The very first phrase of the very First Amendment negates the Ten Commandments. Only two (killing and stealing) have anything in common with the laws of the USA, and that is because they violate RIGHTS, not Commandments. Ignorant people don't know that societies had laws against harming others for centuries before the Bible or God or Christianity were invented.
The 'Religious Right' is just as dangerous as the Taliban or al-Qaeda.
A REAL 'Christian nation' wouldn't use the Lord's name in vain on graven images like money, of which the love is the root of all evil. They'd respect their God enough not to whore him out to everyone and throw him before %26quot;swine%26quot;.
Why do people still think of America as a %26quot;Christian Nation?%26quot;?
That's what extremists do..impose their dogma on others
Why do people still think of America as a %26quot;Christian Nation?%26quot;?
Because the religious feel the need to impose their beliefs on others because if people start doubting then they might...
%26quot;One nation under God%26quot;...not Allah, or Buddha or anyone/thing else.
Im ok just telling them freedom of religion and giving them the finger. It is sad how they seem to have this need to shove their religion down others throats or whatever orface they choose. They are the majority but that doesnt give them more right to this country or to its freedoms.
There is no such thing as a %26quot;Christian nation%26quot;. Individuals are Christians, not nations.
Because their voices speak the loudest unfortunately.
are you kidding? i got 45 christian churches in my city alone. and my city is a small one
They are ignorant, and disrespectful.
We are not.
Actually our founding father were radicals (for the time) that were open on religion.
We are not and have never been a Christian nation.
We are a secular nation founded on secular principles.
Also, most of the Founding Fathers were not Christian, they were mostly Deists and Unitarians.
Also, Article 11 from the Treaty of Tripoli:
%26quot;As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.%26quot;
LOL @ Brent S. Sorry buddy, but you are SO wrong.
look at the numbers of christians in America, they out number any other religion greatly.
But that doesn't mean they can include it in the government.
first of all most of our founding father were NOT christians as the term is used today. Most were Deists which is NOT A PERSONAL DADDY FIGURE at all!!!! I think too many people have been brainwashed by their families and churches so they say this.
They say america is a christian nation b/c a majority of it is Christian.
BTW, I will never try to impose my beliefs on you, if you don't wanna be a Christian, that's your choice. :)
They refuse to read the US Constitution and prefer to listen to the lies of their pastor.
Wishful thinking on their part. Too often, theocratically wishful thinking. Not to mention unconstitutional...
Also, just a note - many of the Founding Fathers were Deists, not Christians.
I know! My husband is Muslim and everytime someone murders someone he's like, is this what Christians do? It is ridiculous, we aren't a country who basis everyone's daily life around religion.
We still call America a Christian nation simply because recent polls show that a majority of Americans call themselves Christian. This being a democracy and all, since a clear majority of the people in the nation think of themselves as Christian..I guess that would make it a Christian nation. And I don't really see that many Christians %26quot;imposing Christian Doctrine%26quot; on anyone...we are simply trying to hold on to the values which made America great in the first place. Sorry if a strong work ethic, commitment to family, and patriotism aren't working for you.
We are a Christian nation because that is the basis on which we were founded.
As James Kent, Chief Justice to the Supreme Court of New York, said in People v. Ruggles (1811), “…We are a Christian people, and the morality of the country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity…” And the Maryland Supreme Court declared in Runkel v. Winemiller (1799), “Religion is of general and public concern, and on its support depend, in great measure, the peace and good order of government, the safety and happiness of the people. By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed upon the same equal footing…”
There are many more evidences as well. These are but two.
Actually, i am a christian, and i wish that people wouldn't label this nation as a %26quot;Christian%26quot; nation. I think there are probably very few true Christians here!! Even several of the founding fathers were Deists, and we don't know for sure if they were %26quot;Christians%26quot;
It's part of that particular death cults' meme.
Truth and xian doctrine are not compatible.
You can't have facts, history,and reality intruding into xain doctrine, now can you?
i believe separation of government and religion not only gives us the right to have religious freedom, of but i think that your personal relationship should be between you and god, not you and the government
We are a %26quot;Diverse Nation.%26quot;
We are a %26quot;Immigrant Nation.%26quot;
We are a %26quot;Nation of Freedom and Liberty.%26quot;
We are not a %26quot;Christian Nation.%26quot;
You can just be grateful that this country wasn't founded by Muslims. Why don't you move to Saudi Arabia and try your %26quot;religious freedom%26quot; there.
Impose !!! Gross exaggeration !!! People choose Christ on their own and we deliver the message given us !!! You have not heard of a christian father killing his daughter or son for becoming an atheist or muslim have you ? That is what I call something worse than imposing !!! The 1st question is worth reconsidering !!!
Earlier in our history we were a christian nation per capita but not now !!!
That is what the Christion Right wants people to believe. The fact is we are not a christion nation. In fact only 7% of the people in the 13 colonies belonged to a church when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Our founding fathers created this nation as a SECULAR one, never meant it to become a ristain nation, a Jewish Nation, a Muslim Nation, or even a Pagan Nation.
Among all of our Presidents, from Washington downward, not one was a professor of Christianity, at least not of more than Unitarianism, most were Deists.
Here is what our Founding Fathers wrote about Christianity:
Thomas Jefferson:
I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth.
Jefferson again:
Christianity...(has become) the most perverted system that ever shone on man. ...Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and importers led by Paul, the first great corrupter of the teaching of Jesus.
More Jefferson:
The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial constructions into a contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves...these clergy, in fact, constitute the real Anti-Christ.
Jefferson's word for the Bible? Dunghill.
John Adams:
Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds, Confessions, Doctrines and Oaths, and whole carloads of other trumpery that we find religion encumbered with in these days?
Also Adams:
The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity.
Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 states:
The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion. It was voted upon, and passed, in the Senate, and a treaty carries the same weight as the Constitution as law of the land.
Here's Thomas Paine:
I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of...Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all.%26quot;
I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book (the Bible).
Among the most detestable villains in history, you could not find one worse than Moses. Here is an order, attributed to 'God' to butcher the boys, to massacre the mothers and to debauch and rape the daughters. I would not dare so dishonor my Creator's name by (attaching) it to this filthy book (the Bible).
It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible.
Accustom a people to believe that priests and clergy can forgive sins...and you will have sins in abundance.
The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in pretended imitation of a person (Jesus) who lived a life of poverty.
Finally let's hear from James Madison:
What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy.
Madison objected to state-supported chaplains in Congress and to the exemption of churches from taxation. He wrote:
Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.
The U.S. Constitution is a secular document. It begins, %26quot;We the people,%26quot; and contains no mention of %26quot;God%26quot; or %26quot;Christianity.%26quot; Its only references to religion are exclusionary, such as, %26quot;no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust%26quot; (Art. VI), and %26quot;Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof%26quot; (First Amendment). The presidential oath of office, the only oath detailed in the Constitution, does not contain the phrase %26quot;so help me God%26quot; or any requirement to swear on a bible (Art. II, Sec. 1, Clause 8). If we are a Christian nation, why doesn't our Constitution say so?
The phrase, %26quot;a wall of separation between church and state,%26quot; was coined by President Thomas Jefferson in a carefully crafted letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, when they had asked him to explain the First Amendment. The Supreme Court, and lower courts, have used Jefferson's phrase repeatedly in major decisions upholding neutrality in matters of religion. The exact words %26quot;separation of church and state%26quot; do not appear in the Constitution; neither do %26quot;separation of powers,%26quot; %26quot;interstate commerce,%26quot; %26quot;right to privacy,%26quot; and other phrases describing well-established constitutional principles.
Thomas Jefferson, explaining the phrase to the Danbury Baptists, said, %26quot;the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions.%26quot; Personal religious views are just that: personal. Our government has no right to promulgate religion or to interfere with private beliefs.
The Supreme Court has forged a three-part %26quot;Lemon test%26quot; (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971) to determine if a law is permissible under the First-Amendment religion clauses.
1,A law must have a secular purpose.
2,It must have a primary effect which neither advances nor inhibits religion.
3.It must avoid excessive entanglement of church and state.
The separation of church and state is a wonderful American principle supported not only by minorities, such as Jews, Moslems, and unbelievers, but applauded by most Protestant churches that recognize that it has allowed religion to flourish in this nation. It keeps the majority from pressuring the minority.
For those who say we're a Christian Nation because the majority are christian, you're dead wrong. America is one nation under a Constitution. Although the Constitution sets up a representative democracy, it specifically was amended with the Bill of Rights in 1791 to uphold individual and minority rights. On constitutional matters we do not have majority rule. For example, when the majority in certain localities voted to segregate blacks, this was declared illegal. The majority has no right to tyrannize the minority on matters such as race, gender, or religion.
Not only is it unAmerican for the government to promote religion, it is rude. Whenever a public official uses the office to advance religion, someone is offended. The wisest policy is one of neutrality. Isn't removing religion from public places hostile to religion?
No one is deprived of worship in America. Tax-exempt churches and temples abound. The state has no say about private religious beliefs and practices, unless they endanger health or life. Our government represents all of the people, supported by dollars from a plurality of religious and non-religious taxpayers.
The words, %26quot;under God,%26quot; did not appear in the Pledge of Allegiance until 1954, when Congress, under McCarthyism, inserted them. Likewise, %26quot;In God We Trust%26quot; was absent from paper currency before 1956. It appeared on some coins earlier, as did other sundry phrases, such as %26quot;Mind Your Business.%26quot; The original U.S. motto, chosen by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, is E Pluribus Unum (%26quot;Of Many, One%26quot;), celebrating plurality, not theocracy.
Isn't American law based on the Ten Commandments?
No, they are based on English common law (IE: the Magna Carta) which in turn comes older germanic law dating back to thousands of years before Christianity exsisted, and even before Moses was born. At best it can be said that our laws are based on Pagan beliefs.
Because it is a Christian nation....
Christians are major in USA
im wondering why you impose your disbelief on us??
America was built with the foundation of God and Christianity. %26quot;In God we trust%26quot; is the American motto. The law was also originally based on a lot of things the Bible said. It's a Christian Nation because of it's founding. Maybe you could ask someone who knows about history.
because this great nation was founded on God and that's just how %26quot;we Christians%26quot; believe it to be. Take it or leave it.This country is getting more and more crazy because we're taking God out of everything!!!
Sharing the Word of God with the lost is not imposing anything on anyone. It is doing what God asks of us. We answer to God and not to man. We do not force God on anyone,just share His word with them. They can either embrace His word of walk away. The choice is theirs.
