A Christian Nation?
Memorial Day…Fourth of July…Veteran’s Day…on these holidays, we often hear comments from religious leaders about the United States being a Christian nation. And, this always rubs me the wrong way.
I understand that statistics show that around 80%+ of United States citizens consider themselves to be Christians. Well, I consider myself to be a great golfer, but that does not make me a great golfer (and, if you’ve ever played with me…you know I am a lousy golfer). The problem with statistics are that the polls represent such a small number of the given population. One poll I saw showed that 86% of U.S. citizens are Christian. But, they only polled 10,000 people. Does that really give us a good representation? Who knows…However, disproving statistics really isn’t my point here.
And, we often hear talk around this time of year of how our founding fathers intended this nation to be a Christian nation. And, you hear countless quotes of the founding fathers talking about their faith. Of course, you can find just as many quotes from our founding fathers that give a different view. And, let us not forget that our founding fathers found it permissible to run the natives off their land, own slaves, and oppress women…just to name a few. But, talking about whether or not our founding fathers truly intended this to be a Christian nation or a nation of religious freedom (sharply different ideas) is not my point here.
Also, many congregations join together in reciting the “pledge of allegiance” on Sunday mornings around these various holidays. Does anyone else find this a bit disturbing? We gather together to worship God and end up pledging our allegiance to a flag. Something about that just doesn’t sit well with me. It almost seems like idol worship. But, the United States wouldn’t make craven images…would we (Mt. Rushmore anyone??? Just about every monumnet and structure in D.C.?)? Personally, I have not recited the pledge of allegiance in at least 10-12 years. I refuse to pledge my allegiance to any thing, any nation, or any person other than God. I pledge my allegiance to God…the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But, talking about whether or not the pledge of allegiance is appropriate in houses of worship (many justify it by saying, “well, it says ‘one nation under God’.”) is not my point here.
My real point is a simple question…If we are truly a “Christian nation”, shouldn’t things look a lot different around here?”
Many of my regular readers here are probably thinking I’m some un-patriotic liberal nut who should move to Canada or Sweden (don’t think I haven’t thought of that). Let me be clear…I feel blessed to live in these United States. I pray regularly for our governmental leaders. I pray for our military and for their safe return from tours of duty. I just sometimes feel that our patriotism (especially in evangelical circles) borders on idol worship. It’s not wrong to be proud our our nation. But, it’s wrong to give it priority over our Creator.
It’s my considered opinion that if we are truly a Christian nation, things would look much different. It seems like the agenda of this nation is vastly different than the agenda of Jesus. He called us to love God and love others. And, when He spoke of loving others…He said “don’t just love those who love you…love, pray, and bless your enemies.” The pursuit of the American dream seems to be about gaining material wealth and power. But, I’m pretty sure Scripture calls us to humble ourselves and build up our treasures in heaven.
If you’re interested in exploring more on these sorts of thoughts, I would encourage you to check out Greg Boyd’s book “Myth of a Christian Nation.” , Randall Balmer’s book “Thy Kingdom Come”, Jim Wallis’ book The Great Awakening and/or Shane Claiborne’s book Jesus for President.