Christian Nation or State Religion?

While writing my book I decided to research modern fundamentalism. What I found surprised me. My early experience with fundamentalism which disdained involvement with politics had changed dramatically. In fact it seemed that a new fundamentalism had emerged. My fundamentalism was loosely based on the beliefs of Anabaptists. This new incarnation of fundamentalism was decidedly Reformed in its theology and in many cases hyper-Calvinistic. I found this change fascinating.I began collecting research that at first I thought would go in my book, I Respectfully Disagree, but there was just too much.


I have decided to post my findings on my blog. Perhaps it will become a book someday but that is not my goal. I just think that this is something that should be discussed.Gregory Boyd's book is still a good read on this topic.I encourage you to read his book.

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There is a movement in America to “return” to our Christian heritage, to “restore” our basic Christian beliefs as a nation, and to take “dominion” over the government. Such a movement terrifies liberals and some conservatives. They want the Bible to be the sole foundation of our society including the laws and regulations of the Old Testament. Some are progressive, others more “fundamentalist”, but all agree on one thing: America’s past is being re-written to remove our Christian Heritage, and it must be stopped.

It begs the question should we be a Christian Nation, and even more importantly, can a Nation be Christian? Various books and websites are available that stress that the religion of our founding Fathers was Christian. Each of us will have to decide this issue themselves. It is inescapable that our Nation was heavily influenced by the Christian religion, and it is also true that most or even all of the colonies were founded as little “Church States” where citizens were required to profess a particular form of Christianity, and leaders had to take an oath that they too were members of a particular denomination. Such exclusivity generated persecution (read terrorism) against those who did not agree or profess. Baptists were driven out of many colonies as were Jews and Catholics.

This form of “Christianity” is not the kingdom preached by Jesus and we need to understand the differences. It is some form of state or civic religion, but not the true gospel Church.

Over the years our National Religion has undergone decay, and it seems obvious that the current “Restore America” movement is striving to rebuild this religion. But I maintain that any state religion is just that, religion, and does not represent the true kingdom of Jesus. Soren Kierkegaard warned that the worst form of apostasy the Christian faith can undergo is for it to become simply an aspect of our culture.[1] I am convinced that this has happened and is the true cause of Christian apathy and weakness, not our refusal to seek power and dominion.

Before we can decide if America is, or was, a Christian Nation, we need to do our homework and understand the term and how it is being used.

Defining a Christian Nation

One of the new fundamentalist organizations, The Foundation Forum (www.thefoundationforum.com), says that a Christian Nation is not a theocracy, meaning it is not a nation in which the clergy who belong to the Christian denomination(s) essentially govern the nation through the government, such as the Roman government was after making Christianity the official religion of the empire. It also asserts that a Christian Nation is not a nation in which a Christian denomination(s) is the established religion of that nation. A good example of such a government would be the Massachusetts Bay Colony as it was under the strict rule of the Puritans, the Anglican Church, created by Henry VIII or the Church of Sweden, created by Gustav Vasa.

Instead, according to the Forum, a true Christian Nation is a nation where the basic principles of Christianity, found clearly written and promulgated in the Scriptures, are the foundation of government as well as contributing to the quality of society and culture. In this kind of Christian Nation no one is required to go to church or forbidden from smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol. Nor are they forbidden to fill their car with gas on Sunday. God does not desire that these be the unbreakable laws of the nation. He desires that men in governments and leaders in society should “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly” (Micah 6:8) with Him. They assert that America is a “Christian nation” in this sense because our basic principles of government (rule of law as opposed to a rule of man, checks and balances, separation of powers, etc.) are grounded in the basic principles of Christianity. They did not expect that America would require any citizen to believe a particular form of Christianity, but that our nation embraced the “GENERAL PRINCIPLES”[2] of Christianity.

This is a strange assertion since Christianity asserts that the Law of Moses, the Old Covenant, has be superseded by a New Covenant, one that is superior in all ways, and the Old Covenant is obsolete.[3] It is little more than a resurrection of the type of church run government Calvin set up in Geneva. That government easily put to death Michael Servetus because he disagreed with Calvin’s doctrines, particularly pre-destination. Where did Jesus say that his kingdom would wield the sword?

The evidence for our country being anything more than a shadow of the way things were done in Europe since Rome made Christianity the office state religion begins with our own Constitution.

The Constitution does not even mention God let alone demand that our country “have no other Gods” instead of him. Neither does it forbid the making of graven images, or the worship of such graven images. It does not prohibit taking the name of the Lord in vain, or any other cursing. It doesn’t require us to keep the Sabbath Day Holy (nor does it try to clear up denominational disagreements over what is the true Sabbath Day). Furthermore, our Constitution does not have any penalties for lack of honor to our parents, or punishments for adultery, murder, stealing, lying, or coveting. Trying to say that our Constitution was based on Christian Principles is simply ludicrous. (For details, see Kramnick and Moore, The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness.) The Constitution is in fact the first significant governing charter in the history of mankind that does not invoke any deities, even impersonal ones, for support and this is why I believe our nation has been great; not because we were a supposedly Christian Nation.

Our laws perhaps look more like the Ten Commandments but only related to a few of the Ten: murder, stealing, and adultery. That’s only three out of ten. Other societies not familiar with the Judeo-Christian tradition have similar laws. They are not uniquely Christian.

Leaving out any reference to God or a deity is hardly a casual omission, and the opponents of the Constitution during the ratification process made much of this fact calling it “godless”. We all need to remember that the framers of our Constitution had many documents to model their work on, including many state constitutions and all of those state charters, plus many from other cultures explicitly invoked God and are well quoted by those fighting for a Christian America. Most were specifically Christian, some were explicitly Protestant, and some, like Massachusetts, established a specific church (the Congregationalists, descendants more or less of the Pilgrims) as the state church.[4]

Our Founding Fathers seemed intent on creating a government that embodied freedom for religion, and freedom from religion. Thomas Jefferson said it well, “I may grow rich by an art I am compelled to follow; I may recover health by medicines I am compelled to take against my own judgment; but I cannot be saved by a worship I disbelieve and abhor.”[5] Thomas Jefferson knew what many today fail to consider: love of God and obedience to him cannot be compelled by law. Worship cannot be legislated. If it does not come freely from the heart then it is invalid.

Of course, most of these arguments are rendered invalid when we understand the true nature of the Kingdom of Jesus (God).


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Next time...Defining the Kingdom of Jesus (God)

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[1] Soren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard, ed. C. E. Moore (Farmington, Penn.: Plough, 1992), pp. 232.

[2] John Adams, The Work of John Adams, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, pp 45, 46, posted on the internet as a book: http://www.archive.org/stream/worksjohnadams10adamrich#page/n44/mode/2up

[3] Hebrews 18:13

[4] Ed Buckner, PhD, It’s a Free Country, Not a Christian Nation, http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/buckner_ncn.html

[5] Thomas Jefferson, notes for a speech, c. 1776. From Gorton Carruth and Eugene Ehrlich, eds., The Harper Book of American Quotations, New York: Harper & Row, 1988, p. 498.

The Myth of A Christian Nation - Book Review

The Myth of A Christian Nation by Gregory A. Boyd is a must read for Christians who are frustrated with the moral decline in America and are tempted to grab power to make things better. He carefully explores the scriptures to show that the idea of a Christian Nation is nothing more than our American version of a state religion. Although many of the people who founded our original colonies, and later helped to form our nation, we men and women of faith, in particular the Christian faith, the idea that a government could be "Christian" he explains is not in line with the teachings of Jesus.

Apart from the obvious Bible verses such as "my kingdom is not of this world" Boyd carefully looks at the essence of Christianity and shows how that essence is in stark contrast to the civic religion we call Christianity here in America. Returning to the notion of a Christian America would be the same as saying we want to return our country to England.

There are many "state" religions our there - Dutch Reformed, Anglican Church in England where the state and the church are not divided and I don't see a strong Christian Nation in those places. The Netherlands is overly tolerant, and England is in the same boat as America. Boyd explores these and many other notions surrounding the idea of a Christian Nation.

You may not agree with him but I challenge you to read his book.

Excerpt from my book, the last part of Chapter 6

When my friends were listening to Don McLean, Rod Stewart, The Who, Three Dog Night, and Jim Croce, I was listening to Beethoven, Bach and Ralph Carmichael. When I wasn’t listening to hymns or classical music, I loved Gospel Quartets like the Oak Ridge Boys and the Imperials, and singing groups like the Goodmans mostly because that is all I was allowed to listen to. Their concerts included rousing hand clapping and what could easily be called dancing. These groups did, after all, come from churches where they believed in dancing in the spirit. As rousing as Gospel Quartets could be, many struggled with incorporating drums into their bands since they believed the rock beat was secular and needed to be avoided. I decided to ask my new youth leader what he thought.

Bergie was a big man, at least big to a ninety-five pound weakling like me. Balding at a young age he let what little hair he had grow long. The one thing I remember most about Bergie was that he loved God and he loved kids. Not exactly fat but not muscle bound either, he was a one-time hockey player, a physical force to be reckoned with and he inspired all of us young men. Bergie was a stickler for fair play and included everyone, even this geeky kid. He would make me join in when we played street hockey in front of his house on Wednesday nights before youth group. He was constantly grabbing my hockey stick when I held it too high and shouting, “Hey, keep this thing under control before you hurt someone! High sticking is a foul.” He knew his way around the world and on the competitive field and I soon learned that he knew his way around the Bible too.

“Bergie,” I asked him after youth meeting one week, “is rock music bad?”

“Well, some people would consider it bad music based on the style of music they like,” he started. “Why do you ask?”

“Because at my Christian school I am told all music with a syncopated beat is the devil’s music. The beat drives people to dance and is probably full of demons.” At the word “demons” he raised an eyebrow so I continued quickly. “Or at least encourages demons to possess people.” I waited for the proof texts to come but they didn’t.

“Chris,” Bergie said, opening his Bible, “there are many things each of us have to decide for ourselves. They are not easily put into a category of good or bad or right or wrong.” He opened his Bible to Romans chapter 14 and began reading.

I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.[1]

“Music by itself is not good or evil, very few things are. That is what this verse is saying. I believe that God created music and after he created it I am sure he called it good,” he explained. “Lyrics and just poorly played music can be bad, but music in and of it self is not bad.” He continued reading.

Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.[2]

“Even though things we do or music we listen to might be good, sometimes they create problems and we don’t want that. Here the Bible is teaching that Christianity is not about what we eat or don’t eat, or what kind of music we listen to or don’t listen to, but it is all about righteousness, peace and joy.” I knotted my brow, never having studied the Bible like this before. He continued reading.

So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food[3]. 

“Chris, we need to work for peace and the encouragement of each other. We should never tear down the work of God because of our personal preferences or our religious rules.” He smiled. “The advice goes both ways.”

“What do you mean?” I asked not sure I was following his thought.

“If you don’t like rock music you should not tear down those who are using it to build the kingdom of God. If you like rock music then you shouldn’t be condemning those who don’t.” That was news to me. He finished reading.

The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves[4].

“The bottom line Chris is that your convictions should be between you and God and you should not be using your liberty in Christ to hurt anyone else.” I sighed. This was a lot to process.

“Besides,” Bergie said, his smile growing larger. “The Bible is full of wild descriptions of worship that includes all kinds of musical instruments, drums and dancing. David danced before the Lord and Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, is clearly commanded.” His smile finally broke into a laugh. “Sounds like a rock concert to me!”

The Bible verses Bergie showed me convinced me that rock music wasn’t evil; it was just not to some people’s liking. Music was created by God and was good. Sometimes it could be used for evil purposes, but then the devil wasn’t good at creating new things. He can only corrupt what God had made. C.S. Lewis, in his fanciful Screwtape Letters has a senior demon, Uncle Screwtape, mentoring his nephew on this very topic.

Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy's ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made all the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden.[5]

My struggle to find a place for rock music met its first challenge at my Christian school. In the late spring of 1974 our church decided to help with the local Billy Graham crusade; something my school avoided, joining other fundamentalists in accusing Billy Graham of being liberal and neo-evangelical. You have to remember that back in the early seventies there were really only three clear options in Christianity – liberalism, orthodoxy (read “fundamentalism”), and the Charismatic movement. There were no seeker churches, no churches with contemporary singing. Today it is different; back then your options were limited. Billy Graham was creating what we now enjoy as sane, conservative Christianity. Back then it was just called liberal.

Singing in the Crusade choir was my way to be involved and I liked one of the songs so much I brought it to school to sing in our school chorus. Our music teacher took one look at the song and pronounced it “rock music” because it had a syncopated beat. No drums, no long haired hippie weirdo freaks singing, only a little syncopated beat. When asked where I had gotten the music I naively explained that it came from the Billy Graham Crusade. With one eye brow turned up in silent reprimand, I was sent to the principal’s office.

Trudging past the younger kids playing in the parking lot turned playground, I made my way to the office. Mrs. Perry, the school and church secretary, greeted me. At this time the pastor of the Church where the school met was also the Principal. Pastor Hickok knew me by name; in a small school the principal knows all the students by name.

Pastor Hickok was a short man with dark hair, thick glasses and a booming voice. He was dynamic as a preacher and had a strong radio listening audience. He terrified most of the students, including me. After waiting a few minutes in the church lobby I was ushered into the paneled Church study lined with books. I sat down and patiently waited for Pastor Hickok to explain my transgression. The sunlight streaming in the windows highlighted his jet black hair. We talked, meaning he did all the talking and I did all the listening.

He wasted no time getting right to the point.

 “Chris, Billy Graham is a liberal and liberals deny the basics of our faith,” he began. “I remember when Dr. Graham was a faithful fundamentalist Baptist but now he chooses to be unequally yoked with liberals in direct violation of the Scriptures.” He frowned. “Dr. Graham and his ecumenical crusades need to be avoided. Such actions are helping to usher in the antichrist and the One World Church.” As I listened to him I knew I didn’t dare disagree with him out loud. He was on a roll. 

Then he started in on rock music.

“Rock music’s syncopated beat appeals to the flesh making people want to dance, and dancing is bad,” he explained. “Wild worship led David to dance so hard he exposed himself shamefully and rock music and dancing is just simply sex while standing up.” He paused to take a breath. “Dance halls are full of cursers, adulterers, smokers, drinkers and all sorts of people in rebellion against God and his ways. They all go hand in hand. It is entirely of the devil and partaking in any of it will endanger your eternal soul.” Pausing for effect, he straightened his glasses. “You can’t lose your salvation Chris, but if you persist in listening to rock music, one can logically assume that since it is the music of the devil, and you like his music, then you are not a true child of God. What fellowship hath light with darkness?” he quoted.

Bergie’s talk came to my mind as I listened to Pastor Hickok. Their approaches to this subject were very different. Music was created by God as good, and even though it could be corrupted, I was sure rock music wasn’t a sin. It was a preference. As these thoughts swirled around in my head I suddenly heard myself interrupting.

“I disagree.”

Stopping mid sentence, Pastor Hickok leaned back in his chair, his thick black rimmed glasses turned toward me, reflecting the sunlight from the windows just enough so I could not see his eyes in that position. I was just as shocked as he looked. As I sat there in the awkward silence it slowly dawned on me I had challenged his authority, something that good fundamentalists were not supposed to do. Those God had placed over us were not to be questioned, but obeyed. To obey them was to obey God. Panic rose in my throat. Unable to look Pastor Hickok in the face I stared at the floor suppressing an overwhelming desire to run. I had committed the unpardonable sin.

It was several minutes before he spoke. Somewhere in the room I could hear a clock ticking and birds singing outside. Children were on the playground for recess, their sounds of play coming muffled through the windows. The beat of my heart pounded in my head. Eventually he broke the awkward silence.

“Your music teacher was trained at Bob Jones University and knows much more than you or I on this subject,” he explained tersely. “If he says it’s the devil’s music then it is.” He leaned forward in his chair, his black bushy eyebrows raised. “And I trust his judgment completely.”

That was that. There was no room for disagreement.

Finding a slip of paper on his desk he began writing. “As a result of your obvious love of the Devil’s music and your willingness to be associated with liberals, you are suspended from school tomorrow.” Without looking up from the note he was obviously making for Mrs. Perry, he ended our conversation. Taking another piece of paper he began writing down Bible passages. I waited patiently. “Take this time to think about being unequally yoked with unbelievers and the evils of rock music.” Handing the list to me he added to my sentence. “Read these verses before you return to school.”

He ushered me out of his office with a wave of his hand. I bolted from the office, happy to be free. Part of me was horrified that I had defied authority, and part of me was happy for the day off. Hadn’t I been taught that if you were doing the right thing you would be persecuted? Obviously I was on the right track.

Dutifully I looked up the verses Pastor Hickok had given me, but they were not convincing. Staring down at the list I had grown weary of proof texts. Rarely did they prove anything, and I suspected they were simply listed to make it look like there were Bible verses to support the doctrine being argued. I doubted that anyone ever read the proof texts anyway. A careful student of the Bible could come up with proof texts for practically anything. Truth, a most precious commodity, must be mined from the Bible even as gold is mined from the earth. It takes time, dedication, and a lot of work. Sure, there might be a proof text lying around somewhere just like there might be a gold nugget lying on the beach. But is it not the norm, rather the exception. If you want to know what the Bible teaches you have to study it for real.

My suspension made me somewhat notorious, a rebel to my class mates. Secretly I enjoyed the new distinction. This was decidedly strange since at my new church I was anything but a rebel. On the contrary, I was a religious nerd, a real Jesus geek living between two worlds. One world was fundamentalist where everything was neatly painted good or bad and protected by a strong wall of rules and regulations that protected from invasion by the evil secular world. In this world I was a rebel, bucking authority, swimming against the stream. On the other side was a world with many shades of grey and a blurring of the lines between secular and sacred. In that world I was a Jesus geek with short slicked back hair and a big King James Bible. I was finally learning to open that Bible and read it for myself.

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[1] Romans 14:14 NASB

[2] Romans 14:16-17 NASB

[3] Romans 14:19, 20a NASB

[4] Romans 14:22 NASB

[5] C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, p 41-42