Stepping into the Light

If I'd lived in 16th-century England, I'd never have made it to my current age of 52. Raised as an Episcopalian, then turning to Judaism, atheism, years and years of my own makeshift non-churched theism, then suddenly a born-again hallelujah-happy Christian? And a female minister on top of that? I'd have had to go into some exotic exile to avoid an awful punishment.

Can you imagine being dragged from your home and burned alive because you prefer to be a Baptist or Lutheran, but your head of state is Catholic or Anglican? This was one risk taken by every 16th or 17th Century English man or woman who refused to change his or her religion when one of the Tudor monarchs changed theirs, but persecution took many forms.

As far as I am concerned, the greatest freedom we have in the great United States of America is the freedom to worship as we choose. This was the original impetus for the Mayflower settlers to come here, because they were oppressed in England and elsewhere in Europe by state established religions which were Christian-based, but still persecuted alternative denominations. That is why our Constitution says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".

Glory be to Jesus that we enjoy this precious liberty here. Of course, this freedom includes every non-Christian American. Precisely because of the 1st Amendment to our Constitution, this is not a Christian nation. It is a nation established by people, mostly Christian, who desired a place where anyone could worship God in their own way. It is a nation populated 233 years into independence by over 300 million descendents of nearly every nation on earth, overwhelmingly Christian (or at least we say so) who enjoy that freedom that a few dozen original European settlers risked their lives to find here.

I thank Jesus (yes I do) both that Christianity is the faith of the majority of U.S. citizens, and that this is not a Christian country. Tudor England was a Christian country, from which the Mayflower settlers had to run for their lives. The Scandinavian nations today are long time Christian countries, with state-supported churches which hardly anyone attends. If one day 100% of our population bows to Jesus, I will shout "Hallelujah" until I am permanently hoarse, but only if this is not a Christian country like those.

If we ever fall for a state-sponsored Christianity, we will no longer be free to worship, and our worship will mean nothing any longer.

Thank Jesus that every American--Protestant or Catholic, Christian or not-- is free to worship (or not) as they please in these great United States of America. Happy Independence Day, and may Jesus bless America.

Of course, as stated above, the Constitution says government has to keep its nose out of religion. "Vice versa" is neither stated nor implied. But that's another post for another time.