books. They spoke often of God, but this was not the God of the Bible. It was more of a generic term used so as not to specifically give one religions God more credibility than any other.
Now, I'm not a trained religious scholar. But I am naturally curious, a voracious reader and way too 'rain man-ish' about politics in this country. Which means I've done more than my share of research on this subject over the years. So, I'm going to take a minute and see if I can share some of what I've learned to help you all out.
1. The Text of the Constitution Does Not Say the United States Is a Christian Nation
If a Christian nation had been the intent of the founders, don't you think they would have put that in the Constitution? Yet the text of the Constitution contains NO references to God, Jesus Christ, or Christianity -- with two exceptions; Article VI, which bans "religious tests" for public office and the First Amendment, which bars all laws "respecting an establishment of religion" and protects "the free exercise thereof." IF, and this is the Mother of all if's, they were establishing this as a Christian nation, THIS is where they would have done it. And they didn't.
2. Shortly After the Constitution Was Ratified, Conservative Ministers Attacked It Because It Lacked References to Christianity
Ministers of the founding period knew that the Constitution didn't declare the United States officially Christian — and it pissed them off. A quick Google search with give plenty of specific examples for you to check out.
3. American 'Values' Do NOT Reflect True Christian 'Values'
Let's start with looking at Christian values and American values and see how much overlap there really is. A quick read of the bible or even a quick google search of Christian morals and values brings up a few that are defined in the Christian bible.
- Jesus Died for Our Sins
This is one of the biggest defining principles of the Christian religion; Having one entity/person/god take the punishment so the guilty party can go free. Does that sound American? It is not only immoral but is entirely against the ideas of morality in today's America and would not have been considered moral by our founding fathers. Therefore, the biggest principle of Christianity is completely contrary to American values.
- Sacrificing for God
The bible has pages and pages of ritual sacrifices to God -- both human and animal. But not one of the founding fathers of our country ever thought that it was acceptable to kill humans or animals for a deity. Just like it's not acceptable today.
- Judge Not Lest You be Judged
Again, this is one of the principle definitions of Christianity and is referenced in the bible repeatedly. However, our country's constitution has an entire section dedicated to defining judges as a fundamental part of the government. Hell, you might even call it part of the 'Holy Trinity' of the American system. The Judiciary. One third, right next to the Legislative and Executive.
- Help the Poor
Again, this is a biggie. But if Christianity is based on helping out the poor then why are they trying to deny them basic healthcare? Or the personal dignity to marry the person they love? Especially this one on marriage; It doesn't cost them a dime. All they have to do is not get the britches in a bunch. Tell me how is a same sex marriage going to effect them at all - unless they let it effect them? Does it make them 'less married'? Why do they even care?
- Acceptance
Also a biggie and it kind of ties into the whole "not judging" thing. But it's one thing to not judge someone — it's quite another to actually accept someone who's very different from yourself. One consistent characteristic of Christians seems to be resistance to change, not the acceptance of it. Their social ideology seems decades behind most of the civilized world. Doubt me? Feel free to head to any small town in rural Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana or Georgia. You'd think you were back in the 1950s the way many of these people think. Especially in regards to same sex marriage.
I could go on but I think I debunked values enough for now. Moving on...
4. The First Amendment And The First Commandment Are Diametrically Opposed To Each Other.
One guarantees the freedom to express any opinion you like and the other specifically forbids you from doing just that. How can I be free to worship Krishna, Buddha, Mohamed or any other God when rule #1 is that I can't? Not very Christian, huh?
5. 'Christian' Images On Or In Public Buildings
The big one that always gets pointed out is the frieze above the Supreme Court. Christians point out it shows Moses, the original law-giver of Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. Thus, Christians claim, the Supreme Court and its proceedings are "inspired" by Moses and the law given by God. And they're correct. The only problem here is that the frieze depicts a number of law-givers from history, 18 in all:
Menes - The primeval Egyptian pharaoh
Hammurabi - Ruler of Babylon, codifier of Babylonian law
Moses - Already mentioned
Solomon - Hebrew King famed for wisdom
Lycurgus - Shadowy law-giver in early Sparta
Solon - A magistrate and law-giver in early Athens
Draco - Another Athenian statesman
Confucius - Classical Chinese philosopher and moralist
Augustus - First emperor of Rome
Napoleon - Post-revolution dictator of France
John Marshall - Supreme Court justice
William Blackstone - British jurist
Hugo Grotius - Dutch jurist
Louis IX - King of France
King John - King of England who promulgated the Magna Carta
Charlemagne - Frankish king
Justinian I - Byzantine emperor, codifier of laws
And "Yes" even Mohammed - The founder of Islam
OK, I think it's safe to say that the presence of Moses and Solomon in this frieze hardly screams out "Christianity," right?
So, what did I want you to get out of all this? What should be your take-a-way?
Basically that it's not just my opinion that the "Christian-nation" myth is wrong. It is a long established fact that it was never the case - until recently. We have had many attempts, by various groups, in the last few decades to re-write history.
Why would some one do this? Because it feeds several psychological needs for Christians. It assures religious right supporters who fear the pace of social change that things like same-sex marriage and the rise of secularists are aberrations that run counter to the "real" Christian nature of the country. It also invokes a "stolen legacy" myth — the idea that a grand and glorious history (in this case, a Christian one) exists but that it is being covered up or denied by usurpers who seek to suppress the nation's history as part of a power grab.
The Christian-nation myth also has political ramifications. Put simply, it is often used to motivate people to vote a certain way. Increasingly, the hard core Christians of the Far Right are smearing what they call the "secular Left," (an all-purpose bogeyman guilty of many crimes) including denying the Christian-nation idea.
Misinformation like this has especially bad consequences. The myth promotes the idea that non-Christians are second-class citizens in "Christian America." It leads to the idea that the law mandates only a grudging tolerance of nonbelievers rather than what the Constitution really extends: full and equal rights to all Americans, regardless of whether they do or do not believe in the same things you do. That's called Freedom. And It's what this country is made of...
I don't expect everyone to just automatically believe what I'm trying to share with you. It's all good. Hey, I don't believe any of what you guys say - until I check stuff out for myself. Which is what I'm trying to get you to do. I encourage everyone who reads this to go and try to prove me wrong. Just remember, bring your sources, not just your beliefs
I wish you all good luck.
