Spiritual Hiccups - Incendiary Words and Christian Nations

In our world of screaming television pundits, I sometimes wonder if any of them have read the words from today's passage in James.  "How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!  And the tongue is a fire... For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue - a restless evil, full of deadly poison."

In an internet world, I suppose we should include the computer keyboard in James' diatribe.  The blogosphere is replete with wild statements picked up by others and passed on as fact.  A great fire indeed.

This may seem a strange segue, but I have come more and more to believe that the label "Christian nation" produces much more mischief than it does good.   The problem with such a moniker is that if this is a Christian nation, then what goes on in the nation must be, by definition, Christian behavior.  And while there are undisputedly many ways in which Christianity has influenced this country for the better, there is a great deal of our culture that is not and never has been Christian.

Take political discourse.  We all know how angry and shrill this has become of late, but in truth, yelling and screaming has been a part of our political process from the beginning.  200 years ago, politicians sometimes fought duels.  But Jesus says, "If you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire."  Apparently we decided not to go with Jesus on this one.

And this is simply one example among many.  The drive to acquire and accumulate wealth goes against many of Jesus' teachings.  The treatment of Native Americans and African slaves goes against Jesus' teachings.  Regarding any other person as a "them" rather than a neighbor goes against Jesus' teaching.

I presume that claiming the mantle of Christian nation is done with the best of intents.  But if Christians want to follow Jesus and be the light to the world he calls us to be, then we must be willing to be different from the world, including our own country, wherever it is at odds with the ways of God.

I cannot imagine any other country in the world where I would rather live.  But if someone who knew nothing about Jesus observed American culture carefully, do you think that the Great Commission, where Jesus calls us to make disciples by teaching them to obey everything he has commanded, would be enacted in their life.  If not, then we're not a Christian nation.

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