How a Plague Exposed the "Christian Nation" Myth

Interesting read. Thanks shipmate.

I'm going to be honest Mr. Nagel... posts like this simultaneously break my heart, and make me furious beyond words. It's equal parts despairing, and insulting. I take it personally...very personally; as I do with every similar post from the several of my RP associates who seem to share your opinions. It symbolically "spits" on everything I hold sacred, that my family has held onto through many generations of hardship and loss... everything I base my entire existence upon in fact.

But you are right... and Christ would not wish me to be angry. Rather, He'd want me to respond in love and friendship. I'll do my best, though it would be far, far easier to not.

You've lived longer than I, so I appreciate the fact that I cannot judge your experience. Having grown up in a "Christian" community, I can attest that hypocrisy, abuse, ignorance, and all the worst accusations you level were indeed present. I've often sat in musty sanctuaries, listening to repetitive sermons, observing the morbidly obese, terminally vindictive, woefully blind people sitting there pretending they are "better" than everyone else... and been disgusted. Our nation has descended into madness no less from the inaction and hypocrisy of these... as it has at the hands of the dark forces actively and confidently marching against us. We, the Church, are no less culpable; no less guilty.

However, I beg you to return the favor and try and look through my eyes a moment.

From the moment I wake, I am bombarded by evidence of evil. Western society worships lust and depravity. Our music, films, and "performance art" emulates demonic images and regressive tendencies. On our streets, debate has been replaced by terror. People no longer argue their case... they simply try to shout down their opposition with words barely describable as language. Education has devolved from knowledge to wrote memorization of procedures to support an intractable technocracy lorded over by lies and propaganda. Truth is subjective, morality is flexible, principle and discipline are non-existent. In our Southwest and across the border, criminal organizations funded by millions (if not billions) hold de facto reign over the established governments and their exploited citizens. Our elites embrace vile acts. Words like "honor", "courage", and "commitment" have become empty shells filled in with the vices of tribalism, brutality, and recklessness. To the North, and in Western Europe... the self-loathing and self-deprecating majorities have hollowed-out the very souls of peoples and cultures who in the past, produced some of the best achievements of humanity.

Men have become cowards... trading their strength and duty for the fleeting favor of people who neither love, nor respect them.

As for the "Second" and "Third" World? Well, it is well and good that we see all mankind as equal... but we are both deaf and blind if we think the solution to their problems is to mirror their attributes until we are on parity.

In contrast, and despite all of the ills I've previously described... I have found the Holy Spirit still present among the simple, dedicated few who are holding on. I find Him in the hard-working people who come to Church on Sunday and shed silent tears while singing "How Great Thou Art". I see Him in my little boy as he folds his tiny hands to pray... ending with, "...in Jesus' name, amen". I see it my lovely wife, struggling to be brave and resourceful as the whole world she's accustomed to is under siege. I see Him in the hearts and hands of men in my congregation who speak little, do much, and demand nothing... but shake my hand firmly and nod as if to say, "we're here if you need us." I see it in the implacable resolve of wives, mothers, and grandmothers who serve as the pillars of our homes and communities.

I've found my Lord working alongside Mexican and Honduran immigrants in muddy ditches, praying with soldiers before heading out on dangerous convoy operations, and sitting around a campfire with other men like myself discussing all of "this".

I am a Christian, and if my nation wishes to abandon Christ... I grieve because I cannot, will not, and must not join them. A little less than two and a half centuries ago, some very wise men devised a system by which conscience existed inside of liberty. They codified that principle into our Constitution. I believe most, if not all of them would agree with me. We need no "state religion", no "head of church and state" so long as every heart and mind is free to choose their faith adjunct to their patriotism. Denigrating those who choose Christ isn't "liberating" those who do not... it is merely inching us closer to a time of darkness, where hegemony and moral relativity will demand the suppression of all other points of view.

This is why I, and I presume many others, "resist" the drum beat of "progressive" ideology. It's why we cling to our faith... and yes, our rights and the weapons to protect them. God teaches us to live in peace; His own example is one of sacrifice. However, submission to God and compassion for all mankind...even social responsibility, can be clever masks for surrender and compliance with evil. It is not a "simple" problem to solve, and as the article points out... I don't think all of us are on the right path.

I thank you for enduring a long "rant"... I hope you understand why I wrote it, and see that I and many like me... are not your enemy.

I love when non-Christians propose to interpret Christianity. It's a real hoot. Now, before you dismiss me keep in mind, I am not a Christian. I was born and raised one, a Lutheran to be precise, but left it for my own reasons which I will not belabor you with. Suffice it to say, I have a better than average understanding of Christian doctrine, possibly too much understanding of it, and this interpretation is patently one tracked. It is bound on a singular route to prove its premise. Still, it was an interesting read for someone who loves to see people play mind games to prove their point (to themselves)