One Nation Under God

The Religious Right, under the leadership of men such as James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and Richard Land have begun putting pressure on politicians to start implementing some of the moral legislation for which they were divinely elected. In disregard for the sovereignty of God and in the true nature of Christian charity they have threatened to take their toys and go home if President Bush and the rest of the Republican party don't start playing by their rules. In light of that the President is attempting to re-invigorate the debate for a marriage amendment that prevents homosexual marriage. I am personally opposed to such an amendment because it is presumptuous and definitely crosses the line between Church and State but that's not really my point. On another side-note, one wonders how much more healthy the Church would be if Christian leaders would put more energy into fixing marriages inside the church rather than meddling in relationships outside the church. But obviously that will never happen. No time to worry about the logs in our eyes, we're busy condemning people for the twigs in their eyes.

Invariably as this debate picks up steam we will hear more and more about the godly intentions and the near holy status of our Founding Fathers. Apparently these men are turning over in their graves at what we've made of the "Christian Nation" they fought to establish. And THIS is where I take issue with our interpretation of history. This essential element of their argument is weak to say the least. Without too much thought I have put together a list demonstrating that a truly "Christian Nation" was not so much what these Founding Fathers intended.

• First and foremost, the revolution was primarily political and not religious. These guys felt they were getting jobbed because they were being taxed out the yin-yang with absolutely no representation in Parliament. They were relegated to second class citizens and yet they were the main source of funding for the vast British Empire.
• Second, the above truth demonstrates that these men were really only interested in themselves. They had no problem relegating the Indians, blacks, and women to second class status, they just didn't want to be treated that way themselves.
• Third, many of these men were deists, rather than Christian. These same godly men could barely agree on whether there should be a prayer at the Continental Congress, much less create some Christian theistic nation.
• Fourth, a look at the personal lives of many of these men reveal that they weren't exactly moral beacons of light.
• Fifth, let us not forget that these men are the same who wrote Article II of the Constitution which determines that a black man was worth only three-fifths of the value of a white man, and then only when it came to taking a census. Other than that their value was exactly zero, in that their rights and privileges were non-existent. Incidentally about four score and seven years after they wrote that we had to fight a war to prove they were wrong.

The contention that our Founding Fathers were seeking to create a Christian nation is completely full of holes. I don't have a problem with someone wanting a marriage amendment but I do have a problem with their hijacking and rewriting of history in order to make a case for why that amendment is essential. Please, come up with a legitimate reason before you seek to impose your beliefs on others and deny them the religious freedom that many have died to ensure for them.