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Title: Tom Ehrich asks if we really live like Christians
Source:
state-journal register
URL Source: http://www.sj-r.com/features/x14617 ... we-really-live-like-Christians
Published: Oct 5, 2011
Author: Rev. Tom Ehrich
Post Date: 2011-10-05 12:25:23 by go65
Keywords: None
Views: 3014
Comments: 8
What if America truly were a Christian nation? Not a Southern Baptist nation, or an Episcopal nation, or a Roman Catholic nation. Not grounded in the doctrinal and ecclesiastical isms that have grown up over the centuries. But a Christian nation, doing what Jesus did. Well, we wouldn’t be arguing about sex, that’s for sure. Jesus devoted no time to matters of sexuality. We wouldn’t be leading cheers for any particular economic system, capitalist or socialist, for in his many teachings about wealth and power, Jesus saw both as snares and delusions. We wouldn’t be taking votes on who gets medical care, or who gets to live, or who gets to learn, or whose rights matter more, or whose race or religion can’t be allowed to breathe freely. For Jesus gave healing to all who asked, defended the lives of sinners, taught all who were eager to learn, welcomed all to his circle — even outcasts, lepers and children. He had no regard for his own tradition’s finely tuned boundaries. We wouldn’t be loading great wealth onto the already wealthy, but rather would be asking them to follow the lead of biblical tax collector Zacchaeus and to give away half of what they have. We wouldn’t need as many lawyers, because generosity would trump tax-reduction strategies, parables would trump rules, property would be shared as needed and people would be forgiving — not suing — each other. If we were a genuinely Christian nation, we would be gathering the harvest of this abundant land and sharing it with the hungry of our own land and of many lands. We would forgive our enemies, speak truth to power and go forth to serve and to sacrifice, not to rule. We would stand with the poor when predators circled around them. We would stand with sinners when the self-righteous picked up stones. We would join hands with nonconformists and strangers. We would become God’s beacon to the nations. And when the tired and poor followed that light to our borders, we would greet them with open arms and make room for them in our communities. That’s what Jesus did, and that is what it would mean to be a Christian nation. So to those who insist that America be a Christian nation, I ask: Is this truly what you want? Do you want the I-was-hungry-and-you-gave-me-something-to-eat of Matthew 25? Do you want the Sermon on the Mount? Do you want to shine God’s light in the darkness? Your behavior says no. Your shouts against generosity say no. Your penchant for oppressive culture says no. Your willingness to shower wealth on the few while the many suffer says no. Your hostility to freedom says no. So stop pretending. At least be as honest as the hedge fund manager who paid himself $8 billion last year. It’s “all about the Benjamins,” not the Gospel. It’s about stifling any freedom but your own. It’s about imposing your cultural preferences on others. It’s about turning your fears and appetites into law. It’s about you, not about Jesus Christ. That’s the nature of politics, of course: one “you” versus another “you.” That’s fine, and it’s why we formed a democracy, so that our various interests could compete fairly. Just spare us the religious posturing. If America became a Christian nation, doing what Jesus did, you would be aghast. Tom Ehrich (www.morningwalk media.com) is a writer, Episcopal priest and church consultant. Religion News Service distributes his column.
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#1. To: a k a stone (#0)
thought you would find this of interest.
Tagline for sale - inquire within
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10
Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
You make Lenin proud: USSR Constitution: Article 12: Tagline for sale - inquire within
I would imagine the phrase was in the bible long before Lenin came along. And we all know that in actual practice, it never really works out that way in a modern "socialist" society.
Obama has played at being a president while enjoying the perks … golf, insanely expensive vacations at tax-payer expense. He has ignored the responsibilities of the job; no plans, no budgets, no alternatives … just finger pointing; making him a complete failure as a president
It isn't, but there are Christians here. The First Amendment calls for a separation between church and state. That faith has no standing as the United State's official religion.
That's the part they always forget...
There you go again liar. Show me where it says that. It doesn't and you are a liar.
The phrase "separation of church and state" (sometimes "wall of separation between church and state"), attributed to Thomas Jefferson and others, and since quoted by the Supreme Court of the United States, expresses an understanding of the intent and function of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The First Amendment reads "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ....", while Article VI specifies that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." The modern concept of a wholly secular government is sometimes credited to the writings of English philosopher John Locke, but the phrase "separation of church and state" in this context is generally traced to an 1 January 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, addressed to the Danbury, Connecticut, Baptist Association, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper. Echoing the language of the founder of the first Baptist church in America, Roger Williams—who had written in 1644 of "[A] hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world"— Jefferson wrote, "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State".[1] Jefferson's metaphor of a wall of separation has been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Supreme Court. In its 1879 Reynolds v. United States decision, the court allowed that Jefferson's comments "may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [First] Amendment." In the 1947 Everson v. Board of Education decision, Justice Hugo Black wrote, "In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state." [2] However, the Court has not always interpreted the constitutional principle as meaning absolute separation of government from all things religious.[3][4][5][6] Public debates about the proper extent of church/state separation in the U.S. remain vigorous and impassioned. Politically active evangelical Christians such as David Barton, a former co-chair of the Texas Republican party, emphasize the religiosity of the nation's founders and assert that "separation of church and state," as widely understood by modern historians and jurists, is a "myth" and that the U.S. was founded as a religious, Christian nation.[7] Read the entry in the Wiki about this concept which defins this aspect of how the U.S. Constitution was framed. War has quoted Jefferson's famous 'separation' letter, and you refuse to listen to any of us explain a simple concept we all learned in our studies of the U.S. Government and the Constitution. I am not going to do this until I am blue in the face. If you can't listen to reason, I am not going to listen to you pout and do name calling based on your own stubborn ignorance.
#2. To: go65 (#0)
Do you want the I-was-hungry-and-you-gave-me-something-to-eat of Matthew 25?
#3. To: no gnu taxes (#2)
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 2 Thessalonians 3:10
According to Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, it is the first principle of socialism. The phrase is mentioned in his 1917 work, State and Revolution (chapter 5, section 3). Through this slogan Lenin explains that in a socialist society only productive individuals would be allowed access to the articles of consumption.
In the U.S.S.R. work is a duty and a matter of honor for every able-bodied citizen, in accordance with the principle: "He who does not work, neither shall he eat."
#4. To: go65 (#3)
In the U.S.S.R. work is a duty and a matter of honor for every able-bodied citizen, in accordance with the principle: "He who does not work, neither shall he eat."
#5. To: go65 (#0)
"What if America truly were a Christian nation?"
#6. To: no gnu taxes (#2)
If a man will not work, he shall not eat.
Honest Socialism
#7. To: Ferret Mike (#5)
The First Amendment calls for a separation between church and state.
#8. To: A K A Stone (#7)
Separation of church and state in the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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