507 private links
Dr Jordan B Peterson @jordanbpeterson
To become better, you need to know who you are and what you stand for.
What role did religion play in Johnson’s life? Boswell tried to present him as a High Anglican Tory and Christians today of a conservative inclination today see Johnson as an antidote to what they consider to be the optimistic rationalism of some enlightenment thinking. //
Nicholas Hudson, in his book Samuel Johnson and Eighteenth Century Thought, sums this up:
Few writers were so knowledgeable or sociable to combine many sides of contemporary thought into an understanding of life distinctive for its humanity and good sense. His learning and complexity make his writings especially useful as the starting point for a broader investigation of eighteenth century thought. [18]
There's a very simple process here. "Is this person in the United States illegally?" If the answer is "No," fine. If the answer is "Yes," then back they go to where they came from.
Their faith, whatever it is, simply isn't a factor. //
Those are all fine, noble sentiments. But they are sentiments that have no place in law enforcement. And no Christians in the U.S. should be concerned that most of those who could be deported share their faith. What they should care about is that our immigration authorities are enforcing the law and not playing favorites. //
What the government does for anyone, it must do for everyone, or it must do for no one. //
anon-o9rf Bearsblow
4 hours ago
Five out of of five illegals are...
ILLEGAL !
Kick them out, all of them.
Now. //
Outerlimitsfan
5 hours ago edited
We shouldn't deprive their home countries the important missionary work they could be doing upon their return. //
RedinOR
5 hours ago
If they're such devout, religious people, why are they so comfortable breaking our laws?
You are absolutely correct, Ward. A criminal's particular faith does not change the fact that he/she broke our laws.
American Christians already live as functional atheists, oblivious to the spiritual realm. //
On August 17, 2009, Barack Obama appointed Francis Collins as the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Lauded as a hero of the faith because he professed belief in God while leading the Human Genome Project some years prior, Collins became a link between Christian institutions and the scientific establishment. As association with Collins meant a pastor couldn’t be accused of being some backward-thinking fundamentalist, Collins’s image became synonymous with a more nuanced, reasonable faith – perhaps even a faith that was academically robust.
A year after taking the helm of NIH, Collins reportedly believed that “it is not possible scientifically to settle precisely when life begins.” In fact, before taking over NIH, Collins had already praised eugenic abortions ( when one prenatally tests the baby to see if they’re “fit” or “unfit” and disposes of them if they aren’t up to scruff) as something people “in our current society… are in a circumstance of being able to take advantage of” and something “we have decided as a society… needs to be defended.” And shortly after his confirmation at NIH, Collins said that establishing a new human embryonic stem cell registry was one of his high priorities. If Collins was indeed Mephistopheles’ vessel, the demon wasted no time in devouring his favorite kind of child: very small ones. After all, there are no embryonic stem cells without dead babies. //
In 2006, three years before his appointment at NIH, Collins published his book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, in which he explains how he found harmony between scientific and spiritual worldviews. However, what many Christians drooling over such a “respectable” and “nuanced” Christianity missed is that he defended research on preborn children, so long as they hadn’t been created expressly for such “research.” However his position on this also made space for pursuing scientific discoveries using “the sacrifice and destruction of ‘leftover’ human embryos from fertility clinics.” //
Humanized rats. Remains of unborn babies, purchased from Planned Parenthood and the like, had their scalps removed and subsequently attached to the heads of lab rats. As head of the NIH, not only did Collins approve this study and thus validate its objectives, but he also provided taxpayer funds to pay for it. //
Russell Moore, Rick Warren, Ed Stetzer, David French, Tim Keller (in his day), and the rest of Big Eva all have one thing in common with the “progressive” revolutionaries of today’s culture: the belief that God’s children are indeed for sale. They only differ on the price tag and form of payment. Like Lot, if provided with the right incentives, our theological betters will not hesitate to toss God’s children into the arms of the mob.
There’s a reason why Rick Warren is invited to Davos by the World Economic Forum every year but Pastor Jack Hibbs is not. There’s a reason why Russell Moore is CNN’s and MSNBC’s “phone a Christian” thinker and Voddie Baucham is not. There’s a reason why David French has a weekly op-ed in the New York Times and Eric Metaxas does not. There’s a reason why the New York Times would ask Tim Keller to submit articles, but not ask Pastor Douglas Wilson. Because the former are hirelings and the latter can’t be bought. //
Peskemom7:20p, 7/8/24
Hugh Hewitt- National radio talk show host in early Covid was respectful and deferential to both Fauci and Collins in his several interviews. Then Hugh realized the whole thing was a scam. I listened when he
Graciously but firmly confronted both of them in interviews and heard their shock- annoyance- refusal to consider they were wrong on anything. That hubris and pride alone was so revealing. I realized from then on Collins - whatever "Mr. Rogers/ Captain Kangaroo" demeanor he presents is a very evil man. And hiding behind a Christian facade is demonic. Your analysis is correct. //
Dr Bruce1:31p, 7/9/24
"If I profess, with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christianity. Where the battle rages, the loyalty of the soldier is proved; it is for the soldier to be steady on this particular battlefield. It is mere flight and disgrace to him if he flinches at that one crucial point." (E.R. Charles)
https://virtueonline.org/two-litmus-tests-christian-orthodoxy-moral-realm-culture-wars. //
Sweet Foot Slim7:38a, 7/17/24
In reply to Doc Chai
I believe you are totally wrong but what I believe doesn't matter. I do agree that I cannot condemn this (evil) person's immortal soul. That is way above my pay grade.
What I CAN and WILL condemn are his EVIL ACTS. The act of harvesting organs from a living baby, or in my opinion, a baby killed for the specific purpose of harvesting organs is PURE EVIL. Again, to put it into simple terms even a scientist(sic) can fathom, the ACT is evil. Whether I believe the man's soul will be damned is not my call nor not really my concern. If the Lord has mercy on my soul and I get to heaven and find him or Mengele or Hitler hanging with God I will not question my Lord. I don't believe it will happen but it is not my call. I will love my God.
But I WILL condemn with every ounce of my being the EVIL ACTS and the EVIL coverup. If this (who I believe to be evil) person is pure and Godly and full of the Holy Spirit let him shout from the rooftops about his projects of murdering babies and harvesting their organs. A clear indication this just might be pure evil is hiding from the light of truth.
And, yes, I am a knower of science, a trained physicist/mathematician. God gave us the gift of reason to do good for His children, not to murder babies.
As many Christians gather to celebrate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten liturgical season, President Trump released the most overtly Christian message by any president on any subject in modern history.
This Ash Wednesday, we join in prayer with the tens of millions of American Catholics and other Christians beginning the holy season of Lent—a time of spiritual anticipation of the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
During the Lenten season, Christians spend 40 days and 40 nights praying, fasting, and giving alms to deepen our faith and strengthen our belief in the Gospel. Today, followers of Christ wear crosses of ash on their foreheads—a sacred reminder of our mortality and our enduring need for Christ’s infinite mercy and redeeming love.
As we solemnly contemplate Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the cross this Lent, let us prepare our souls for the coming glory of the Easter miracle.
We offer you our best wishes for a prayerful and enriching Lenten season. May Almighty God bless you, and may He continue to bless the United States of America.
If this is Christian Nationalism, sign me up. //
The invocation of the name of Jesus Christ has become a rarity in public announcements by officials at any level. Taking Christianity out of the context of the gray, meaningless morass of "Jesus was a great teacher" and moralistic therapeutic deism and talking about the Passion, Death, and Resurrection is unheard of in modern political rhetoric. //
Cynical Optimist
3 hours ago
I would like to add how fabulous I thought it was last night when President Trump told the children in America that they were perfect the way God made them, that there was no child ever born in the wrong body.
My own definition of "Christian nationalism" would be this: An orientation for engaging in the public square that recognizes America as a Christian nation, where our rights and duties are understood to come from God and where our primary responsibilities as citizens are for building and preserving the strength, prosperity and health of our own country. It is a commitment to an institutional separation between church and state, but not the separation of Christianity from its influence on government and society. It is a belief that our participation in the political system can lead to beneficial outcomes for our own communities, as well as individuals of all faiths.
etba_ss
8 hours ago
I understand the hesitancy to question those who claim to be representatives of their faith and I often share it, but it's okay to speak truthfully about those who are actively manipulating Christianity for their own selfish ends.
We, as Christians, have to be willing to do this. It isn't just allowed, but it is required. These people are agents of Satan intent on leading people astray. We have have significant theological differences and still acknowledge we serve the same God and are all Christians. People like this woman are not. This stuff is heresy and it sticks a finger in God's face and declares that He is wrong and they know better. Sure, they pretend to group it all around love and kindness for their neighbor, but it is all a lie. We should remember that from the very beginning, Satan loves to use a little bit of God's word, twist it, distort it and then lead people astray. We see that with Adam and Eve in the garden and we see it again when he tempts Jesus.
We must call this stuff out. When at all possible, we should reject this garbage and refuse to sit in attendance and listen to it. There is no such thing as an interfaith prayer service. You can have an interdenominational prayer service, but not an interfaith one. Christianity holds that Jesus is THE way, THE truth and THE life. No one comes to the Father but through Jesus. So if you are praying to "mother god" or Mohammed or even rejecting Jesus as the Son of God, we cannot have a prayer service together. That doesn't mean we hate each other and slit each others throats or we can't be good friends or neighbors, but we aren't going to pray together.
Heresies were a problem even in the early Church. Paul repeatedly dealt with various heresies. That was when there are a real societal cost to being a Christian. In a society where there isn't a big societal cost for being a Christian like the United States (yet), these heresies run wild. You don't have much of a problem with them in the Middle East where claiming to be a Christian is really dangerous and very few would do so who weren't actual followers of Christ.
KJSpeed etba_ss
6 hours ago
A million upvotes etba!
To your point of Christians calling this charlatan out - isn’t that exactly what we expect Muslims to do when an Imam goes off the rails? The same standard should also apply to Christians.
Sixty-four scholars and theologians have signed on to a “Wesleyan witness,” a six-part, 62-page document they hope will shape the future of Methodism, define orthodox Wesleyanism, and ground more Christians in the story of sanctification and restoration through grace. //
“The Faith Once Delivered” was first drafted in January at a summit for “The Next Methodism.” Scholars allied with the evangelical wing of the United Methodist Church, as well as holiness and Pentecostal denominations, came together, formed five working groups, and co-wrote statements on five theological topics: the nature of God, Creation, revelation, salvation, and the church. A sixth section on eschatology or “the fullness of time” was added later.
Heroes. They encourage us to hope, to trust, to believe, and to achieve. For 50 years, Moody Bible Institute’s Stories of Great Christians informed and inspired listeners with biographies of real people . . . average men and women . . . who were called and equipped by God to show His love to the world. These dramatized, 15-minute stories bring to life 600 years of heroes of the faith. Listeners hear the voices, music, and sound effects of classic radio. They’ll be reintroduced to historic men and women they admired since childhood and meet new heroes whose stories will expand their world and deepen their Christian faith.
Friday’s drag-queen parody of Christ at the Paris Olympics opening shows yet again that people who hate Jesus just can’t escape His art, archetypes, created realities, or authority.
The exhibition replaced Christ in the iconic Leonardo Da Vinci painting with a queer activist who describes herself as “a fat, Jewish, queer lesbian” and his disciples with cross-dressing sex performers. It immediately prompted an international backlash that can’t benefit queer acceptance. Neither can the performance, which portrayed queer people as creepy sex maniacs.
The show also backfired symbolically. In their attempts to slime what they see as their enemies, queer activists reinforced things they’re trying to destroy. //
The most obvious demonstration of this is the derivative nature of the “art.” The best the queer Paris Olympics “artistic director” and sex performers could come up with is badly deforming others’ artistic triumphs. They didn’t think up their own world, symbols, and referents, they just sabotaged others’ then pretended what any three-year-old can do is brilliant. This doesn’t compete with or replace Christianity and its symbols, it reinforces them.
If one wanted an entire civilization to forget about Christ’s Last Supper, one would adopt the left’s usual strategy: the memoryhole. Indeed, that seems to be already happening for the Paris blasphemy show, with clips of this massive event oddly difficult to find online. //
The savvy thing for Christ-haters would have been to keep the Last Supper imagery in the cultural attic, with the dust bunnies, catechisms, and two-parent nuclear families. Instead following the sadistic urge to hate on their self-chosen enemies has millions searching “Last Supper” and learning about this keystone of faith. //
Biology is not bigotry, but desecrating Christianity’s sacred symbols at every turn certainly is. God has the last laugh, though, because even when people blaspheme, they reinforce what God says. It’s another clear indicator that Christianity is true and Jesus is God. He has created the frame that we all live inside, and even those who hate it cannot escape.
Rev. Ben Johnson
@TheRightsWriter
In 1878, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, warned that ministers had become apostles of Marxist doctrine.
“German rationalism, which has ripened into socialism, may yet pollute the mass of mankind,” he said. “Deadly principles are abroad, and certain ministers are spreading them.”
“I would not have you exchange the gold of individual Christianity for the base metal of Christian socialism,” Spurgeon exhorted his congregation 11 years later.
Any efforts to build a utopian kingdom on earth, overseen by fallen men, would prove futile. “To attempt national regeneration without personal regeneration is to dream of erecting a house without separate bricks,” he said.
https://acton.org/publications/transatlantic/2018/07/10/video-rush-limbaugh-clergy-who-accept-socialism
10:50 PM · Jul 26, 2024
Without a civic life shaped by Christianity, there can be no American republic. //
Some will acknowledge the Christian inheritance of America but insist that it’s a point of departure, that once the American experiment was launched, it could be safely separated from the religion that launched it. They think it’s possible to take the “best” parts of the Christian faith without the need to continually affirm Christ. “Christless Christianity,” you might call it.
But it doesn’t work like that. A few months ago the famous atheist Richard Dawkins wondered aloud in an interview why his own country, England, could not just go on having “cultural Christianity” without actual, believing Christians. He said he liked the cathedrals and the Christmas carols, and would like to enjoy them without the bother of actual Christianity. He wants fewer believing Christians and more cultural Christians.
It never occurred to Dawkins that you don’t get to keep the culture without the cult. The sad spectacle of modern England should suffice to prove the point. If there is no one to worship in the cathedrals, they will become concert halls or, in England’s case, mosques. If no one really believes what the Christmas carols proclaim, eventually people will stop singing them.
The same goes for us here in America. The American proposition that all men are created equal is a religious claim, specifically a Christian one. Not to belabor the point, but the American founders only ever believed that all men are created equal because they believed that we are God’s children, created in His image. Our entire system of government flows from that belief; without it the whole system collapses. //
America is supposedly a secular country, with separation of church and state, free exercise of religion, and so on. Yet we find ourselves in the middle of what amounts to a religious war. How could this be?
Because America, like all nations, is founded on religious claims, and relies on those claims for its coherence. We’ve long been accustomed to talking about America as a “propositional nation,” a phrase taken from Abraham Lincoln’s famous line in the Gettysburg Address that America was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
The idea is that America is fundamentally different from the ethnic nation-states of Europe, which were based on blood and soil and religion. America supposedly transcended all that. It was based instead on an idea — a proposition. Anyone could become an American if he agreed to the proposition.
And this is true. But nearly everyone who says America is a propositional nation is wrong about what the proposition is. America is not a collection of Enlightenment tropes at the intersection of Locke and Rousseau, a grab bag of philosophical sentiments about the rights of man. America is the creation of Christian civilization.
The proposition at the heart of America, undergirding our nation’s existence, is not just “all men are created,” but Christianity and all that comes with it. Without Christianity, you don’t get free speech, liberty, equality, freedom of conscience. All of it relies on the claims of the Christian faith, none of it stands on its own. //
To be clear, the contest is not between secularism or “wokeism” and Christianity. If we reject Christianity, the future of America will not be a secular liberal utopia, where we go on living off the capital of our Christian inheritance without replenishing it. It’s going to be a new version of paganism, and you’re not going to like it. //
The American founding is therefore not comprehensible in strictly secular, rationalist terms. Our nation begins with a proposition about the nature of God and man. If that proposition is discarded or denied, whatever comes after that isn’t America. It might call itself America, it might even deploy the familiar vocabulary of rights and liberties, but it is not America. //
To fight this new paganism, Christians in America will have to shed the false notion that their religion is a purely private matter, that there must be a “wall of separation” between our religion and our politics. We have to argue, without apology, that public life in this country should be shaped by Christian morality and ordered by its dictates, as it was for most of our civilization’s history.
Most of all, we have to accept that our American culture of self-government and liberty under law cannot long survive cut off from its source, which is and always was the Christian faith.
Without that faith, alive and active among the people, there can be no American republic. If we want to save the republic, we’ll have to become a Christian people once again. And that means we’ll have to fight — and win — a religious war for America. //
We see now that there is more than one way for a nation to fall. There is the Roman way: a centuries-long decline eventually succumbing to wave upon wave of invaders. There is the British way: a dwindling to irrelevance and impotence, passive in the face of an assertive Muslim immigrant population.
And then there is the American way: not to decline and fall, not to dwindle into irrelevance, but to become evil.
There are things we take for granted until, one day, we are made to realize how unique they are. For atheist and historian Tom Holland, a trip to the war-torn Iraqui town of Sinjar gave him a different perspective on one of the most commonly accepted symbols of our culture: the Christian cross. //
If we take a deeper look at the fundamentals like Holland did, there can be no comparison. Holland was working on a book about the impact of Christianity on history when he was invited to visit Sinjar, a town that had been held captive by the Islamic State for two years. When he arrived with the film team, they encountered destruction beyond belief.
BUTKER: Our love for Jesus, and thus, our desire to speak out, should never be outweighed by the longing of our fallen nature to be loved by the world. Glorifying God and not ourselves should always remain our motivation despite any pushback or even support. I lean on those closest to me for guidance but I can never forget that it is not people, but Jesus Christ I’m trying to please.
(...)
For if heaven is our goal, we should embrace our cross, however large or small it may be, and live our life with joy, to be a bold witness for Christ."
MOVIE REVIEW: 'Cabrini' Is a Must-See Despite Too Much Girl Power and Not Enough Holiness – RedState
For a movie based on the life of a saint, it is decidedly non-religious. I suppose this was focus-tested at some point along the way, but it really detracts from the movie. God is maybe mentioned once. Jesus is not mentioned. The only prayer in the movie is one scene where the nuns say grace before a meal, and it is done in a very non-Catholic way. The characters are almost archetypes. //
Also interesting is the subtext of the position of recent immigrants as portrayed by David Morse in the role of Archbishop Michael Corrigan. They are so interested in not making waves and blending in with native New Yorkers that they ignore the plight of immigrants like their parents suffered. Cabrini's persistence and goodness come through. I think Cabrini's actions are straight from the Parable of the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8). In a society that is increasingly paralyzed by inaction and indecision, seeing what one person, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, can accomplish is a tonic. //
The opportunities for the Christian faith to be effortlessly incorporated into the movie were limitless. Cabrini never prays and never contemplates her pain in terms of sanctifying suffering. She never has doubts about her mission or her abilities. She never prays for guidance or assistance. All of this is very un-Catholic, particularly in the context of a nun. At one point, the Archbishop tells her he often wonders if she is acting out of her religious calling or from ambition. It's a question that needed to be explored and answered but ended up as a toss-away line in the script. //
The decision to make a film that doesn't fit into the "Christian movie" genre results in attributing Cabrini's work to her efforts rather than to the greater glory of God. That is unfortunate.
Remember Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign slogan? "I'm with her." Not "I'm in favor of her proposals or political track record." No, it was, "I'm with her." How modest.
No matter how much I may respect any given politician, I'm not "with" them. For them, yes. But not "with."
The new Cephas Hour discusses this and other matters, including doing the right thing and a certain amount of longing for heaven, or the Lord's return to earth. Whichever comes first. //
Ofttimes in recent years, I have seen people become caught up, be it pro or con, with the false god of identity politics. For this definition, identity politics consists of over-association with an individual politician, becoming so enveloped and enraptured with them that there is at least in part an identity fusion, an overidentification with the person. The flip side is when we run across a politician we oppose so profoundly that even when their actions and views mirror our own, we immediately run in the other direction for fear of any association with that individual. Said positive or negative opinions can become so enmeshed in our being that they can stretch far beyond the realm of rational discussion regarding political ideology, policies, platforms, and practices.
This is dangerous in the extreme. Over-identification with a politician is a form of cultism. Be alarmed when someone professes themselves to be a leader, yet instead of preaching, “These are truths we must follow,” preaches, “Follow me,” and people do so. //
The only human being worthy of true devotion, following, and emulation is Jesus. //
They, like us, are sinners in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. Our prayer should be they know this and act upon it. Everything else is secondary. Not unimportant, mind you. But it’s still secondary. //
I do not welcome death, but nor do I fear it. My faith and trust is in Christ alone. Despite my stubborn, failing, and often misspent humanity, He has remained faithful throughout. He is faithful today and will be faithful through all the tomorrows. To Him, and Him alone, belongs all the praise and glory.
“We believe in objective truth. We believe that there are often right and wrong,” Woodruff told me when asked about its editorial process. “There are many times when our entire staff agrees on a specific issue, but that doesn’t mean that we’re going to only present that side. We trust our readers to be able to be discerning.”
That purported neutrality is built on the hope that Christians avoid “falling into culture wars that promote hate of the other group” and instead seek greater understanding and love for “political enemies.” Concerned by how Christians, and Americans in general, are becoming siloed in ideological media echo chambers, Woodruff wants Pour Over readers to understand what “both sides” are saying about the news of the day.
But Woodruff’s philosophy conflates the understanding of other political opinions with the belief that they should hold equal weight, a fatal conclusion that misleads and misinforms his readership. While I resonate deeply with the idea that all Americans need an accurate view of what their political others believe, these perspectives shouldn’t be framed in an amoral vacuum. Political neutrality has never been the silver bullet that some presume it to be. //
Presenting all perspectives as equal creates a false binary and results in an unwillingness to hold firm, journalistic principles for the preservation of democracy and human rights, all while eroding public trust. According to reporter Sean Illing, “The issue for many people isn’t exactly a denial of truth as such. It’s more a growing weariness over the process of finding the truth at all. And that weariness leads more and more people to abandon the idea that the truth is knowable.” //
In these ways, The Pour Over is not so different from the mainstream outlets it’s seeking to distinguish itself from. In chasing the biggest news of the day, The Pour Over magnifies the vices of the mainstream press by framing its own view of objectivity as in line with the divine. The daily news is not all-encompassing, and holding a long-term perspective is important, but it also has real material and spiritual consequences. Good journalism should inform readers not only of the facts but also of the stakes.
By framing the news as all-but-equal, The Pour Over pushes readers toward an unbiblical political indifference.
What is Christian Nationalism besides a slur to put in scare quotes that let the left discredit an opponent without having to talk about issues? It starts with the fact that America was founded by Christians who acknowledged the role of Christ in establishing a just government. The Mayflower Compact states three reasons for founding Plymouth Colony, "the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country." Similarly, the Jamestown Charter says the goal of Virginia Colony is "the furtherance of so noble a work, which may, by the providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of his divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian religion to such people, as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God, and may in time bring the infidels and savages, living in those parts, to human civility, and to a settled and quiet government."
From there, there is a straight line to the Founders. The First Amendment prohibition on the establishment of religion only applied to the federal government, with several states maintaining religious tests to hold office. Some state constitutions still require officeholders to profess a belief in God. It wasn't until Torcaso v. Watkins (1961) that religious tests were struck down. The purpose of the First Amendment was to prevent any Christian denomination — the target was explicitly the Anglican Church because of its close ties to England, which had served as a quasi-governmental agency for the Crown before independence — from achieving national church status. //
Christian liberty only happens within the context of a correctly formed conscience. Doing what you want because it feels good is not liberty; it is licentiousness and anarchy. Over the last 60 years, we've discovered that the glue holding America together was not individualism but our common Christian heritage. Without that glue, we see our culture disintegrating before our eyes. It is only by viewing the Constitution and the rights stemming from it through the lens of our Christian founding that we will survive. //
Dieter Schultz streiff
a day ago edited
I searched for the passage that they had written, I thought, in the Federalist but without a doubt, one of the Founders, that specifically addressed the Judeo-Christian teachings that allowed what they created with the USA. Noting that none of the other religions (Muslim, Hindu, or any of the others) allowed the type of government that they created, they were all missing in one way or the other what they needed when they created this country.
I didn't find it but I'm certain that the Founders knew and stated that right from the start that what they did recognized the unique Judeo-Christian tradition of what they created and none of the other religions allowed it. //
Laocoön of Troy Dieter Schultz
a day ago edited
George Washington's letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island might be interesting to you:
Gentlemen:
While I received with much satisfaction your address replete with expressions of esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you that I shall always retain grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced on my visit to Newport from all classes of citizens.
The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security.
If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and happy people.
The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy—a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship.
It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.
It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my character not to avow that I am pleased with your favorable opinion of my administration and fervent wishes for my felicity.
May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.
May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy. ~ G. Washington
Not much room for being a busybody, judgemental Karen is there? Not much room for Jew hatred and bigotry is there? And how does savage lefty lawfare and compulsion square with Washington's "just administration of a good government"?
Since World War II, most American Jews have believed that the more secular American society is, the more secure their status.
This has been, as I have argued all of my life, a colossal error. Indeed, it may turn out to be a fatal error.
With the outburst of unprecedented levels of antisemitism, American Jews are living the famous warning: “Beware what you wish for; you just may get it.”
The primary reason American Jews have lived in the most Jew-friendly, even Jew-honoring, country in history is that most Americans have been Christian. But we must make a key distinction here. American Christians have been not just Christian, as Europe was, but Judeo-Christian. //
In a famous study published in the American Political Science Review, Donald Lutz, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, surveyed the political literature of the American founding. He found that the Bible was cited more frequently than any other work or any other author. The Bible accounted for approximately one-third of the Founders’ citations. The single most frequently cited work was Deuteronomy, the fifth of the five books of the Torah.
The late great Catholic theologian Michael Novak wrote that the roots of the doctrine that “all men are created equal lie in Judaism, carried around the world by Christians.”
As American society and Americans individually become less religious, i.e., less Christian, the Jews become less significant.
Yet, many, perhaps most, American Jews, have bought—and promulgated—the idea that Jewish security in America lies in secularizing, i.e., de-Christianizing, America. //
Look around, my fellow Jews. Are you happy with the results of the secularization of America? Do you feel more secure? Or less?
I ask you: Is it not obvious that when more Americans attended church every Sunday, America’s Jews were far more secure?