"And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’" (NKJV)
America has never been a Christian nation.
That statement likely astonishes, perhaps even angers, some of you who are reading this. I will tell you that since the Lord has been dealing with me regarding this, I have gone through a host of emotions. I was raised—and continued through my adult life until just recently—as a dyed in the wool patriot. I believed that America was the greatest country in the world, founded by Christians to be a Christian nation, one nation under God. I believed for a long time that the slow evil influences that had migrated to this country (through one method or another) were slowly tearing its Christian soul apart.
I no longer believe that. Any of it.
I would guess that my metamorphosis began years ago. I know that long ago, in a discussion with some Reformed brethren, I had asked for advice on buying a good, but concise, book on Christian history. I was referred to Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language, sort of a Christian History 101 type book. It was perfect for me at the time because it was a summary of sorts in a shorter volume (about 500 pages) and seemed fairly objective in its descriptions and critiques.
In Shelley’s book, I learned that very early on, Christianity went rather rapidly from an evangelistic religion to an imperialistic one. What does that mean exactly? It meant that Jesus’ command in Acts to go into the world went from being about individuals to being about nations. And not, I might add, with good results. How did that start? Shelley writes:
"Rome had gradually become a religious monarchy. The emperor served as the connecting link between God and the world, while the state was the earthly reflection of divine law. . . . Then came Constantine’s (the Roman Emperor) victory over his rivals—after he turned for help to the Christian God. God himself placed the emperor under the protection of the Cross and in direct dependence upon Christ. This meant, however, that Constantine was converted, not as a man, but as an emperor. Christ himself had sanctioned his power and made him the divine representative, and through Constantine’s person the God of heaven bound the empire to himself by special ties. That, at any rate, is how Eastern Christians saw it." (pp. 143-144).
Shelley goes on in the next chapters to explain that after this event, Christianity became a "national" religion in the sense that every time a nation was captured, it—and all its inhabitants—became Christians. Those who refused to bow their knee to God were enslaved or killed. (Forced salvation.)
Sound vaguely familiar?
If not, I would encourage you to do some deep research into the real history of the United States. Start with talking to Native Americans who have passed down oral history from the early days of the settlers, history that is unsettling at the least and horrifying at its worst. (Most of this I didn’t know until I became part of a Native American church.)
Additionally, we have been hoodwinked by a man named Rousas John Rushdoony. Perhaps you have heard of him, but I hadn’t until just recently. He is the father of Christian Dominionism/Reconstructionism and that doctrine is the foundation of the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation.
So I had to ask myself, is that even possible . . . for a nation to be Christian?
You might be saying, "Well of course," just like I did for many years. But what about it? The very word "Christian" means to be like Christ. Christianos (Greek) meaning a follower of Jesus Christ.
Can a nation be a follower of Jesus Christ? Constantine obviously believed so and then used his power as emperor to forcibly "convert" those who hadn’t previously been "Christians." Is that really what our Lord meant when He said that we would receive power to be witnesses? No, of course not. The power for the Christian life comes from within, comes from the very presence of the Holy Spirit working out salvation in the soul of the surrendered believer. Nations cannot be saved because they have no eternal soul.
It is impossible for a nation to be Christian.
In reading Rushdooney’s The Institutes of Biblical Law, it seems evident within the first seven pages that his doctrine of Christian imperialism is fraught with holes so wide you could sail the Titanic through them. And yet, his doctrines and their derivatives have been taught in seminaries for years and are the basis for the most of the culture clash that exists in America today. Here’s just a summary of Rushdooney’s points in the "Introduction" of his book:
• "God, in order to re-establish the Kingdom of God, called Abraham, and then Israel, to be His people, to subdue the earth, and to exercise dominion under God." (p. 3)
• "The purpose of Christ’s coming was in terms of this same creation mandate. . . . The redeemed are recalled to the original purpose of man, to exercise dominion under God." (pp. 3-4).
• "As the new chosen people of God, the Christians are commanded to do that which Adam in Eden and Israel in Canaan, failed to do. . . . Man is summoned to create the society God requires." (p. 4)
Christian Dominionism. Christian Imperialism! Is this really what the Lord called us to do?
"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you," (Matthew 5:38-44)
This doesn’t sound much like forcing our unsaved neighbors to live by Christian values so that we can be comfortable (which, by the way, is the goal and result of Christian Dominionism).
Has America ever even acted like a Christian nation?
At its founding, the early "Christian" settlers massacred Native Americans because they considered the Natives to be heathens who refused to be converted. As early as Columbus, Europeans (including Columbus) were involved with Native American slave trade and were additionally involved in the slave sex trade with indigenous girls as young as nine years old. The migrated Europeans (now in America) embraced the slave trade of the Africans. While some of the Native tribes were nomadic, others were not, but the settlers simply moved in and took the land because there were no fences. These men killed the "witches" of Salem who may have actually been no more than herbalists. Women, minorities and the poor were oppressed and didn’t have the right to participate in the democratic process until many decades (or even centuries) later.
I could go on and on, but the point is this: How does any of this reflect Christ? "Christian" means to be a follower of Christ. Would the Lord Jesus do (or condone) any of this? No, He wouldn’t. The Bible is clear about how we are to treat others. The founding of America and its subsequent growth has been quite the opposite.
Now, I don’t believe it’s actually the fault of the nation because it’s impossible for a nation to be saved. It doesn’t have a soul. And it’s impossible to live the life we are required by Christ without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I do believe that the fault lies within the Church—within us—because we should know better. If we truly knew what the Bible said and took it to heart, we would know how desperately wicked our country is. We would stop wanting the "good ol’ days" (which were only good for a few) and would be, instead pressing forward in love to do what Christ truly called us to do . . . be His witnesses.
So as American believers, if the United States isn’t a Christian nation, where do we go from here? Most of us have probably been embroiled in the culture clash that evolved from the Rushdooney mess for years! At this point, we may not even know how to love our neighbors and we probably don’t know much of what it really means to be a Christian!
First of all, we need to remember that none of the people around us are the enemy. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV). Our enemies are the Satanic forces pitted against Heaven as well as our own flesh natures! The apostle Paul writes:
"I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." (Romans 7:21-23 NKJV).
A comic from the 1970's used to say, "The devil made me do it," but the truth, more likely, is that we simply dove into the sin all by ourselves because we wanted to. We are self-indulgent and undisciplined. Our greatest enemy is ourselves! And we need to be always mindful and on watch.
Second, we need to remember that the Lord Jesus died for everyone and that God longs for all to be saved:
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV).
"The Lord is . . . longsuffering toward us." Two of the connotations of this word seem most appropriate here: "to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart" and "to be mild and slow in avenging." (Strong’s 3114). We need to understand that God doesn’t want to condemn anyone to hell. Not Hitler. Not Timothy McVey. Not the Native Americans. Not ISIS. Not anyone! The Lord isn’t on the side of Americans or Canadians or the English or the Libyans. The Lord is on His side, patiently waiting for His creations to become His children. (And also, most likely patiently waiting for the Church to start actually acting like the Church.)
Many of us have, for so many years, placed our faith in the United States as a Christian nation, rather than working to act like Christians ourselves. The apostle Paul writes:
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV.
"Your own salvation." Heautou meaning your own, alone. We work out our individual salvation, not corporate salvation, not national salvation, not imperial salvation. We work out individual salvation with fear and trembling both for the blessings of being saved and the awesome responsibility of witnessing of that salvation to others. Christians were never called to rule, but to serve. We were never called to slaughter, but to live sacrificially toward others. We were never called to become masters, but to submit to the authorities established by God. And—most importantly of all—we were never called to be committed to this earth! This earth is going to pass away. If we could create the "perfect" God-fearing society (which is an impossibility), it would still pass away! The only goal that really has eternal ramifications is sharing the gospel with every lost and hurting soul. Anything else is, to be honest, a waste of our time and efforts.
Do you really think God wants us to waste our time?
As a postscript, for those of you who don’t know me personally, I’m neither Native nor a minority. I’m an older, overweight white woman, raised by Southern parents, raised on the West Coast, who loves the Lord with all my heart. There’s no agenda in this for me other than loving and serving my Savior.
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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