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Originally Posted by alwayslearning
I was able to listen to his entire talk this morning. I don't think his passion can be disputed however I disagree with his underlying premise i.e. America was once a blessed nation because it was founded on eternal and heavenly principles and consecrated to God/Jesus and is losing (or has lost) that blessing under God's judgment for our sinful ways. And that the Twin Tower attack and more recent economic turn down are signs of this judgment. I think this is a very selective view of American history.
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The premise that America was founded on eternal and heavenly principles and consecrated to God is taken verbatim from Washington's inaugural speech and the prayer that took place later at St. Paul's chapel as a consecration, the same site that the Twin Towers were located at. Of course this is a very selective view of American history I think that is obvious to everyone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alwayslearning
In actuality the nation was founded upon 3 strands of tradition: Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman and European Enlightenment. Many of the founders were Deists not Christians. They belonged to Masonic Lodges. Several had mistresses. Most owned slaves. But they were also quite smart and learned. Drawing on these traditions and adding in their own insights they were able to put together the documents and framework and begin building the institutions of a new nation. This was messy work at best as one finds out when they dig into the archives to see how the sausage was made - so to speak.
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This is the straw man argument. His reference was clearly to the Mayflower compact. You are referring to the US constitution and the founding fathers. He was referring to an event 150 years prior to this. None of those on the Mayflower were "deists", they did not set out with three strands, and they didn't own slaves. You have substituted what he said for what you wanted him to say.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alwayslearning
Whenever I hear that America has sinned and is under God's judgment and needs to turn back to Him (not an unusual theme) I always wonder 2 things:
1. At what time were we as a nation turned to God in the first place? What is the benchmark?
2. What would this look like in practical application today? How would American society actually function and operate once it "turned back to God"?
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1. He provided this in his speech. "“America would become the most blessed nation on Earth, a refuge for the exiles, a light for the oppressed. A beacon against the dark forces of tyranny.” If you look at the verses I provided you can see there is a very strong Biblical basis to say that these things would be characteristics of a nation blessed by God.
2. I think, based on his speech, that it is safe to say that America would stop killing millions of babies a year. That would be a good start.