05 July, 2007

More on Our "Christian" Nation

My wife, who brings a lot of theological insight into our home, had this to say to me concerning my former post, "Who cares if we were or were not a Christian nation? What do we have to do to become one now?"

This is a very good question.

She then read a quote to me from Daniel Webster that is worth sharing on the blogosphere.

If religious books are not widely circulated amongst the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; if God and his Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; if the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will; if the power of the Gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness, will reign without mitigation or end.

The power of the Gospel is the only thing that can reform a nation that is possibly more corrupt than the one from which we declared independence. Man-centered documents, political parties, rights and entitlements; they are unable to do anything in comparison to the power of the Gospel coming to sinners, families, communities, and even nations. Pray that kings of the earth would kiss the Son as they are commanded to do!

9 comments:

Mark said...

That's exactly dead-on, props to Lydia. It's remarkable how often we forget that we're to put no confidence in princes. Thankfully, we have assurance of the final victory, regardless of whether America stands or falls.

steveandjanna said...

It is not dead on. The issue goes to our heritage, it goes to the Constitution and its original intent and that matters to us politically and to our culture. Yes, we do need to work towards returning this nation to Christ and part of that is by returning to our Christian heritage and looking to that for guidance. We as Christians can't afford to ignore the Christian heritage of our country, if we do we will never be able to return this nation to the right path.

If you don't believe we have a Christian heritage, not only are you sadly mistaken but you've fallen into the political trap the left has set up for us. That being, that our heritage and traditional American culture are not only irrelevant but evil. We've lost the battle before we've even begun.

Anonymous said...

Well, one eventually has to deal with the framing and founding principles of this nation. Reformation always starts at the heart and works out. And it involves a people, not just a bunch of individuals.

"We as Christians can't afford to ignore the Christian heritage of our country, if we do we will never be able to return this nation to the right path."
Christian heritage must remain subject to God's word, otherwise it's not Christian. Surely God was concerned with heritages, He addressed them openly. Dealing with original sense/ intent is absolutely important to understand the documents that (allegedly) are the spine of our country.

srutherford77 said...

Nate,

The idea of historical precedence has great weight in politics, civil as well as ecclesiastical. Why do you think it is nigh impossible to overturn Roe v. Wade?
We cannot ignore what we once were, but, at the same time, I appreciate what Lydia said. Christian heritage folks (I am one myself) can live too much in the past to be of no use in the present. I have a list of Christian principles in an election year posted on my blog if anyone is interested. Oh, and Nate, I hate to be a beggar, but would you be interested in putting my blog on your venerable blog list?

Steve
P.S. I heard from the Kuiper rumor-mill that Shawn is coming back to town; is this true?

An Eshelman said...

Steve

For the record, I agree that we have a great Christian heritage in this country. We just disagree as to when that started down hill.

The American Puritans and all that they did in some of the state constitutions was wonderful and godly. If we could get back to that I would be a very happy Christian camper.

Sven, yes Shawn is coming back to GR. He will be here next week, again in August, and Lord willing, to stay in January. His blog is linked on the right- it is under E.

As for linking yours, I do not believe in blog welfare or handouts, but I guess I can for an old friend (are you coming back as well?)!

Anonymous said...

Yes, the blight to humanity (namely, Sven) "who eats broken glass and turns into a wearwolf at night" is coming back to G.R. Guard your recycling bins, molotov coctails, and stock up on Coors.

srutherford77 said...

Thanks for the handout. Yes WE are coming to GR in January. I plan to finish school once and for all. Droll, I hope the Coors is for someone else. As Nathan doesn't believe in blogger welfare, so I don't believe in cheap beer. I prefer green swizzles myself.

Steve

Anonymous said...

Coors are silver bullets, Sven. For Werewolves, especially ones that eat broken glass.
Regarding beer, Hacker-Pschorr is the way to go. Ask Nate.

www.thedifferenceisinside.com

Yes I know, Nate. Guinness has its place too.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I think the point is what the words say and the original intent. We see that it is now popular to re-interpret the Constitution in a way that meets the norms of society, which has turned from government being a necessity to restrict sin to it being our savior.

It is clearly logically inconsistent to interpret Jefferson's "separation of church and state" in the way that moderns do, but without historical context the document itself can be interpreted as it is today.