Not exactly the description given in Revelation 1:13-15, but that never bothered a good ol' American Republican
You hear it all of the time. Conservatives, the Evangelical Right Wing, the Tea Party, and even the most hardcore racists argue that America was founded as a Christian nation. Demagogues like Ann Coulter argue that liberal, progressive ideas are the antithesis of Christianity, and that only Republicans corner the market on Christianity. If you're a Democrat and/or a liberal, you are a heathen unbeliever, and probably a secret Muslim born in Kenya to Communist parents.
The Republicans believe that if you elect an Evangelical Conservative Tea Partier, you will elect a man (because face it, what "Good Christian" [tm] man will elect a WOMAN to lead him and this great country of ours?) who will take this country back from the Godless heathens who worship at the temple of George Soros and hippies. Only with a Republican at the helm can this country be brought to its "Christian origins." I will get to these so-called "Christian origins" later, but for now, in a method made famous (at least in my head) by Cracked.com, I present to you:
5 Biblical reasons why America will never be a Christian nation (with the Republicans in charge).
1) Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’So how does this prove your point?
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
This scripture gives us teachings from Jesus about how we are to treat one another. I don't have to provide a litany of links to prove that the Republicans seem to flat out hate the poor. They support policies that favor the wealthiest Americans, and support cuts that affect the least fortunate. Anything that does not allow major corporations to run rampant and unchecked is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, and it's bad for this country. But in the Scripture, Jesus clearly states that the way you treat the least of those around you is the way that you treat Him. Every GOP candidate is talking about cutting so-called "entitlement programs", because they are a drain on this country's resources. The fact that the poor often SURVIVE off these "entitlement programs" that the GOP looks to decimate means little to them. What matters more to them is that the extremely wealthy and the corporations (which are people, too -- Mitt Romney) get tax break after tax break, and that these same corporations continue to run completely unregulated, for the good of "the free market."
And you often hear these same people (with such disdain for the poor) act as if their acts are God-ordained.
2) Scripture: Acts 4:32-37
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.So how does this prove your point?
Pop quiz: When was the last time that you heard a Republican bragging about sharing what he/she had, or opening his home to the poor? When was the last time you heard about a Tea Party rally where the proceeds went to feed the needy? When was the last time a prominent member of the GOP advocated a policy that encouraged helping the needy?
You haven't.
Why? Because according the the Republicans, these actions are nothing but a redistribution of wealth from hard-working Americans to the leeches and lazy good-for-nothings who need to get off welfare and get jobs. In other words, to the Republicans, acts such as these (especially if they were government policy) reek of SOCIALISM.
And all you have to do is Google any GOP contender to see how he/she feels about the eeeeeeeeevils of socialism.
3) Scriptures: Psalm 15:4-5; Romans 13:6-7
who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the LORD; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; 5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. (Psalm 15:4-5)
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Romans 13:6-7)So how does this prove your point?
Again with the poor. How is a Good Christian (tm) supposed to keep America on the straight and narrow if they enable the lazy poor people by not charging them interest on a loan? If these poor people can't pay the exorbitant interest rates on the loans they take out, then they'll never learn to be hard-working capitalist Americans. The poor should learn from the responsible rich people. It's not as if they are allowed to get away with interest-free loans and the like.
Does anyone REALLY think that a Republican will support or even initiate a policy that advocates interest-free loans to the poor?
4) Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.So how does this prove your point?
This scripture actually speaks towards the belief that America was founded as a Christian nation. The Tea Potty --er, PARTY, love to talk about how the Founding Fathers started this nation as a Christian one. They love to talk about how everything that President Obama does will lead this nation into the "evils of Islam", despite Obama himself proclaiming to be a Christian (side note: The Tea Potty --er, PARTY never have reconciled Obama's role as a "secret Muslim" with his roots at Trinity United Church of Christ, under Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But common sense has never been their strong suit. /End digression).
But what is it that sets Christians apart from other faiths?
Quite simply, it is the NAME OF JESUS. Everything in Christianity focuses on doing things in the name of Jesus, praying in the name of Jesus, acting in the name of Jesus. When addressing a crippled man who was asking for money, the Apostle Peter said "Silver and gold have I none, but what I do have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus, rise and walk." (I'm paraphrasing here) Scripture teaches that even demons recognize the name of Jesus and tremble at it.
So, what does this have to do with the good ol' USA?
Well, the Tea Partiers love to invoke the U.S. Constitution and the Founding Fathers (even if they lie about it or are horribly ignorant about the facts of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution). If this nation were indeed founded as a Christian one, then wouldn't the actual name of Jesus be listed in the documents that serve as the cornerstone for this great land?
But if you look up either of these documents and search for the name of Jesus in either of them, you will not find His name. But how can this be? How can a GREAT CHRISTIAN NATION not have the name of Jesus in its "birth certificate" (yeah, whatever... heh...)?
The surprisingly simple answer is that this nation was NOT founded as a "Christian" nation. The Declaration of Independence has one mention of God, and one mention of "The Creator." The U.S. Constitution has NO mentions of God. It mentions "Religion", but only in that pesky First Amendment way, where "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
Despite Tea Potty (face it, I stopped trying to change this) attempts to rewrite the First Amendment as a way to prohibit any other religions BUT Christianity, the facts are there in black and white. If this nation were founded on principles of Christianity (as the Evangelicals love to claim), then there would be an explicit mention of the sovereignty of Christ in its founding documents. But any person or entity that does not recognize Jesus can't be called "Christian." The U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence do not mention Jesus Christ, therefore, this country was not founded as a "Christian" nation. Res ipso loquitor.
5) Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
So how does this prove your point?
The Bible speaks as length about the power of love. Jesus Himself said that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as you would yourself.
However, when you hear about Republicans, they speak more about their love for the wealthiest of the wealthy. They will fight to the death for the rights of BP to destroy the Gulf Coast. They will protect the banking industry that devastated the economy. They will war against anyone who comes against corporations and contractors (i.e. Blackwater/Xe/FluffyBunny Inc or whatever they call themselves these days). They even grant "personhood" status to corporations, giving those companies free reign in using their wealth, power, and influence to determine elections, buy off politicians, and protect their own interests and desires to accumulate more and more wealth.
But when it comes to people that are in the greatest need, the love is absent. The poor are mocked and ridiculed, and even blamed for their own circumstances. Veterans return from war to poor job outlooks and even worse health care options. Where is the love for those who are hurt, and for those who need assistance, or for those who need help? We have seen real grassroots protests manifest themselves in the forms of the Occupy Movements, and those protesters have been ridiculed as hippies and lazy bums who just need to get a shower and a bath. Some have been subject to almost unforgivable levels of brutality, including the veteran that was injured by police officers, and the college students who were showered with pepper spray by an officer who acted as if he was watering some plants. There is no love given to those who need it, by those who profess that America is a Christian nation.
BONUS REASON: The community thing.
During the 2008 Republican Convention, you had intellectual luminaries such as Rudy (noun, verb, 9/11) Guiliani and Sarah Palin mocking the fact that a "community organizer" had the gall and audacity to run for President.
If Republicans felt that this country was/is a Christian one, then being a community organizer should be something that should be EMBRACED, and not ridiculed. What was Jesus doing during His ministry on Earth? He wasn't speaking from some magnificent gold-lined edifice, wagging his fingers in shame at the poor. He was WITH them. Among them. He was such a part of the "community" that He ministered to that the religious scholars at the time were aghast.
Being out in the community, getting your hands dirty WITH the people who you are ministering to, is part of being a Christian. And if you really think about it, Jesus did express His opinions about those who wanted to bring commerce into the church...
Yeah, the whole "cleaning out the temple" thing seems to escape most "Christian" Republicans...
BONUS REASON 2: What Symbolism Do You Look To Protect?
Good ol' American Republicans look to make flag-burning a crime. They want to make the desecration of the U.S. flag a crime, because burning it means that someone wants to see America destroyed. Oh, the flag must be protected at all times, because it is a symbol of what makes America great, and to desecrate it means to desecrate all of the sacrifices that were made to make this nation great.
OK, nationalistic jingoism and borderline idolatry aside, let's say that everything that they said about the flag is true. If a symbol of something you cherish and love and believe in should not be desecrated or set on fire, then let's go with it.
You never hear Republicans (and former Democrats) complain when arguably the most powerful symbol in Christianity is desecrated and used as a weapon of terror.
Surprisingly, Republicans haven't rushed to condemn this.
So there you have it. America was never founded as a Christian nation. And until the Republicans begin to actually live the Christian lifestyle that they profess, and until they have a desire from a truly Christian standard of love and not condemnation, they will never be in a position to develop the United States of America into a Christian nation.
