Comments on: America the Christian Nation? http://www.christandpopculture.com/asides/america-the-christian-nation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=america-the-christian-nation Where The Christian Faith Meets The Common Knowledge of Our Age Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:29:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: NickO http://www.christandpopculture.com/asides/america-the-christian-nation/#comment-44998 NickO Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:00:03 +0000 http://www.christandpopculture.com/?p=4046#comment-44998 In the Constitution, the founding fathers specifically forbade establishment of religion. So it could be said that the U.S. was not founded to be a Christian nation. However, IIRC, 94% of the citations in the Federalist papers are to the Bible. Most of the argumentation for a constitutional republic put forth even by "atheists" such as Jefferson assume that the U.S. would be a nation of law-abiding people whose guiding light was the Bible. So it is not a stretch to say that the U.S. was founded on principles articulated in the Christian Bible. Implicitly, therefore, the U.S. was a Christian nation at its founding, largely because its population was overwhelmingly Christian. (For instance, all but two of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were evangelical Christians.) The founding fathers obviously did not consider the possibility that the state itself would become a god and politics would devolve into religious cults warring over how to serve their god. In the Constitution, the founding fathers specifically forbade establishment of religion. So it could be said that the U.S. was not founded to be a Christian nation.

However, IIRC, 94% of the citations in the Federalist papers are to the Bible. Most of the argumentation for a constitutional republic put forth even by “atheists” such as Jefferson assume that the U.S. would be a nation of law-abiding people whose guiding light was the Bible.

So it is not a stretch to say that the U.S. was founded on principles articulated in the Christian Bible. Implicitly, therefore, the U.S. was a Christian nation at its founding, largely because its population was overwhelmingly Christian. (For instance, all but two of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were evangelical Christians.)

The founding fathers obviously did not consider the possibility that the state itself would become a god and politics would devolve into religious cults warring over how to serve their god.

]]> By: The Dane http://www.christandpopculture.com/asides/america-the-christian-nation/#comment-44994 The Dane Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:32:20 +0000 http://www.christandpopculture.com/?p=4046#comment-44994 Not if the forefathers were serious about that whole Liberty thing. One can have liberty or one can have a Christian nation, but one can't have both. <abbr><em>The Danes last blog post..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/nowheresville/~3/YmyiWLQvxLo/2009_04_01_old1.php" rel="nofollow">20090417.teaParty</a></abbr></em> Not if the forefathers were serious about that whole Liberty thing. One can have liberty or one can have a Christian nation, but one can’t have both.

The Danes last blog post..20090417.teaParty

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