If the United States is a Christian nation how come all of the Christian churche

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   terced ojosposted 14 years ago

   If the United States is a Christian nation how come all of the Christian churches are segregated?
   
   White Christians in the United States have a long history of making Jesus out to be a white man and themselves to be chosen by him; the overt implication being that God is white and white Christians are the chosen of God because they are white.  If God loves everybody and Christians claim to have God's love for the world how come theres so much racism and segregation in the church?

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   RevLadyposted 14 years ago

   Well, according to President Obama, we are not a Christian nation, we are a nation of values.
   
   But In response to your question, perhaps it is because all those claiming Christianity are not Christians in the sense taught by Christ. Of course, even the beginning churches consisted of the same types of folks and the apostles had to contend with the same issues of racism, sexism, segregation and so forth.
   
   As long as we have imperfect humanity, we will have imperfect everything. What some people claim and what is true can be two different things. Some, like the Apostle Paul before his conversion, are sincere, but wrong, others are plain hypocrites, still others separate themselves over doctrinal disagreements such as is happening in the Catholic and Episcopal Church at this very moment. Reasons goes on to include pride, power, etc.
   
   Bottom line: The wheat and the tares will all tarry together until harvest day when real separation will occur.
   
   Forever His,

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   wba108@yahoo.composted 13 years ago

   RevLady is entirely correct, like the rest of society the church has many flaws! But nevertheless, we can get so caught up with what is wrong, that we don't appreciate what is good. Presidents from George Washington to George Bush  has declared America a Christian Nation, no disrespect intended to president Obama but he is the first US president to publicly deny this. Also the Supreme Court declared America a christian Nation in 1892 and 1952. I believe America was founded a Christian Nation, whether it is today is questionable in that it depends on what the definition of a Christian Nation is.

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   technologyvaultposted 13 years ago

   We live in a world that is fallen.  Christian religions teach us the ideals that we hopefully aspire to, but in reality we all fall short.  In the ranks Christianity, there are several churches, many of them believing things that contradict other churches teachings.
   
   Whether political correctness tries to change it or not, there are major cultural differences among the various races.  Those cultural differences are manifest in people's worship habits.  Most of my black friends prefer an upbeat church that caters its messages to the challenges faced blacks.  I go to a church that uses a worship style that would be considered boring by a lot of people, especially ones whose cultural background makes that kind of worship foreign to them.
   
   I'd answer your question by saying that a natural segregation doesn't necessarily imply racism.  People of different races simply have different preferences.

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   pbsandwichofdoomposted 12 years ago

   I would disagree that the United States is an officially Christian nation. It is a majority Christian nation, but has no official religion. And from what I've observed, churches vary a lot in their racial makeup. Some are all white, some are all black, some contain other minorities or are mixed. I think that there are racists in some churches because, sadly, there are racists everywhere, and not everybody lives up to the true ideals of their religion.
   
   Also, in response to Modern Knight, the reason that blacks get jobs due to the color of their skin is because historically, whites have been hired over equally or more qualified blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc. due to the color of their skin. Disadvantages still linger from the years of Jim Crow and even slavery in a legacy of greater poverty among black people. Affirmative action is one (admittedly controversial) step towards providing minorities with the opportunity to break away from that legacy. It's not like affirmative action and segregation started in an equal society in which black people decided they wanted to oppress whites for no reason.

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   keepermenposted 11 years ago

   terced ojos gives whites entirely too much credit for pro-actively "rejecting real love in favor of their brand of white Christianity".  The chief reality is that churches have become places of comfort and a retreat from life.  Both "sides" fall into this pattern.  And this pattern includes economic differences and many other cultural differences.
   
   What is lacking in our churches is intentionality.  I would also say conviction of sin is sadly lacking in our churches in general.  But then we get into the blame game.  Civil Rights laws have correctly identified the causes and remedies for “who’s to blame”.  What Christ’s church (that’s all of us) needs to do is bring His unity and healing to the situation.
   
   Intentionality is the key.  Accepting the challenge is the starting point.  Prayer is the oil that keeps the process running.  Fellowship and accountability is source of energy.  And the notion of the church as a place of comfort needs to be expunged from our thinking.  Church is meant to be a Boot Camp; a place of commissioning and training.  And for me, keepermen, church should be a place in America where we really practice the concept that we all come from different backgrounds, but we work together.
   
   ALL OF US need to accept (in the same service) different styles of songs, enthusiastic and easygoing styles of preaching, etc.  In general our churches should be a pot luck assortment of how we each “do church”.  And in the long run we’d find that “differences” would become far more about “individual” preferences than “cultural” preferences. 
   
   The fact that two answers have been hidden because of “negative feedback” speaks volumes where the majority of us are on this issue.  All of us have friends who have said the same thing.  We have no problem letting such statements slide when they come from our side.  But when we hear the other side we’re “offended”.  The key to the process of intentionality is to LISTEN.  Get it?

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