Where are the Christian Principles?

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   cjhunsingerposted 9 years ago

   Where are the Christian Principles?
   
   It is widely held that America was Founded upon Christian Principles, but what exactly are those principles? It is also agreed that the Founding Principles of the US are found in The Bill of Rights. In reading, again, those Rights I find done that reflect any theistic dogma or belief. Certainly, Freedom of Religion, speech, assembly, press, trial by peers, the Right to bear arms are not in the Ten Commandments. Could it be that our Principles of Individual freedom are more to an Atheism, that shuns omnipotent godly and secular authority?

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2. 39

   ChristinSposted 9 years ago

   The constitution is not based on "Christian" principles - but on what the founding fathers visualized as a perfect government.  They were trying to free themselves from religious persecution, so why on Earth would they base a constitution designed to support freedom, on the principles of the very thing they were escaping from? That would make no sense logically, nevermind the fact that Christianity is mentioned nowhere in the Constitution.  It is a wholly secular thing - otherwise mention would have been made of God or Christ and it was not. 
   
   If I create an item with something as a foundation - I would at least have to make mention of it would I not? Bad analogy, but if I make a cake using coconut as a foundation - coconut is in the recipe.  If you develop a constitution with Christianity as a foundation - the document would have to at least mention it right?

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      cjhunsingerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Christin--I don't care for coconut, but I do like your analogy.

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   Kiss andTalesposted 9 years ago

   Reference Bible Joh 18:36 Jesus answered: “My kingdom (Goverment) is no part of this world. If my kingdom (Government) were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.” 
   Joh 18:37 Therefore Pilate said to him: “Well, then, are you a king?” Jesus answered: “You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.”
   
   Reference Bible Lu 4:5 So he brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms ( Goverments)of the inhabited earth in an instant of time; 
   Reference Bible Lu 4:6 and the Devil said to him: “I will give you all this authority and the glory of them, because it has been delivered to me, and to whomever I wish I give it. 
   
   Satan’s power and influence were evident in the time of the prophet Daniel, some five centuries before our Common Era. When Our Heavenly Father sent an angel to deliver a message of encouragement to Daniel, the angel encountered resistance from “the [spirit] prince of the royal realm of Persia.” The faithful angel was held up for 21 days until “Michael, one of the foremost princes,” came to help him. The same account also speaks of “the [demon] prince of Greece.” (Daniel 10:12, 13, 20) And at Revelation 13:1, 2, Satan is portrayed as “the dragon” who gives to the political wild beast( Goverments)"its power and its throne and great authority.”
   
   Notice a demon prince of Persia ,Another in Greece. And there are many more covering the globe of the earth. That is why
   Even today, demonic forces under the control of Satan the Devil are behind the scenes, exercising influence on human rulers and on mankind in general, prompting them to commit unspeakable acts of genocide, terrorism, and murder.
   
   That is why there is a difference in Government and Christians , but we can see is that some have betrayed Christ in their action.

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      cjhunsingerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Kiss-You are not speaking to the choir here and your response completely ignored the question. Perhaps, you would like to restate/rethink your reply.

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      Kiss andTalesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I answered your question from the bible. Since you asked about christain principles . The facts show here there is a seperation, basically because true christains would support Jesus and his heavenly Goverment, since these on earth are under satan.

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4. 79

   junksellerposted 9 years ago

   Completely revisionist. The notions of equality, individualism, representative government, democracy, separation of church and state, etc. do not arise naturally from the Christian church, but instead trace directly through humanist ethics and the enlightenment all the way back to Socrates and Plato. If we could go back in time and examine the bookshelves of the founders, we'd find books by Hobbes, Hume, Locke, Montesquieu, Mill, and Rousseau, etc. And maybe a Bible. That doesn't mean that God is or was irrelevant, just that the system by which we decided to organize ourselves does not come from the Bible or the church, and in many cases the church is/was as much an authority endangering liberty as the state.
   
   It should be kept in mind that one of the strongest proponents of a secular government was a Christian: Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, who from a religious point of view recognized that mixing the state and church would lead to a corruption of the church. He stated the following, which was revolutionary:
   
   "I infer...that the sovereign, original, and foundation of civil power lies in the people...that such governments as are by them erected and established have no more power, nor for no longer time, than the civil power or people consenting and agreeing shall betrust them with. And, if so, that the magistrates receive their power of governing the church from the people, undeniably it follows that a people...have fundamentally and originally, as men, a power to govern the church, to see her do her duty, to correct her, to redress, reform, establish, etc. And if this be not to pull God and Christ and Spirit out of heaven, and subject them unto natural, sinful, inconstant men, and so consequently to Satan himself, by whom all peoples naturally are guided, let heaven and earth judge...." The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience, Roger Williams 1644.

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      cjhunsingerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      junk--A very nice depth of knowledge and well stated.

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      Robert the Bruceposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Excellent answer, Junkseller. Would you consider viewing the question I posed today? Thanks.

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   Link10103posted 9 years ago

   I think the fact that "God" is on American currency and in the pledge of allegiance, people automatically assume it was always there and the entire nation was built on christian principles.
   
   Oddly enough, religion never made any major appearances in American history classes. I would have to agree with Christin on this one, if this nation is founded upon christian principles and the sole purpose of its success (according to some I have seen here on hub pages) was because of said principles..,why is there absolutely no mention of it? To say that some of the founding fathers were christian doesn't actually mean anything, but there are always some people who grasp at straws...

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   JThomp42posted 9 years ago

   The founders believed that religious liberty is a right, and that it must be protected. This conviction was largely based upon the biblical principle that humans have a duty to worship God as their consciences dictate.
   
   For God's Sake, Thanksgiving was created, and officially proclaimed by George Washington in 1789, for the purpose of giving thanks to God for the Blessings this nation had received.
   
   It is clear that the founders were not largely Deists, Atheists, or non-Christians. This nation was founded as a Christian nation, but one that welcomes religious diversity, and yes, even secular thought.

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   mbuggiehposted 9 years ago

   Despite what people "think" or "hold", the US is NOT founded upon so-called Christian principles, but rather upon the secular principles of The Enlightenment and in the spirit of 18th century deism and the moral philosophy of sympathy (read Adam Smith, THEORIES OF MORAL SENTIMENTS).
   
   Read the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights. Nothing Christian there. Just pure Enlightenment; pure secular moralism.
   
   And neither are we an nation founded on atheism.
   
   Remember, our rights: "Endowed by their creator"---note THEIR creator not our creator as deism accepted a diversity of religions and faiths.

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8. 66

   tsadjatkoposted 9 years ago

   
   
   It is widely held that America was Founded upon Christian Principles because it is true and anyone who disputes that statement is a historical revisionist. All you need do is study truth about the lives and beliefs of the founders of this country and that you won't find by listening to the likes of certain commenters on this website. If you really want your question answered truthfully visit WallBuilders. It is an organization dedicated to presenting America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built – a foundation which, in recent years, has been seriously attacked and undermined. In accord with what was so accurately stated by George Washington, we believe that "the propitious [favorable] smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation which disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained."
   
   You want answers - go to http://www.wallbuilders.com/ABTOverview.asp and don't waste time sorting through answers from people who no nothing about the truth of the matter.

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      junksellerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That's funny. The Christian publisher of Barton's last book stopped its publication because it was completely shoddy. This is their statement: "There were historical details — matters of fact, not matters of opinion, that were not supported at all."

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      cjhunsingerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      tsadjatko
      The founding principles of America are the Bill of Right and "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--show thw christian principle.

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      Kiss andTalesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      What you are saying is an example you have people that are atheist but they believe in love. And yet it is written in the bible that God is love.
      Which proves that God is stronger then man knows .

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   4. 61

      cjhunsingerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Kiss--If you are speaking of the NT, love or the feeling of love predates the NT by tens of thousands of years, so one might conclude that love was plagiarized by Catholics, the first Christians.

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      Kiss andTalesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      No one can plagiarize love. So it would be fitting to say you plagiarized yours for your family. Then it would not be real.

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      cjhunsingerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Kiss--I never made the claim that a sense of love (however defined) began with me. But certainly I execised it to the best of my ability.

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      Kiss andTalesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes you believe in it and I certainly would not Automatically think you plagiarized anything ,certainly not your family. When I mention love ,I name no religion or faith, because love is not under any title of religion it stands on it's own.

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9. 86

   krillcoposted 9 years ago

   Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Forgive others. Jesus Christ ha set you free from the Law; you can do nothing beyond accepting Him to achieve life eternal. bandbseminars.com

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10. 74

    TwerkZerkerposted 9 years ago

    You bring up a good point.
    
    I happen to believe it to be a misnomer to say that the principles on which America was founded were "Christian" or "Atheist". The reason I find this misleading is because such labels imply that these principles are UNIQUELY Christian or Atheistic. They are not.
    
    True, many of the founding fathers were Christian (though clearly the level of personal commitment to God and to scriptural living varied). But that doesn't mean that every trait of the ideal American government is based on beliefs specific to Christians alone.
    
    The pursuit of justice, freedom to believe as one chooses, the right to speak freely, the right to live without fear of a tyrannical and oppressive government...while all these things are noble pursuits and happen to jive with Christian belief, they aren't exclusive to Christians. The vast majority of all atheists, Mormons, Jews, Muslims (well, in America at least), Hindus, and Scientologists would also agree that these things are good.
    
    This is similar to how most (if not all people) would agree that thievery, murder, and rape are wrong--regardless of what these peoples' religious views happen to be.
    
    Although, I would point out that (unless I'm mistaken, in which case correction is welcome) it is BECAUSE many of the founding fathers were Christians and wanted to freely pursue God that they DIDN'T want to establish a "Christian Nation". This is because England was trying to do exactly that at the time (and I suspect other European nations were as well) and many people didn't like it.
    
    Part of the problem that comes with being a Christian Nation is that the government is forever allowed to meddle in the affairs of the Church. This means that not only is the government able to "legislate morality" on people who didn't actively choose the Christian faith, but it is able to dictate how Christians are to believe, act, teach, etc. Nobody wants that.
    
    So naturally, in a nation where people are free to pursue God as they choose, there is an implicit freedom to *not* pursue God, if one chooses. America, therefore, cannot be a "Christian Nation" or even an "Atheistic Nation" because these two freedoms could not coexist if the nation was one or the other.
    
    It would be more accurate to say that America is a free nation, founded on common interest in freely pursuing God (or not, if one chooses), and upholding justice.
    
    Anyway, that's my two cents. Sorry for the lengthiness!

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       cjhunsingerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Twerk-Atheistic nation was not stated-more to an Atheistic perspective was. "Freedom to believe-----" is not a Christian principle. Christian nation--that religion and government combine and become a theocracy is more to the truth.

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       Robert the Bruceposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Well said, TZ. The founders wanted to prevent any single religion from controlling the government. They believed in the ability of the people to make decisions based on reason.

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       Kiss andTalesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       So far that has been tested and what do you have today, hunger in nations of people ,What about the earth being polluted and the animals suffering also, man has only proved to be a bad landlord of this earth,the I can do it ,has lead to nuclear doom

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