America founded on Christian values? We hear it all the time. How
should one respond? Perhaps by actually looking at what some of the
values we hold dear actually are, and then questioning whether they
are Christian or not. It'll be a wild ride. Ready?
Surely, the most fundamental value that America is founded on would be
LIBERTY. We are all free to choose our own path, forge our own
destiny. This is, of course, what atheists have been saying from the
beginning, but when Christians say that LIBERTY is a Christian value,
they lie. Christianity teaches that the noblest thing any man can do
is to surrender his free will and become an instrument of God.
LIBERTY is actually seen as a negative thing in Christian doctrine;
being that we are all corrupt, fallen creatures, LIBERTY is the evil
to be avoided at all costs. It inevitably leads to sin.
Then of course, there is DEMOCRACY. Here, the argument is even
simpler, and even more obviously atheistic in origin. Consider what
DEMOCRACY means: that authority ultimately derives from the people.
Now consider what Christianity teaches: that authority ultimately
derives from God. Pretty contradictory ideas, wouldn't you agree?
In fact, if you think about it, even such a general concept as HUMAN
RIGHTS has no real meaning under Christianity. Humans, as I've said,
are taught in Christianity to be worthless, vile, fallen, corrupt,
incompetent, evil, base, contemptible creatures whom God loves -- not
because we are worthy of love, no, just the opposite; because of
God's infinite capacity for love. To speak of HUMAN RIGHTS in
Christianity makes no sense; one cannot say that humans 'deserve' any
sort of consideration from God. The only thing we truly deserve, at
least according to Christians, is infinite torment in Hell. I mean,
can you imagine a Christian claiming that it violates our rights when
God sends his disasters upon us? Of course not. God is King and can
do whatever He pleases to us.
How about EQUALITY? Christianity makes no bones about the fact that
only they are going to Heaven, only they have the truth, only they
have God's favor, and as for the rest of us poor slobs, Christians
don't even want the dust from our homes to be on the soles of their
shoes! We're THAT inferior! In fact, the New Testament is filled
with metaphorical descriptions of non-Christians as garbage to be
thrown away; we're the dead branch that will be cut off, or the salt
that has lost its saltiness, or the aforementioned dust. And I won't
even get into what the Bible says about women!
Next, consider the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. The very notion that life is
something to enjoy, that happiness is a worthwhile pursuit, has no
place in Christianity. We are not here to be happy. We are here to
serve God. This world is a vale of tears, and man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upwards. Happiness is for after you're dead; until
then, you endure.
Finally, one where Christians actually have an arguable point;
TOLERANCE. I say 'arguable,' because one can make a Biblical case for
the idea that TOLERANCE is a Christian virtue...Jesus' tolerance of
prostitutes and lepers; the Good Samaritan, etc. However, it can't be
ignored that the greatest opponents of tolerance in America today,
just happen to be.......Christians! In fact, every time Christians
appear on T.V. to vent about some issue or other, they always seem to
be trying to ban something, or condemn something, or invoke God's
wrath on something, blah blah blah. Case in point: the Pledge of
Allegience. Atheists said that this was religious indoctrination, and
thus had no place in public schools, adding that Christians were
certainly free to indoctrinate their own kids any way they saw fit.
Christians responded that removing two words from the pledge violated
their rights and threatened the future of the Church. Obviously, the
two sides agreed on one thing: the Pledge is indeed religious
indoctrination. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine Christians being
threatened by its change. And so, we saw a non-stop stream of ranting
about how everybody and their pony was going to hell if Christians
didn't get their way. Not too tolerant, if you ask me. Of course,
there's no substitute for being right, and the mere fact that the
Supreme Court chickened out of making a decision speaks volumes. Is
there any doubt that they would have ruled in favor of the 'Under God'
inclusion if they could have found even the slightest excuse to do so?
They didn't, ergo, they couldn't. It was the atheists, as usual,
fighting for tolerance in this case, just like they fight for
tolerance for homosexuals, unpopular speech, and anything even
remotely fun.
So, there you have it. America is not founded on Christian
principles. In fact, it's about as un-Christian a nation as you can
get. America, in other words, is great not because of Christianity,
but in spite of it. Christianity, to the extent that it is bearable
at all, is bearable only because it has been tamed by several hundred
years of atheistic, humanistic, constitutional liberal democracy.
But, it shouldn't surprise anyone that such an un-Christian nation
should be populated mostly by Christians.
After all, there are many nations that perfectly epitomize Christian values
which are populated mostly by Muslims.

America founded on Christian values? We hear it all the time. How
should one respond? Perhaps by actually looking at what some of the
values we hold dear actually are, and then questioning whether they
are Christian or not. It'll be a wild ride. Ready?