An atheist caller to the Sunday Night Bible Forum (www.thebibleforum.net) is insistent that the United States is not, nor has ever been, a Christian Nation.
I have tried to communicate with him, but he simply wants to rant, which is what people do when they have no objective standard of morality. Nothing, nowhere, and in no way exists which makes this claim. The best we can say is that the Founding Fathers were rooted in classical literature and biblical understanding, basing their efforts on biblical principles.
The caller's point is that the Treaty of Tripoli proves the Founding Fathers were NOT seeking this goal as evidenced by John Adams' signing a Treaty which declares that the "Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;...."
The fact that knowledgeable people don't make this claim doesn't seem to penetrate his thinking. And he says he's a "teacher." It's the Red Herring atheists enjoy dragging across the path, to distract the discussion and prove their point.
The President who signed this Treaty also wrote things like: "The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity..." [Written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress -- 1776]
The Facts of this Treaty are:
1. The United States wanted to stop the piracy of their ships by the Barbary Nations -- we did not have the Navy to fight a war against these people. [Interesting how Muslims are still pirating ships at sea]
2. The Barbary Nations were Muslim -- used to defending their religion against all comers [Jihad]
3. The Treaty was written by the Barbary Nations -- in Arabic
4. A 1931 Commission by the U.S. concluded that the English version was a "poor attempt to paraphrase or summarize the wishes of the Arabic States.
5. The Document is unique [how many early documents disavow our Christian Heritage?]
6. The language is imprecise, allowing Congress and the President to freely sign it [America was NOT founded on "The Christian Religion." but on Christian principles]
That there are people, today, willing to abandon the very principles that allows them to be critical of our heritage and enjoy the benefits of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness without reprisal, is a testimony to the generosity of Christian beliefs. No Secularist, Humanist, Progressive government would ever allow such a thing! Just look at what Congress and our President are doing, right now, in seeking to vilify and limit the free dissent of citizens against their positions!
