The United States as a Christian Nation - Assignment Example

1) The debate on whether or not the United s was founded as a Christian nation is something that has gone on for generations. This question remains prevalent in contemporary society because the Republican Party contains many Christian fundamentalists who constantly cite their belief that the country is, in fact, a Christian one. While it surely can be argued that the United States holds some values that can possibly be connected to Christianity, it cannot be proven that the country was founded as a Christian nation because the founding father do not appear to have wanted that to be the case. The United States may hold values that are similar to Christian values, but the fact of the matter remains that the country was founded on the ideals of Enlightenment, which meant moving away from the relationship between Church and state. Those who believe that the United States was founded as a Christian nation will point to the fact that many of the laws found in the country are similar to those of British Common Law, which is largely based on the Ten Commandments. Also, early historical documents frequently contain the word God, which could point to the nation being founded on these principles. The truth, however, is that the United States was largely founded on the idea of religious freedom. This is because the Anglican Church had so much power in Great Britain, and many separatists wished to escape this sort of environment. Also, while the Declaration of Independence does contain references to a higher power, there is no direct reference to a Christian God, nor does the Declaration have any impact on how the country was founded. This is because the Declaration, while an important historical document, is not lawful in any way and, therefore, does not affect the foundation of the country. Those who believe that the country was not founded on Christianity would argue that the founding fathers wished to eliminate the connection between Church and state. This was a manner of granting citizens complete freedom, including freedom of religion. In fact, the first treaty that the United States ever entered into was the Treaty of Tripoli, which stated, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen“ (Walker). This document was produced by the founding fathers and stated that there was no connect, so it should be taken at what it says. There will always be the question about whether or not the United States founded on the principles of religion, but this is shown to be untrue because the founding fathers did not wish for this to be the case. While contemporary politicians will continue to attempt to further their own cause by claiming that the country is, and should remain, Christian, this is not true and, therefore, their arguments are invalid. While the country does not values that can be considered Christian, these values are prevalent throughout humankind and are not uniquely Christian. 2) Thomas Maltus argued that the population of any country will expand until it overruns that country’s resources, which will cause the country to come crashing down. Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, believed that this would not happen in the United States because the country is so much larger than the countries in Europe. In the long run, Maltus will be right on this issue because no matter what the size of a country, the population will eventually get to the point where it is too large for the resources. The United States has a very large land mass and, therefore, it has a great deal of resources. The population of the United States also consumes much more than other countries in the world. Because of this high consumption, it is plausible that the country will run short on resources at a much more rapid rate than other countries. Luxury goods, such as large houses and automobiles, will cause more land and resources to be used than in countries where these goods are not as prevalent. Another aspect of American society is a high rate of physical mobility. This is because the country is relatively young, which means that individuals do not have as deep of roots in one part of the country as in older countries. This can be viewed as a positive because it spreads out the usage of the country’s resources. This will allow for the older eastern part of the country to have its resources spared and its land protected, at least to a certain extent. A negative of this physical mobility is that there are no portions of the country that are untouched by human beings. There is no such thing as nature anymore, as cities have engulfed the entire country. What this has also done is ruined a number of resources, such as forests and lakes. These areas have become polluted and have been decimated by urbanization, which is a negative for the country as a whole. By not leaving any placed untouched by society, the United States will use up its resources much more quickly than it otherwise would. The United States is a country that uses a great deal of resources on a daily basis because it is a country of consumption. People are not interested in saving resources for the future because the present is more important to them. What this has done is create a situation where there are cities everywhere in the country, which has happened at the expense of nature. Unless this changes, the United States will eventually run out of resources, despite its large physical size. 3) In the Christian Bible, there are numerous references to slavery. During the era of slavery in the United States, both abolitionists and defenders of slavery used biblical passages to support their positions. The Bible does contain passages that could possibly support either side, but it more so references these instances as simply being part of society, rather than being right or wrong. When slavery was prevalent in the United States, many slave owners would point out that there is no point where the Bible says that slavery is wrong. In fact, the Bible sets forth rules for how slaves should be treated, punished, and set free. An Israeli slave could only be held for six years before he or she had to be set free and given land in order to prosper. Non-Israeli slaves, however, did not have time limits put on their service and were treated much differently. The difference between this type of slavery and the slavery that was present in the United States is that this slavery was not based on race. In the United States, nearly all of the slaves were of African decent, which means that this type of slavery was a form of racism. In biblical times, the slavery was not the same and, therefore, it is difficult to compare the two of them. The Bible also condemns racially based slavery in Exodus 7-11, as the Hebrew slaves in this passage were being held against their own will. The slavery in the Bible is more based on social status than on race, as people would sell themselves as slaves in order to provide for their families. It was not unusual for an individual to become a slave and, therefore, the two issues are completely different. Abolitionists would continue this argument by stating that the slavery in the Bible was not the mass slavery that was present in the United States, where boatloads of Africans were packed up and brought to the United States against their will. While slaves in the Bible were bought and sold, this was not racially motivated. The Bible was not written with the purpose of creating social change and, therefore, it should not be treated as such. Those who believe in God are meant to change from the inside out, which would mean that they would realize on their own that slavery was wrong and, therefore, did not need to be condemned. Perhaps abolitionists would argue differently, but they are right when they argue that slavery in the Bible is not racial as it was in the United States. The Bible is guilty, in some portions, of condoning slavery by setting forth rules by which a slave should be treated. While on the surface this may seem as though it calls for the allowance of slavery, the Bible does not specifically say that slavery is justified. At the same time, slavery was much different during this time period than it was during the slavery era in the United States. Therefore, the Bible neither condemns not condones slavery, but simply states that it is present and sets forth rules regarding it. 4) In the book Walden, by David Henry Thoreau, the author includes a criticism of the direction that American society was taking. He believed that Americans had becomes obsessed with materialism, which did nothing to make the people happy, even though they believed it would. According to Thoreau, Americans are in a constant rush to obtain as much wealth as possible, and the material goods that go along with it, but this will not lead them to ultimate happiness because their entire lives will be all about these materials, rather than enjoying things that are not paid for. Thoreau makes a compelling argument about how materialism damages the human spirit that can still be applied to society today. An important aspect of this book is Thoreau’s desire to convince the American public to change their lifestyles away from the materialism that the capitalist system has brought about when he says, “sell your clothes and keep your thoughts” (Thoreau 243). The author believes that Americans should get away from their desire to attain as a much wealth as possible and find other ways to be happy in life. Thoreau was able to highlight this by showing how happy he could be by living off of the land at a cabin in the woods for two and a half years. He was able to supply himself with the four main necessities of life and grew closer to nature in the process. Thoreau also makes the claim that people have grow much further from nature because of this materialism. We do not feel as though we need nature anymore, since we have everything supplied for us in the form of material possessions. This has caused for us to lose our sense of self-reliance, as we can now rely on others to make our own necessities for us and all we have to do is buy them. This process, however, takes away from the self-fulfillment that individuals would otherwise have, as they do not do anything for themselves anymore besides try to accumulate wealth. The ideas that are presented by Thoreau are interesting because they call on Americans to change the way their society has degraded. This can still be applied to life in contemporary society, as the majority of people are still driven by the attainment of material goods and wealth. This is because people are now very worried about social status, which is often represented by wealth and material goods. Social status has become the basis by which people are judged in society and, therefore, has become much too important in society. This has come at the expense of nature, as our natural instincts have been replaced by the desire to attain material goods. We no longer have the same spirituality either, as this has also been replaced by material goods and the desire to attain them. This book is important because of what it says about American society. Thoreau points out that Americans have become increasingly superficial, which is very insightful for a text that was written so long ago. The ideas put forth by Thoreau can still be utilized today because they can influence Americans to return to their roots in the country, while escaping the fast-paced, consumer-based life that is lived in the city. Works Cited Thoreau, Henry David. Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York: Harper Classics. 1965. Walker, Jim. "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense founded on the Christian religion". 11 April 1997. Viewed 13 May 2007. http://www.nobeliefs.com/Tripoli.htm Read More