The Gospel vs. The Constitution

The following is my response to Roger Misso's latest article in the Wayuga newspaper. Misso writes a column called "The New Prosperity."

In response to Mr. Misso’s piece “Among These,” I must argue that the United States is neither a “Christian nation” nor is it founded on “Christian principles.”

First, it must be asked, what is a “Christian nation?”

Is it a country that declares Christianity its national religion? A reading of our Constitution will indicate that Americans have no national religion.

Is it a population of Christians living in the same geographical region? If this is the case we must concede that America is not a Christian nation, but rather one of variegated religious traditions.

Is a Christian nation one that is founded upon the principles discussed in the Bible? With a close look at Christ’s teachings we must say that gospel scripture cannot be the foundation for a country.

There is no such thing as a Christian nation, because a nation consists of a military, laws, and judges. Christ’s vision for the world was one of love, forgiveness, and peace.

Our nation has a military and police force. One provides protection from external foes and the other is intended to provide protection from internal nuisances. Christ teaches that we cannot retaliate to evil. The gospel says “resist not evil” and “if anyone strikes you on the right cheek turn your other also.” (Matthew 5:39, Luke 6:29) The United States military could not take these guidelines seriously and survive as it is. It would mean unilaterally dismantling the executive branch of the government, as its whole purpose is to resist “evil.”

Our nation has laws and punishments for those laws. Christ teaches only the law of love and gives only the verdict of forgiveness. Always, Christ urges us to forgive, even to “seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22) The United States justice system could not exist on these guidelines and survive as it is. It would mean the disintegration of our courts and laws.

I agree with Mr. Misso and Jefferson that we are “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.” However, once a system is formulated to preserve those rights, the teachings of Christ are abandoned. The system of enforcement for rights becomes the culprit of encroachment on them.

If the gospel is taken seriously, it is apparent that its ideas are to be followed by individuals, and not by governments or policies. The result won’t be a system; it won’t have a military or police force; it won’t be a codified set of laws; it absolutely will not be a nation. It will be “action and truth.” (1 John 3:18) Of what use is a military if every citizen really was to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) and “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36) Of what use is a judge if forgiveness is always the answer to evils? Of what use is defining rights if each person was taking seriously “do to others as you would have them do to you?” (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31)

It may be going too far to say that anarchy is the only feasible option that Christ may have supported (though there are many who do; Leo Tolstoy and Jacques Ellul among them) but it is not a stretch to say that the United States is not a Christian nation, nor is any other nation in this world today.

Taking the teaching of Christ seriously will not transform voting decisions or political perspectives. It will transform an individual’s entire way of life; and call to question the assumptions on which elections and debates are based.