Everyone agrees that America was built on Christan principles, why are those principles being denied today?
961703
It was built primarily on justice and equality FOR ALL.\n\nAnd separation of Church and State - allowing religion, just not letting it get dominant.\n\nIt is morally wrong to impose on religion on everyone.
550186
America is not so hypocritical.  Humans in general are a pretty bad bunch.  Christianity tries to explain this with the idea that everyone is born with the sin of Adam and Eve already in them, and they can only stop being inherently bad by turning to God.  I am not sure that I believe that, but I do believe (mostly through experience, travel in 32 countries and living in four continents) that most people are bad if pushed.  America does bad things because they are human.  but I still prefer America to any other country because I believe that it is a system that encourages less bad deeds than many others.  Invading Iraq was a terrible mistake (Afghanistan less so, although we should be handling it better now that we are there).  \n\nIn terms of George Bush, he is breaking so many Christian rules and trampling on so many Christian values that anyone who believes that he is a true Christian is an idiot or very, very, very naive.
105485
you know the pledge has already been changed once. "under God" was added I believe in 50's or 60's Anyways why does America keep messing with a good thing. Not saying that we should take it out just leave it as is.
80782
This is a thoughtful question..........Yes, this is a real possibility. America has always stood for the premise of what our country was founded by our forefathers.  Today we have so many people that want to enjoy the "freedom" of our Nation but do not want to accept the responsibilities. Many people do not hold to the same beliefs of the Bill of Rights or the Constitution...........they think of self and the dollar.  Many of the same 7 reasons Rome fell exist in the United States today.  Others have touched on the reasons, this weakens our nation. We need to take back the strengths that we held true in the 20th century and prior years.
321966
It is NOT in the constitution, nor was it the intent of the framers of the constitution.  Jefferson wrote a letter to a person, pondering the question of a STATE RUN RELIGION and That is NOT what they wanted like England.  England has the church of England and many of the European countries at the time were tied to the catholic church.  The Framers wanted freedom of religion.  But Every single one of the Framers, had a GOD awareness, whether it be a deist in practise, or a believer in a Personal God. This is a concept which has been badly misused to take God out of the public.  It is a sorry state of affairs when the pledge of allegiance or the dollar bill or the ten commandments is threatened to be shredded from the very nation which core principles are founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs.   An apologist for non-fictionalized history,,,
389210
Well first of all, this country was not built on separation of politics & religion. It was built on : no state sponsered religion and equality of all religions. If you look at our founding fathers, they incorporated thier religious beliefs into many aspects of government and politics.\nSo in my opinion , on the religious and political front, our country is out of step with what the framers of the Constitution intended it to be.
981678
I agree. \n\nThere wouldn't be America if it wasn't for Christains. Even alot of laws are based on Christianity. \n\nWe are the oldest demorcary because of that. We should defiently not change it.
670211
great post, ranger.\n\nanother thing, too.  christians have difficulty admitting they are a cult.  they are a cult, that's true.\n\nand you are right.  this country was not based on christianity, or the Framers would have declared that in all of those instruments you described.  at least one of them!  \n\nit's amazing where chrisitians "claim" to see christianity, even where it doesn't exist!!\n\nthe idiot, above, who said "you have a self-esteem issue yourself" simply because you posed this question -- he just proved part of your point for you.  these people never cease to amaze me.  i can hardly wait to see how many call you "angry" just for posting these facts.  they'll try to make you look bad, so they can look better, in their own eyes.\n\nsome idiots will come back and try to say "this country is over 2/3 christian" blah blah blah...\n\nwell, guess what?  this country is mostly WHITE.  so, is the US a "White Country"??  get real, you morons!!!\n\nanother thing -- before you clueless cows come on here yakking about "IGWT" on our currency (and "under god" in the pledge of allegiance), let's rememebr it never showed up on our currency until the McCarthy-paranoia of the 1950's.  The comment in the pledge was also added in the 1950's.  Also, IGWT was only placed on a very few US coins right after the Civil War, almost 100 years after the country's founding.  So, that's also an invalid argument.  These things came later!\n\nI already predict that people will lie and claim that most of the Framers were xians.  And then, they'll use "quotes" from madison and jefferson and many others -- quotes that these Framers NEVER QUOTED and that you will not find anywhere in the Smithsonian.  These are all quotes that have been re-edited by Falwell and Co. to make things "look christian".  Been there, done that.  Keep trying, folks.  Like Ranger, I feel sorry for you for needing to go to such lengths to make your religion look better.  It's too bad that you must lie like that!
512258
Here's two quotes to support your argument:\n\nFrom the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights (America):\n"Congress shall make no law adhereing to or abiding by any church or religious establishment..."\n\nFrom the Gospel of Mark, Holy Bible:\n"Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's"\n\nSo as you can see, both our government and our major religion ask to be kept seperate from one another, and yet millions of conservatives and republicans have made the hipocritical motion to elect members for the "party of God"\n\nThat is all I have to say.\nGod Bless.
1105868
Thank you. Hear that fundies? We're not picking on you, we just want things to be equal. And before someone says it, our founding fathers were not Christian. They were deists. \n\nhttp://www.theology.edu/journal/volume2/ushistor.htm\nhttp://dim.com/~randl/founders.htm\n\n"It was during [John] Adam's administration that the Senate ratified the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which states in Article XI that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.'"
552879
1.  Most of the founding fathers were Masons.  At that time, no nation belived in the concept of freedom of religion, or tolerance.  In fact, at that time, the ONLY place such ideals were found were in Masonry.  From that perspective, America was actually founded on Masonic principles, so that families would have a land where they were free to worship as they saw fit, as opposed to the way the King or the Pope dictated.  \n2.  That definition of Diest is one I have never heard before.  The popular definition of "Diest" today is someone who believes that there is One True and Living God, and that everyone who worships is worshiping the same God regardless of what they believe.  Many people believe this is an unspoken philosophical belief in Masonry because we only require that a man believe in God, but put no qualifications on his religion.  We shun only the "stupid athiest, and the irreligious libertine", and allow each man to have whatever religion he believes.   \n3.  Of course the Masonic symbolism on our currency is a result of our nation's founders being Masons.  The unfinished pyramid and the all-seeing-eye are symbolic of our "One Nation Under God" principle.  Within the capstone is the Eye of God.  Without it the building is unfinished. The symbolism is obvious:  Only under the direction and watchful counsel of God can we hope to fulfill our duties, and complete our labors.  Anti-Masons love to make up any number of ridiculous theories as to Masonic symbolism.  But if you understand that a belief in , and a reliance upon God is at the center of the Masonic philosophy, the symbolism is very obvious, and not sinister in the least.
891607
Bush is surrounded by hard-core Christians who feel the need to make their moral values law for everyone.  These issues are victimless and trivial in my book.  There are much bigger things going on out there and too many of us are easily diverted.\n\nP.S.  America still owes France a ton of $ for their support in the Revolutionary War!!!
886490
They would like nothing better. Just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan. If you dont promote Christian ideals in the Bizarro Fundamentalist America you would be stoned to death.\n\nI am particularly chucked to see the trash answer provided above mine. Here a blind dogmatic fundamentalist is taking historical notes of out context to prove America was founded to promote the Christian Ideal. But he left out the rest of history, where the founders placed protections against those trying to impose religious beliefs directly into the Constitution? Why, because of the religious persecution in England, among other reasons.  Now the Fundamentalists want to create their own nation where its OK to persecute others for not following your beliefs.
1002190
Our country was founded on Christianity. Our government was not afraid to talk about their belief of God. Money has been this way for YEARS. \n\nIn fact, according to the link at the bottom, In God We Trust is our National Motto: The President approved a Joint Resolution of the 84th Congress on 07/30/56, declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States. \n\nThe History of U.S. Paper Money  \nIn the early days of the nation, before and just after the revolution, Americans used English, Spanish, and French money. \n1690 Colonial Notes \nThe Massachusetts Bay Colony issued the first paper money in the colonies which would later form the United States. \n\n1775 Continental Currency \nAmerican colonists issued paper currency for the Continental Congress to finance the Revolutionary War. The notes were backed by the "anticipation" of tax revenues. Without solid backing and easily counterfeited, the notes quickly became devalued, giving rise to the phrase "not worth a Continental." \n\n1781 Nation's First Bank \nAlso to support the Revolutionary War, the continental Congress chartered the Bank of North America in Philadelphia as the nation's first "real" bank. \n\n1785 The Dollar \nThe Continental Congress determined that the official monetary system would be based on the dollar, but the first coin representing the start of this system would not be struck for several years. \n\n1791 First U.S. Bank \nAfter adoption of the Constitution in 1789, Congress chartered the First Bank of the United States untill 1811 and authorized it to issue paper bank notes to eliminate confusion and simplify trade. The bank served as the U.S. Treasury's fiscal agent, thus performing the first central bank functions. \n\n1792 Monetary System \nThe federal monetary system was established with the creation of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The first American coins were struck in 1793. \n\n1816 Second U.S. Bank \nThe second Bank of the United States was chartered for 20 years until 1836. \n\n1836 State Bank Notes \nWith minimum regulation, a proliferation of 1,600 local state-chartered, private banks now issued paper money. State bank notes, with over 30,000 varieties of color and design, were easily counterfeited. That, along with bank failures, caused confusion and circulation problems. \n\n1861 Civil War \nOn the brink of bankruptcy and pressed to finance the Civil War, Congress authorized the United States Treasury to issue paper money for the first time in the form of non-interest bearing Treasury Notes called Demand Notes. \n\n1862 Greenbacks \nDemand Notes were replaced by United States Notes. Commonly called "Greenbacks," they were last issued in 1971. The Secretary of the Treasury was empowered by Congress to have notes engraved and printed, which was done by private banknote companies. \n\n1863 The Design \nThe design of U.S. currency incorporated a Treasury seal, the fine line engraving necessary for the difficult-to-counterfeit itaglio printing, intricate geometric lathe work patterns, and distinctive linen paper with embedded red and blue fibers. \n\n1865 Gold Certificates \nGold Certificates were issued by the Department of the Treasury against gold coin and buillion deposits and were circulated until 1933. \n\n1865 Secret Service \nThe Department of the Treasury established the United States Secret Service to control counterfeits, at that time amounting to one-third of circulated currency. \n\n1866 National Bank Notes \nNational Bank Notes, backed by U.S. government securities, became predominant. By this time, 75 percent of bank deposits were held by nationally chartered banks. As State Bank Notes were replaced, the value of currency stabilized for a time. \n\n1877 Bureau of Engraving and Printing \nThe Department of the Treasury's bureau of Engraving and Printing started printing all U.S. currency, although other steps were done outside. \n\n1878 Silver Certificates \nT
479335
There is a theory that America was built on a rebellious, individualistic spirit.  That might explain why the US is different in that regard.\n\nI think this explains division:\n\nBut there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.  II Peter 2:1-3\n\nThere is a lot of opposition to unity.  Within and without.  There are a lot of ways to look at things, some honest misunderstandings, some deliberate false doctrine.\n\nThe Bible really is a lot of information, and some of it is difficult to understand.  I have grown and changed in my understanding of certain things over the years.  Sometimes we disagree because we are in different places in our maturity and understanding.\n\nI think that the Bible is primarily a discipline I need to apply to myself.  It's not about making other people do right.  Any time you take the attitude of applying law to others that you will not keep yourself, that will cause division and discord.\n\nFrom the very beginning Satan used half-truths in order to lead people from God.  He's still doing that.  If He can get us to believe something that is close to the truth, but not quite it, he can lead us to stray.\n\nIt gets heated because we passionately believe it's important.  It hurts my heart when people slander God.  Because I love Him.  It hurts me for their sake as well, because I know they are in danger.  Not with me, but with God.  That's not my wish, but what I understand the Bible to say.\n\nAnd I guess there are some in the Christian community who are "right fighting."  They care less about righteousness than proving themselves right.  Pride is a sin.  Even in Christians.\n\nThe main reason for division is that we fail to put God first.  If we seek Him, He says He can be found.  If we put Him first, He will unite us for His purpose.
203405
NO. America did not exist in Christ's time.
125321
Our country was founded by men or different beliefs mostly Christian, who kept slaves and allowed no one to vote except for white male landowners.  Their ideas of freedom came mostly from Scottish and English philosophers some of whom were explicitly athiestic and none of whom based their philosophy on Biblical precepts.\n\nSo no.\n\nJust wondering why you had to ask this twice.