The United States is not a Christian nation, even though it has Christians living in it.

Before I begin, I do have to put this note in, because I despise Glenn Beck’s hypocrisy: When anti-realists like Beck try to make their case by using quotes from Thomas Paine, they fall flat on their faces. Thomas Paine was a dedicated Deist who not only disbelieved the “revelation” of Christianity, he completely mocked it. In his works, “The Age of Reason” (Parts I and II), and the follow-up, entitled “Examination of the Prophecies,” he blasts Christianity as completely “little and ridiculous.” Hey, Conservatives, Thomas Paine does not support your position. And by the way, the Honorable Mr. Paine was a tax-and-spend liberal, who believed in a national welfare system.

In order to bring a project – any project – to fruition, one must first define the project. This is as true now as it was a thousand years ago; and even five thousand years ago, with the building of the Egyptian pyramids. One of the initial processes is called “blueprinting.” To begin a project, you need a blueprint of the project’s composition….it’s constitution – what it’s made up of.

The creation of a government is no different. Governments have to be blueprinted. You must define what makes up the government, and specify with some degree how it is to operate. You must develop the government’s “Constitution.” We have that very thing in the United States, and every American citizen – including the Conservatives – knows that the blueprint exists.

In 1789 (although it wasn’t ratified until 1791), citizens of the new republic voluntarily and agreeably put themselves under the power of the new Constitution (the “governing document”), understanding the need for solidarity and security, both personal and communal. (“Government is derived from the consent of the governed.” – Thomas Jefferson). Many citizens felt that the new government should be influenced by the Declaration of Independence, since it was the Declaration that led to the Constitution in the first place. This is clearly a fair position. But take a look at this……

Number of times God is mentioned in the Constitution: 0
Number of times Jesus is mentioned in the Constitution: 0

In fact, the only time that the word “God” is mentioned in the two most important documents that the United States has is in the Declaration of Independence, and it’s written as “Nature’s God.” This is specific to and all but exclusive of Deist philosophy. The word “Creator” is also used, but that word is so broad in meaning and context that it cannot reasonably be attached only to Christianity, since Deists and Unitarians also believe in this idea. (Deists and Unitarians were more plentiful in politically influential circles at the time than were Christians.)

We are left with the glaring fact that this is obviously a secular nation, rather than Christian, or even religious at all. Laws are of Man, and the Heavens are of God. The First Amendment to the Constitution proves that this is not a Christian nation. It states, in its entirety:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The Constitution is what makes the United States the country that it is, because it is the blueprint for what our government is and how it operates. To be a Christian nation, the Constitution would have to favor the Christian mythology above all others; yet in the First Amendment we find that this idea is expressly prohibited. Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and all other mythologies, and even the absence of religion, are legally every bit as valid as Christianity. (And for the record, because of the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, this idea must therefore apply to state and local governments as well as to Congress. The Supreme Court ruled on this in 1925 in Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652.)

There are many anti-realists who argue that this nation was founded on Christianity, or on Christian principles, which is completely false. To make their case, they point to various quotes from the Nation’s Founding Fathers, including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin…..but there are many more. (One person that they point to is John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I love when they do this because John Jay, a devout Christian, was not a Founding Father. He was one of the first in service to the new nation, but he made no decisions on its foundations, and was therefore not a Founding Father.)

What is lacking here is that many of these historical figures were Deists or Unitarians, and not theists. Deists and Unitarians alike also believe in a creator; but reject the divinity of Ye’shua (regardless of whether or not they accept his moral teachings), the fancy of a Savior of Mankind, and the falsehood of Resurrection.

But more importantly, anti-realists misguidedly choose to use these secularisms to further their mythological case, forcing realists to dig into those arguments to refute them. This leaves realism floundering on the defensive, rather than asserting on the offensive. The efforts of realists to refute the claims of the anti-realists by balancing the “quotation equation” is certainly a wasted effort. Each side can come up with countless quotes to bolster their case, but to what end? As I’ve shown, the fact is that anyone with half a lick of sense can look at the situation and determine that this nation was not founded on Christianity.

Authored by American diplomat Joel Barlow in 1796, the Treaty of Tripoli, an official document of the United States, after being signed by representatives of the United States and the Barbary States of northern Africa, was sent to the floor of the United States Senate for ratification on June 7, 1797, where it was read aloud in its entirety and unanimously approved. John Adams, the President at the time, having seen the treaty, signed it into law, effecting it to be the law of the land. From the Treaty of Tripoli:

“Article XI. 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 tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

So now we have two documents (the Declaration and the Constitution) that clearly do not favor Christianity – nor even the idea of a Judeo-Christian god – above any other mythology, but we also have an official United States document, agreed upon by multiple elected officials, that says that the United States was not founded on Christianity.

But what of Christian principles in general? As far as that question goes, exactly which principles that are exclusively Christian were used as a basis for the founding of this country? I cannot think of any. How about the Ten Commandments? Well, there’s actually around 600, not ten, just to split hairs (you can read Leviticus to find this out); and they’re Judaic, not Christian; and the Commandments don’t appear in any of our governing documents; so that’s not a founding principle based in Christianity. The freedom of speech and expression? No way. Mocking the Christian Sky Fairy is would clearly not be a Christian principle, either.

Christians prefer to think that without their religious fantasies, morality is spoiled. The fact is that all of the appropriated Christian “principles” have been around a lot longer than Christianity itself, or even Christianity’s predecessors. Christianity could naturally incorporate many moral principles, but morality is not the exclusive domain of Christianity. Moral principles exist in many other religions; and in fact, exist even in the absence of religion. To claim that those principles are “Christian only” is the same thing as stealing a car. It’s stealing a moral code, misappropriating its use – wow, how ironic that is for Christianity to covet something that belongs to some other faith, and claim it as its own.

The fact is this: In order for this nation to either be a Christian nation or even partially founded on Christian principles, then all those quotes that anti-realists love to recite by the important people from 1789 would have to have found their way into our governing document, the Constitution. However, they’re certainly not there, and the only reference to the word “Christian” in any early official document is the Treaty of Tripoli, in which the United States government PURPOSEFULLY DISTANCED ITSELF FROM CHRISTIANITY. (Even the original Pledge of Allegiance, written by a Baptist minister, did not include any mention or acknowledgement of “God.”)

Quotes for do not make the case, and quotes against do not break the case. The contest of quotes is worthless.

For someone to say that “the United States is a Christian nation” means that there is a willful and deliberate abrogation of knowledge, logic, and common sense on the part of the speaker.

Shalom, bitches.