From historian Kenneth Davis. Quote:
From the earliest arrival of Europeans on America’s shores, religion has often been a cudgel, used to discriminate, suppress and even kill the foreign, the “heretic” and the “unbeliever”—including the “heathen” natives already here. Moreover, while it is true that the vast majority of early-generation Americans were Christian, the pitched battles between various Protestant sects and, more explosively, between Protestants and Catholics, present an unavoidable contradiction to the widely held notion that America is a “Christian nation."
Hat Tip: Andrew Sullivan.
This is a theme I've long explored. For instance, in my recent post entitled, Would the Puritans Have Executed John Adams For His Religious Heresy?
2 comments:
Moreover, while it is true that the vast majority of early-generation Americans were Christian, the pitched battles between various Protestant sects and, more explosively, between Protestants and Catholics, present an unavoidable contradiction to the widely held notion that America is a “Christian nation."
Davis' conclusion doesn't follow, unless battling between sects is "unChristian."
Which is nonsense. Its Christian as hell. ;-)
As one of the commenters noted, in Iraq, the Sunnis and Shia battle, but that doesn't mean Iraq isn't Muslim.
The separation of Church and State was a foundational principle, because of such "in-fighting", which protects social order. So, our Constitution grants the religious and the non-religious their equal right under law.
"Faith" is a personal understanding of "life". That could be according to reason or revelation. If one's reason is understood to define faith, then it will be according to the different academic disciplines that help us understand the world and all that is in it.
If faith is defined by revelation, then reason still has to address how that will be understood, and this is where heresy enters in. Orthodoxy forms Christian faith.
Fortunately, our country allows for academic and political liberty where these things are left to personal choice and value. America should not discriminate based on how one understands their life, as long as it remains within the bounds of our Constitutional government.
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