«   |   »

To be or not to be…

I rarely venture into the world of politics on this blog. Partly because I don’t like getting hate mail and partly because I’m not that smart.

Today I’m ignoring my better judgment.

I have seen and heard many, many comments about President Obama saying that America is “not a Christian nation.”

I haven’t breathed a word on the topic… until now.

Here’s my take on it. And you might agree with me or you might think I should never again write about politics (and I might agree with you). Either way, it’s where I stand.

I love the USA. I do. I love this country. I love our traditions and our patriotism and our bravery and our history and our freedoms.

Man, do I love our freedoms. Especially that free speech one.

But my love for this country is not dependent on it being a Christian nation. And my love for Christ is not dependent on me being an American.

I know that some say there’s a higher chance of becoming a Christian if you’re born in the United States and especially if you grow up in the bible belt of America. I’m not one of those people.

I think that I came to know Christ because He loved me so much that when He spoke my name I could not refuse Him.

And I believe that I would have heard that calling no matter where I was living.

I don’t think that Americans are Christ’s 1st draft pick. I don’t think He plays favorites. And if He did, I don’t think selfish, greedy, prideful, hateful people would be His first choice.

Yes, our country was founded on Christian beliefs and morals, but it was also created with the intent of offering a safe haven for people of all religious beliefs. Yes, I’d love for everyone in this country to know the God that I do. But that isn’t the way it is. It has never been that way- remember those Native Americans that were here before us?- and I don’t think it’ll ever be that way.

Besides, if everyone in the country was a Christian there wouldn’t be any people to witness to around here. And that means we’d have to go to a different country to do what Christ has asked of us. And since I really like America and the freedoms it offers me, not to mention the food I’m accustomed to, I’d really rather stay here until God calls me to leave.

Let me summarize for you. By the choice of my parents- I am an American. By the grace of God- I am a Christian.

So. I don’t care if Obama calls us a nation of scientologists. I’m just going to look at it as a ministry opportunity.

[Stepping off the soapbox now.]

Posted on 06/22/2009 at 5:47 pm in Faith   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL

Tags: , ,

9 Comments to “To be or not to be…”

    
  1. Gloria
    06/22/2009 at 8:55 pm

    J, I love your soapboxes, so feel free to stand on them whenever you want.

    My neighbors in Dubai have ideas of what being a “Christian” nation means. Their ideas include alcohol, Hollywood, and liberal sexual freedoms more than they include the free worship of Jesus Christ as the Risen Son of God.

    Reply
  2. jessi
    06/23/2009 at 1:27 am

    I love it that he said that. Because it’s so true. There’s like 2 million atheists in this country, and even more agnostics. And as someone who doesnt subscribe to Christianity, I so appreciated him acknowledging that I’m a part of this country too.

    Reply
  3. kr
    06/24/2009 at 5:42 am

    The cool part of the whole deal is that we have choices in this country. Lots of them…what we say, where we live, what we do for an income, and how and what we believe. We can choose to be of the Christian faith, or not.

    And…the other cool part is that being a Christian is a choice. We are not forced by God to love Him, we come to Him with free will to accept His love, grace and mercy.

    Reply
  4. kr
    06/24/2009 at 5:48 am

    and I must edit the last line…I left out Forgiveness….
    It goes with the love, grace & mercy parts!

    Reply
  5. Molly
    06/24/2009 at 9:08 pm

    I don’t think the part of saying we are not a Christian nation that upsets people is that they think everyone in this nation is supposed to be a Christian or should be forced to believe that way. I think what upsets many of the people I know is the disregard for what the country was founded on and where we’ve come from. One trip to Washington DC to the statues and memorials that are hundreds of years old and you’ll quickly see the words God, Jesus, etc etched into quotes from former presidents and other folks. I don’t think it’s at all that we’re supposed to all be Christians. It’s that Christian or not- you live in a country that was founded on Christian principles. One nation, under God…

    Reply
    • jeannie
      06/24/2009 at 9:51 pm

      Molly- I agree with you that we were founded on Christian principles- no doubt! And I don’t think Obama would go so far as to say we weren’t founded by Christian men with Christian morals and beliefs, but that we aren’t a Christian nation anymore. The problem that I see is that we don’t really reflect those principles as a country anymore. I mean, if you look at how the rest of the world views America and what we offer them (Hollywood, celebrities, money, war, etc.) none of it really suggests that we’re a Godly nation. I think until we turn that worldview around via our actions, it doesn’t really make a difference what we call ourselves. And oh my goodness, please know that I’m not trying to support or defend Obama in this post, just saying that we shouldn’t be more passionate about the label of our country than the purpose of our lives!

      Reply
  6. Molly
    06/24/2009 at 11:05 pm

    Oh yeah- I agree. I don’t think we can call this nation a Christian nation based on the current state it’s in. But I don’t think that’s what he’s saying. I don’t think he’s broken over the fact that we’re not seen as a Godly nation. I think he’s saying it needs to change from a Christian nation to something else. And even if your not a Christian, you should cringe at that statement, you can’t ignore history.

    Reply
  7. jessi
    06/24/2009 at 11:16 pm

    Did you know the words “under god” weren’t added to the pledge of allegiance until 1954?

    Also, there are many academics who are of the belief that a majority of the founding fathers were simply diests, not christians.

    John Adams is quoted as saying “This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.”

    In a letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper in 1814, Thomas Jefferson stated “Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the Common Law.”

    Pretty much all of Thomas Paine’s writings have some kind of christianity denial in them.

    And most interestingly, George Washington never professed to be a christian. Many scholars have combed his writings, diaries, letters, looking for some kind of difinitive proof of his religious beliefs… there’s none.

    There’s arguments for both sides. Totally fascinating.

    Reply
  8. jessi
    06/24/2009 at 11:17 pm

    Did you know the words “under god” weren’t added to the pledge of allegiance until 1954?

    Also, there are many academics who are of the belief that a majority of the founding fathers were simply diests, not christians.

    John Adams is quoted as saying “This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.”

    In a letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper in 1814, Thomas Jefferson stated “Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the Common Law.”

    Pretty much all of Thomas Paine’s writings have some kind of christianity denial in them.

    And most interestingly, George Washington never professed to be a christian. Many scholars have combed his writings, diaries, letters, looking for some kind of difinitive proof of his religious beliefs… there’s none.

    There’s arguments for both sides. Totally fascinating.

    Reply
    

Leave a reply to kr Cancel reply