The Church (big C) is not “a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory. We are united by our value system and love for Christ. There is so much diversity in the church, as we see in the Trinity.

Also I was listening to this song this weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVyEPNIR-yk
It goes along with this article.

This is a good point, and one that needs to be made. The US interactions with other countries has often been poor.

“What is your view of “white privilege”?”

Well I first of all admit I lived most of my life oblivious to white privilege. I have often been racist and thought nothing of it.

One reason I am willing to be an activist for The Reformation Project (led by Matthew Vines) is that Matthew and the other leaders of the project insist on being allies for all oppressed people–LGBTQIA, blacks, women, Latinos, mentally challenged–anyone oppressed. That is why I think they could help me on my journey of recovery from undue religious influence at ubf.

If you look at my list of oppressed people you will see my built-in racism. To use the term “black” or “Latino” is not correct. But that’s my whiteness speaking.

During one of the cohort sessions, our Reformation group played the “Race Game”. We had about 30 people. It was shocking and sobering and painful. I found out how massively privileged I am. White privilege exists and has oppressed so many people.

“What is your view of US history?” This is rather open ended. In terms of what? In terms of events, I see the commonly taught events about escaping the tyranny of Great Britain–Columbus sailing, the tea being thrown into the river, Paul Revere, the Declaration of Independence,etc. Those are events of history that helped form the United States. By the way, something that goes overlooked often when Christians discuss US history: America refers to the continents (North and South) and includes the nations of Canada, US, Mexico, and a total of 35 countries when North America and South America are combined. America does not equal just the United States.

There are other events however that are often not discussed or taught. We should learn US history from the perspective of the Native Indians or the African slaves or the women of the time. That gives us a much more sober and correct view of US history.

The US was most certainly not founded only on Christian beliefs and as a Christian nation. The US was founded with the thoughts behind the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” concepts. It was more of a freedom from religion. The US was founded in a hotbed of divisive issues and it seems miraculous a nation even emerged from that time.

However it is also clear that during the Civil War especially, religion and Christian faith were an important part of the healing that took place. And even though I do not believe in the validity of a “Christian nation” I do believe there is something to be said for asking God’s protection/blessing on a community or nation. Some interesting thoughts along this line of thinking are on the US Treasury – Education – In God We Trust.

I have much to learn and much to say but my comment is getting long :)

liturgy – I’m glad to hear the exploration of liturgy. I find myself longing for the liturgical Catholic services of my youth. Such a worship style is indeed healthy and good to experience. Pastors would be far less burned out if they put down their sermon-ating for a while and looked into various expressions of liturgical worship.

humans are lovers, not thinkers and believers – I really like this perspective. I once arrogantly thought I could understand all things with my massive brain. I found out that to feel a thing is far more meaningful than to explain a thing. We simply are emotional beings. When our emotional IQ is low, human relationships will be difficult to enrich or even maintain.

I see three questions that are worth deeper discussion. But here are my initial thoughts on the first question.

“Is there such thing as a Christian nation?” – If we take the term nation as it’s normal meaning, then my answer is a resounding no. The term means: a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

Scripture is rather clear: People of faith are not looking to build a nation or city of their own on earth. They are looking forward to a heavenly dwelling. (see Hebrews 11:13-16)

The only way to say there is a Christian nation is to redefine “nation”. This of course is what I and nearly all ubfers did in KOPAHN. We wanted a holy nation on earth. We wanted a utopian society that looked like ubf. We wanted all people to adhere to the 12 point spiritual legacy of ubf. I think now God is ashamed of such a thing. The Christian people are not a people defined by a specific culture, or a specific language or a specific territory of land. We are defined by our faith.

Not only that, but the US’s presence in Philippines was very controversial. US aid came at a time when the Philippines was starting to become a nation. Instead of learning independence, the Philippines learned dependence on the US. The history of US interaction in the Philippines is not the most pleasant, especially around the military bases. Many women were taken advantaged of and many children were left fatherless. Anyway, I don’t want to bash the US. I just want to say that there are two sides to every issue. And we have to be honest about our issues.

P.S. Do you guys know where that photo is from? It’s from “American History X.” If you haven’t seen that movie I highly recommend it!

But these events far from excuse the civil rights issues facing America. If they do anything they hold her to a much higher standard. If we can send a generation to die in Vietnam for an ideal of freedom for a people who didn’t quite even understand why communism is bad, why can we not find the death of Americans on its own soil even contemptible? It defies reason.

It’s always the same root issue: Not having empathy for fellow human beings, just because they come from another country or have a different skin color.