Close the border.  Build a wall.  Use razor wire.  Deport those foreigners as soon as possible. 

America is a Christian nation.  Our faith, the church, should guide our country, our schools.

End social security.  Stop ‘entitlement’ programs. 

 America is a Christian nation.  Our faith, the church, should guide our country, our schools.

Higher education loan forgiveness is wrong and not fair.  

America is a Christian nation.  Our faith, the church, should guide our country, our schools.

The Bible should be taught in schools.  Bring back Christian prayer in schools. 

Well…..OK. 

But……I have a teeny little problem with all of the above coz it kinda seems to me that every one of the above statements are diametrically opposed to each other.  Check this out.  The scriptures appointed for today include handy dandy little commandments like this:

Thus says the LORD:   “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.  You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.  If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.  My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;  then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.  “If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him.  If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.”      Exodus 22

So there’s that.

And then, Jesus kinda compounds the whole issue when he says problematic things in situations like this:

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all our heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”   (Matthew 22)

Now, I certainly don’t claim to be an expert in much of anything, especially theology, politics and current affairs, and I’m certainly not one to take a lot of things in the Bible literally, but…..doesn’t Jesus make it pretty clear as to what he expects of us as Christians, and anyone who would dare to say:  “America is a Christian nation.  Our faith, the church, should guide our country, our schools.”

Some of the same folks who espouse the “America is a Christian nation” mantra are also all about having the Ten Commandments posted in schools and government buildings and courtrooms.  Except for violating the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, making it illegal, I don’t see the harm.  But being me, I gotta ask, if America is a Christian nation, wouldn’t it be more Christ-like to post something that Christ actually said, stressed, and preached about?  Like say, the Beatitudes?   Especially these:

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Y’all have heard me talk about the United States most definitely NOT being founded as a Christian nation, so I’m not gonna go there right now, but, it would seem to me that, if indeed that were the case, and we actually practiced what is preached when we claim that it is so, the country would be a much better place.  Don’tcha think?  As it stands now, it would seem that we, all of us, should remember, as Stephen Mattson has said, “Sometimes, being a good Christian meant being a bad Roman.  So before you accuse someone of being unpatriotic, ask yourself which empire they’re actually serving.” 

Russell Moore, former leader in the Southern Baptist Convention and now Editor of ‘Christianity Today’ told this story in an interview with NPR:

 Multiple pastors had told him they would quote the Sermon on the Mount, specifically the part that says to “turn the other cheek,” when preaching. Someone would come up after the service and ask, “Where did you get those liberal talking points?”

“What was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, ‘I’m literally quoting Jesus Christ,’ the response would not be, ‘I apologize.’ The response would be, ‘Yes, but that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak,’” Moore said. “When we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we’re in a crisis.”

I love this country.  I do.  But Joshua said it best when he said, ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’  Sometimes serving the Lord means making difficult choices.  Sometimes serving the Lord means changing our thinking.  Sometimes serving the Lord means facing hard truths about ourselves, our beliefs, and our supposed faith.  Isn’t it time we start asking ourselves those hard questions?  Isn’t it time we decide which empire we’re gonna serve?  Amen.