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nationalism and faith
Prayer in the public square
Mon, 04/19/2010 - 10:52 — Debra Dean MurphyLast Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge in Madison, Wisconsin ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. On Friday, Christopher Hitchens and Tony Perkins duked it out on CNN, rehearsing familiar arguments:
Hitchens: Court decision good. ”The first amendment is written with admirable clarity that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.’”
Perkins: Court decision bad. (He’s calling for the judge’s impeachment). “The National Day of Prayer goes all the way back to the founding fathers.”
Despite some hysterical emails, blogs, and Facebook status updates, President Obama still plans to acknowledge this year’s National Day of Prayer on May 6. (It seems there isn’t any issue which the President’s detractors won’t confuse or distort in order to demonize him).
Many Christians are outraged at Judge Barbara Crabb’s ruling. Tony Perkins and his organization, The Family Research Council, speak for a large segment of American church-goers who see Thursday’s decision as deliberate “judicial activism,” intent on leading the United States further down the path toward “godless socialism.”
But here, I submit, are five reasons why the National Day of Prayer, from a Christian perspective, has always been a bad idea... READ MORE.
July 4 around the network
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 09:18 — Steve ThorngateCCbloggers have had a wide variety of things to say about the July 4 holiday.
James Lumsden gives thanks "for the blessings and challenges of this era." Andrew Thompson celebrates freedom for good things, rather than from bad things. Chris Brundage highlights the wisdom of Ben Franklin, while Bruce Prescott recites James Madison's definitive document on church and state. Keith Herron points to King David and the "messy work" of building and sustaining a nation, and Ellen Haroutunian observes that "America isn't easy."
Michael Ruffin picks apart the America-as-Christian-nation myth, and Peter J. Walker confesses that he isn't exactly proud to be an American. Julie Clawson highlights freedom-fighting heroes of the non-white-male variety; Matt Shafer commemorates revolutions that, unlike our own, were nonviolent. Milton Brasher-Cunningham reminds us that Woody Guthrie's patriotic song was written in response to Irving Berlin's, while Chad Holtz celebrates Interdependence Day. My fiancee and I reluctantly agree to exchange vows in a flag-adorned chancel.
"God help me," says Wayne Stacy. "I love the Fourth of July!"
If America were a Christian nation
Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:10 — Michael RuffinMichael Ruffin's blog
Whenever we approach the American Independence Day observance, the debate over whether or not America is a Christian nation inevitably rekindles. The debate seems to me to be shaped in three different ways.
First, some people debate whether or not America was a Christian nation in the past. Many insist, and they can find pious quotes from various founding figures to support their contention, that America was founded as a Christian nation by Christian leaders. The most reasonable observers acknowledge that some of the Founding Fathers were Christians, some were agnostics, and some were Deists. One fact jumps out of the mists of history at me: the founding document of our nation, the United States Constitution, not only makes no mention of the Christian faith but indeed mentions God not at all... READ MORE.
The theology of Watchmen
Tue, 03/10/2009 - 09:06 — Matt ShaferI went to see Watchmen last night, having read the comic book graphic novel some months back. The novel is a work of art; it’s richly interlayered, accomplishing literary effects and conveying subtleties of meaning that are impossible in straight prose. It was of course impossible for the movie to live up the original, but the film nevertheless was well done. And incidentally, though many fanboys will protest over the film’s changed ending, I thought it made the finale stronger.
Like any narrative of artistic merit, Watchmen, as both film and graphic novel, raises profound theological questions. Lengthy papers could be written on the “Theology of Watchmen“, but this post will seek merely to briefly consider and draw attention to a few of the issues the story raises.... READ MORE.
