Christian Nation?

[TaraJo]

Y'know, I've always wondered why people think America and its government was inspired by the Bible. I mean, the first amendment and its freedom of religion specifically contradicts the first several commandments where god mandates his people worship him and then gives them instructions on how to do it.

Not to mention, many of the things that the ten commandments forbid aren't illegal, anyway. I mean, it says to honor your mother and father, but that isn't a crime. Adultery may be immoral but it certainly isn't illegal. Coveting certainly isn't illegal, but if it was the advertising industry would go under. And we've pretty much accepted that it's impossible in todays modern world for everyone to get Sunday off. Only 3 out of 10 commandments are even laws (killing, stealing and bearing false witness). That's it. If the US were really a "Christian nation," more than a third of the most important laws in Chrisianity would be in our law books.

[Aractus]

You seem to be missing my point. There's a genuine reason for a disagreement over how the USA was founded. The constitution was certainly founded within a secular framework, and with that I agree. But the people who did that (i.e. the British) were bought by colonialism from a Christian monarchy, that later dissented. Without either of those two events it's impossible for the USA that exists today to exist - thus both are true, it was founded firstly by colonialists and then again by a revolution that lead to a secular state.

[vorlon13]

Y'know, I've always wondered why people think America and its government was inspired by the Bible. I mean, the first amendment and its freedom of religion specifically contradicts the first several commandments where god mandates his people worship him and then gives them instructions on how to do it.

Not to mention, many of the things that the ten commandments forbid aren't illegal, anyway. I mean, it says to honor your mother and father, but that isn't a crime. Adultery may be immoral but it certainly isn't illegal. Coveting certainly isn't illegal, but if it was the advertising industry would go under. And we've pretty much accepted that it's impossible in todays modern world for everyone to get Sunday off. Only 3 out of 10 commandments are even laws (killing, stealing and bearing false witness). That's it. If the US were really a "Christian nation," more than a third of the most important laws in Chrisianity would be in our law books.

As for contradicting the 10 Commandments, Jesus himself declined to enforce (in most accounts) those 5 relating to man and God's interactions.

So we might look at enacting those 5 commandments in law as anti-christian.

Confusing, ain't it? And god claims to not be the author of confusion . . .

[FatAndFaithless]

Especially if Jesus is God, because then he would be contradicting himself. Unless of course he changed his mind..which means his edicts and moraltiy aren't eternal or absolute.. How strange.

[Jenny A]

Correct, but before that it was originally founded as a British state and hence a Christian state.

Not really. I'm not disputing that the 13 Colonies were founded as British Colonies as part of Britain. But the 13 Colonies were not the United States. They were thirteen different colonies with differing charters. Nor were they the only British colonies in North America. When the thirteen colonies that became the United States rebelled against Britain they became a new thing with a separate founding. That founding was by an almost exclusively Christian population which had the wisdom to found a secular nation.

[Minimalist]

Y'know, I've always wondered why people think America and its government was inspired by the Bible.

It's largely because they are morons, Tara.