"The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam". "We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation"
These recent statements were made by President Obama in front of Muslim audiences. Addressing America's relationship with the global Muslim community, and the extent to which we are not a "Christian nation", they are partial truths which express a hope more than a reality.
I share the President's hopes, and appreciate the utility of aspirational rhetoric in public, but it needs to be tempered with a fuller statement of the challenges we face both abroad and at home. Simply talking about how we wish things were, may actually hinder our ability to get there.
Of course the President is correct that the vast majority of Americans do not favor a return to the Crusades of centuries past. In fact, many more of us would fight to keep that from happening than would march off on that kind of Crusade.
America is not at war with any religion, including Islam. But the President's over-simplification of the situation cost him a valuable opportunity to address the real struggles we do face with any people that attempts to use religion to dominate those who do not share their beliefs. And about that, there is a real war going on in the world - with bullets abroad and words (mostly) at home.
The truth is that there are multiple and competing understandings of what it means to be a Christian nation -- understandings which shape an ongoing culture war in this country and about which we ought not to be complacent. Many Americans do believe that they are "losing their country", and are increasingly belligerent in their fight to hold on to it.
These folks feel the loss of the culture dominance long-held by a white, protestant majority which celebrated not only the theological roots of our nation's founding, but their own ability to practice what Tocqueville called the tyranny of the majority i.e. not only have their way, but expect all those who differ from them to become increasingly like them. They are correct about losing that kind of dominance.
Because our contemporary culture warriors are so angry, and feel that their backs are already to the wall at home, they are quickest to declare that we are in fact at war with Islam. Ignoring them or pretending that they are part of some fringe minority strikes me as a poor idea. It's also a claim that probably does not make a great deal of sense to most Muslims around the world.
Even those Muslims, who are relatively secular in terms of personal practice, proudly proclaim the Muslim nature of their nations. So it might be more helpful for the President to explain to the world how we are, in certain respects, a Christian nation, not simply declare that we are not. This would address both the ongoing debate at home and stake a powerful claim for a redefinition of what it means to be a Christian nation, while teaching a powerful lesson to the rest of the world.
The president had the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to acknowledging the religion of the majority of our citizens without slipping into the kind of cultural/religious hegemony so common in much of the Muslim world and sometimes right here in America. I don't know if that makes a Christian nation or not. But I am certain that it's a perspective which needs to be nurtured in all places, and it would be good to see President Obama make use of every opportunity to do so.
What do you think? Are we a Christian Country? Are we at war with Islam?
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
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The USA was a continent that all humans could go to to practice any sort of belief system they chose. Most of the early leaders with believers in a divine creator and little else. They let people fill in the blanks at their discretion. Most had fled persacution because they did not share the majority belief of their countries. Many of this same majority followed and tried to impose orthadox christianity on these early settlers. It has always been a struggle for these early settlers.
Obama really disappoints by saying that America is not a Christian nation. The vast majority of Americans are Christians, so America ís a Christian nation. It was also firmly founded on Judeo-Christian values.
Stating that America is and will never be at war with Islam is naive. The theology of Islam is world conquest and world domination and not peace, so we have to always resist that with all of our might!
Clearly Pres. Obama, whom I voted for, missed this one on several fronts.
The founding Fathers of America were Christian and a large majority of the citizens of this country are Christian. There are disagreements within the different Christian denominations about "what is a Christian", however, whether they like it or not they are all Christians. There are also disagreements about "who is a Jew" although, again like it or not, they are all Jews. Yes, there are many churches who actively seek new members for their team from other faiths, perhaps most. .
Part of my definition of America is a country wherin the leaders, institutions and citizens respect each other by practising the Golden Rule. I have heard Christians of many different churches knock down the other Christian Churches. And, of course, I have heard many, many Jews more than willing to knock down other Jews and other groups within Judaism (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Orthodox). It seems we are all too religious, not religious enough, only gives money to his faith, doesn't give enough money to his faith, only cares about his "own kind", doesn't care about his "own kind", ad inifinitum ad nauseum.
So, yes, Rabbi, we are a Christian nation and I think that can be good. I am a Jew and I am proud to be an American. I am not clear on what you mean by culture warriors, however I will guess and we'll see where it goes.
When I see the news of any fair city in America, I see violence, death, public schools that don't teach, kids who use and sell drugs, gangs "owning" parts of every city, elected and appointed officials indicted (and some convicted), cynical use of the news as way to raise fear and anxiety in all of us. The message is clear - America is falling apart. What all Americans used to think of as universally held values of self respect, respect for others and their property, the santicty of human life, honesty, integrity are being observed in there non-practise. In the larger cities, I see entire city blocks of apartments, businesses and industries abandoned. In the mid-size cities I see empty store after empty store, businesses bankrupt, houses in foreclosure on every residential block and industrial parks empty. In the small cities, I see many in their death throes. They have been in trouble for decades and this financial crisis is almost the last nail in their coffin. And, I haven't even mentioned the illegal drug trade. It has already sucked the life out of many inner cities, the former residents and the current police abandoning the areas to drug dealers, gangs and of course, addicts.
I think America can and will come back from these challenges. While I pray for the Pres., VP, Cabinet, Congress and the Supreme Court - even though they might think differently, they are not enough. As citizens we have to work to clean up our own nests - our credit and debts, our marriages, our kids, our neighborhood, our schools, our houses of worship, our community. When we each do that, America works.
We all all overworked, stressed and worried about our future and the future for our kids and grandkids. If we start with ourselves America wins.
By heritage and design we were, have been and supposed to be a Christian nations. Enemies of Christianity came and were methodically conditioned into hatemongers much later than this nation had been established and functioned. Christianity is not about Crusades the author is trying to imply. And real Christians live up by the Command: DO NOT KILL, evenly applied to pre-borned children as well as to Muslims. The war with the Arab nations has nothing to do with religions. It is a part of the premeditated Zionist plan for Greater Israel revealed by the U.S. Undersec'y of State John Bolton when he said in meetings with Israeli officials: "Syria and Iran are next." So far, Israel regularly refuses to declare its borders in favor of future expansion.
So, the correct title for the above article should read: We are not a Christian Country, if we are at War with Islam."
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