Sunstone said:
Do America's moral values rest solely in a Christian tradition?
IF so, are the best advocates for those values the most fundamentally strict adherents to biblical values?
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=christian
One of Jesus' teachings is the one where he states to pray for your enemies and those that persecute. So to be in a Christian tradition they, whomever they are, must adhere to the definition of a Christian. Since Christian is a term from the Bible and the defining rules to be one come from the Bible. Are America's values along the same moral code as the Bible? No, not at all. The USA has the Constitution which many are confusing as a higher standard than the Bible which was penned by persons choosen by God.
Take for example the ongoing debate over "Gay" rights and same-sex marriages. Both are contrary to nature period. God didn't create Adam and Bob and then Eve and Susan and say "have at it". No, he created Adam and Eve, man and woman, and blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply. It's what God thinks that counts, not what the Constitution of America says, if you want to be Christian.
Then we have the wars this so-called Christian country has perpetrated on other nations and lands. War was condoned in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) only because God himself choose who was going to be defeated. Those who would not obey his rules and statutes. If you do research on those nations that fell to the sword they were doing some pretty nasty things. Any nation the Jews tried to go to war with without God's approval meant disaster for the nation of the Jews or God himself told them not to go after them. Today America bombs who they please and they don't worry about God at all. They say it's for "God and country" but they don't understand the fundamentals of what they are professing to believe in.
The Mosaic Law covenant was replaced by the new covenant that Jesus created with his death and resurrection. So the old "eye for an eye" commandment became null and void. War is a "no no" now.
(Matthew 5:38-39)
(Matthew 5:43-48)
(Hebrews 10:29-31)
"
Do America's moral values rest solely in a Christian tradition?"
Well, there has been a long history of reported Christians in the history books because they, those organizations, said they were Christians, etc., but were no such item. If you do not follow the teachings of the Christ, which means knowing the Law covenant by heart, adhering to those principles and upgrading your values to what Jesus changed when he was on the scene, then you are not and never was a Christian.
You really have to ask yourself many questions.
- What really does God think based on the scriptures?
- What did the messiah (Christ) change as regards to what the Mosaic Law commanded?
- Is the USA teaching their people the values of the messiah (Christ)?
- Am I "Christ-like"?
"
IF so, are the best advocates for those values the most fundamentally strict adherents to biblical values?"
There's a scripture that best suits the answer to this question which God himself stated...
(Isaiah 48:17-19)
God is teaching us to "benefit ourselves". Those that followed what God said in the past lived pretty well. So are Biblical values strict? Not if He is on you side they're not!
The world wouldn't have all the sexually transmitted diseases we do now if people were following the rules set out in the Bible. Prejudice, discrimination, hate, violence, murder, etc. All products of persons not Christ-like in any way.
The history in the Bible speaks for itself towards the favored ones that adhered to the commandments of God and Jesus. So the answer to the second question is, yes.
the contents of this message was not copy/pasted from anywhere except what was previously posted by sunstone. this is how I truly write. have a nice day! :jiggy: