Is America Truly a “Christian” Nation?
What do you think? Technically speaking, to what degree is America a “Christian” nation? Is it even one at all?
Can it be? Should it be?
Or do the answers to such questions really make any difference in the end?
As our Nationwide Campaign for an American CHRIST Awakening accelerates, a friend of ChristNow.com offers some provocative insights on such questions.
Whether or Not America Is a Christian Nation
Salvatore Anthony Luiso
Recently, Christianity Today and The Dispatch published two articles that complement each other. They were written by two Christian men who are friends. I recommend both of these commentaries. Here are links to them:
Last year’s events in DC threatened not only American democracy but also evangelical witness. By Russell Moore. Read it HERE.
We cannot equate Christian power with Christian justice. By David French. Read it HERE.
These articles and others like them can cause one to think of the following questions:
- What is a Christian nation?
- What is a post-Christian nation?
- Was America ever a Christian nation?
- Is America a Christian nation today?
- Is America a post-Christian nation today?
- Will America become a Christian nation?
- Is it even possible for America to be a Christian nation?
I am not as interested in such questions as I used to be.
Whether or not America is a Christian nation, I have other concerns that are of incomparably greater importance, including these three:
- God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4–5; Isaiah 40:15–17; Matthew 22:34–38)
- The kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33)
- The church, which the Apostle Peter calls “a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9, NIV, echoing what God said to Moses about the Israelites in Exodus 19:6)
Thus, although I am concerned about the state of Christianity in America, I am far more concerned about the state of Christianity in the church.
In Matthew 5:14, the Lord Jesus said that His disciples are the light of the world and like a city on a hill, not the United States of America. No one and nothing can ever take their place in those respects.
The Lord Jesus also said that His disciples are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). He warned them that if the salt loses its saltiness, “It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (NIV).
This does not mean that if the world casts out and treads on His disciples, it is always because they lack saltiness—but it does mean that if they lose their saltiness, they are no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Note that “saltiness” does not mean “political power” nor any other kind of worldly power. It is a quality that only disciples of Jesus can have—which they should have and which they receive from Him—and which they can lose.
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: Jesus shall live forever (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalms 9:7, 102:12 and 24; Isaiah 57:15; Romans 6:9; Hebrews 13:8; 1 Timothy 1:17 and 6:13–16; Revelation 1:17–18 and 4:8–11).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: The kingdom of Jesus shall live forever (Psalms 145:13; Isaiah 9:6–7; Daniel 4:3 and 7:27; Luke 1:30–33; 2 Peter 1:11).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: The church of Jesus shall live forever (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 21:1–2 and 9–10).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: The word of Jesus shall live forever (Deuteronomy 18:15–19; Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:6–8; Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; John 6:63 and 68, 7:16–18, 8:26–28, 12:47–50, 14:19, and 15:15; Acts 3:19–26; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23–25).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: Jesus shall be faithful forever (Numbers 23:19; Joshua 21:45; 2 Corinthians 1:18–20; Romans 3:3–4; 2 Timothy 2:13).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: Jesus shall be a priest after the order of Melchizedek forever (Psalm 110:4; Zechariah 6:12–13; Hebrews 2:17, 3:1–2, 4:14–16, 5:1–10, 6:20, 7:1–28, 8:1–2, 9:11–12, and 10:19–22).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: Jesus shall be the Savior of the world forever (Luke 2:10–11; John 3:16–17, 4:41, and 14:6; Acts 4:12, 5:31, and 10:43; Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Timothy 2:5–6; 2 Timothy 1:9–10; Titus 2:11–14; 1 John 4:14).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: Jesus shall reign as King of kings and Lord of lords over America—and all other nations and everything else in creation— forever (Daniel 7:13–14; Matthew 28:18; Acts 10:36; 1 Corinthians 15:24–25; Ephesians 1:20–22; 1 Timothy 6:13–16; Hebrews 1:8; Revelation 11:15, 17:14, and 19:15).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: We who follow the Lord Jesus Christ in this world shall be “strangers and pilgrims” on earth (1 Peter 2:11, NIV). We should bear in mind that “here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14, NIV). That city is “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,” in which “Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple,” and “the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:1–2 and 22–23, NIV).
Whether or not America is a Christian nation: Jesus shall remain forever supreme (Isaiah 42:23; Matthew 11:27; John 3:35; Romans 14:7–11; Ephesians 1:18–23; Philippians 2:3–11; Colossians 2:9–10; Hebrews 1:1–14 and 8:1–2; 1 Peter 3:18–22; Revelation 4:1–11 and 5:11–14).
Amen!
Another version of this article was published at The Reimagine. NETWORK HERE.
About the Author
Salvatore Anthony Luiso is a servant of Christ and a research assistant for David Bryant and the ChristNow team. At present, he resides in Williamsburg, Virginia, but he looks forward to the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. Wherever he is, he is under the supremacy of Christ. Other articles he has written are published at The Reimagine.NETWORK.