America: A Christian Nation

By Arthur R Thompson

Whether you base your conclusions on public polls or on the thoughts of the Founding Fathers, there is an inescapable logic underlying the issue: Religion is the institution that defines morality, the difference between right and wrong; to be legitimate, government needs to behave morally; the power of the American government comes from the people; the morality that guides the great majority of Americans is Christianity; and therefore the United States is, virtually by definition, a Christian nation. Arguments to the contrary rely on a subtle shift in the discussion, by equating the belief that America is a Christian nation with the idea that being a Christian nation implies intolerance of other religions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arthur R Thompson
• Release date: Sep 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301463930

Book preview

America: A Christian Nation

and Second Thoughts on the American Dream

By

Arthur R Thompson

PUBLISHED BY

Arthur R Thompson at Smashwords

America: A Christian Nation

and Second Thoughts of the American Dream

Copyright 2013 Arthur R Thompson

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

*****

Dedication

This work is dedicated to

My Grandparents Wilson L Sliter and Florence E Sliter

And to

My Parents Albert G Thompson and Audrey R Thompson

From whom I learned all my life lessons

Love of family, love of Country, and love of God above all else

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Foreword to the Revised Edition

I wrote the original piece as a letter to the editor of the local paper then expanded on it because the information did not lend itself to a 600 word treatment. Since 2006 much has happened that required some updating and thus this revision.

As I was reading through the umpteenth draft it seemed like there was something missing. I realized that in addition providing just the historical information there should be some perspective on where we are because of the current lack of unrevised history and rampant subjective truth. That required adding the Worldview, Postmodernism and Tolerance chapters to give some basis to how we got here from there.

The last two chapters; The Leven of Liberalism I provide a list of Progressive Church teachings that are far from Biblical and Second Thoughts on the American Dream provided me with a subtitle for the work.

While I am the author I feel a great deal more like an editor as I stand on the shoulders of giants and have tried to credit all the portions of work I took from others. One that I would like to mention in particular is Michael Patton of Credo House and Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. It was Michael who introduced me to Theology through The Theology Program that gave me the tools to study the Bible in earnest, believe more today than I did yesterday and contributed to make me a better disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you, Michael.

Arthur R Thompson

Greeneville, TN

November, 2010

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Foreword

While reading the local newspaper I found a missive in the Letters to the Editor space. It was with great interest I read the letter Writer Cites 1844 SC Ruling, Quotes Sen. Specter’s Statement by Terrance R. Craig, Lt. Col, USAF (Ret) in the Monday July 10, 2006 Greeneville Sun. His letter was in reference to an article regarding a federal judge ordering that a Kentucky High School could not begin their graduation ceremony with a prayer. His ruling of course was based on the Second Amendments’ so-called separation of church and state clause. (Note: The students and attendees in effect told the judge to pound sand as they stood and prayed together)

Colonel Craig’s statement, which I found interesting, was, However, because our lives, motive, worldview, laws, government and way of life are so entwined with the Word of God, it is impossible to eliminate that from our daily lives. That is something that a great number of Americans take for granted: Especially those of us over forty-five years of age. That is the way life was for us, it is a part of our history and heritage: A heritage that deserves our attention more so today than at any time in our history.

Is our reality today in line with Lt. Col. Craig’s view? We should take some time to consider the role Christianity played in shaping our great nation. To be sure there were times when we as a country were not on the right path. Nevertheless, we eliminated slavery and bias and prejudice in government and have made good on the ideal that all men are created equal and that the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not just a phrase but also a reality.

Arthur R Thompson

Greeneville, TN

July, 2006

*****

Table Of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One - The Founding

Chapter Two - Christianity in Education

Chapter Three - What’s Right with America?

Chapter Four - What is wrong with America?

Chapter Five - Worldviews

Chapter Six – Postmodernism

Chapter Seven – Tolerance

Chapter Eight - The Leaven of the Liberal Left

Chapter Nine - Second Thoughts on the American Dream

Epilogue - The Case for America's Christian Heritage

Appendix I – America Protected by God

Appendix II - An overview of Obama’s America

Appendix III - Letter to the Church of the Laodicians

Appendix IV – USDE Memo 1993

Prologue

Whether you base your conclusions on public polls or on the thoughts of the Founding Fathers, there is an inescapable logic underlying the issue: Religion is the institution that defines morality, the difference between right and wrong; to be legitimate, government needs to behave morally; the power of the American government comes from the people; the morality that guides the great majority of Americans is Christianity; and therefore the United States is, virtually by definition, a Christian nation. Arguments to the contrary rely on a subtle shift in the discussion, by equating the belief that America is a Christian nation with the idea that being a Christian nation implies intolerance of other religions.

Other countries, of course, make no bones about being, say, Islamic. For some of America's most dangerous foes, the Islamists of al Qaeda, being an Islamic nation means following Sharia, or Islamic law--rules laid down by the Koran that govern a wide variety of activities, such as the status and treatment of women or penalties for crimes like theft.

By comparison to these states, there is little doubt that the United States is governed by an entirely different set of ideas about what constitutes moral behavior, both by individuals and by the government. And those ideas are best summarized in the statement, America is a Christian nation.

On one simple level, there is no denying that the United States is a nation of Christians. Public opinion polls repeatedly show that an overwhelming majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians and believe that the United States is a Christian nation.

This by no means implies that Americans are intolerant of other religions, or even that they believe Christianity is the only route toward living a moral life. The widely regarded Pew polling organization found in 2002 that while 67% of respondents said the United States was a Christian nation, an even larger percentage, 80%, said it was not necessary to be a Christian in order to be a good American.

Source: Points of View; Jacobs, W. E. & DiLascio, Tracey M.

Back to TOC

Chapter One - The Founding

Part I

The Founders

Revisionist history has become part of the conventional wisdom of American politics and culture in recent years and is largely based on the religious, mostly out