People won't like this comment but frankly I don't care, because it needs to be said. The biggest takeaway from this conversation and how religion in America has operated in the Trump Dynasty, is that christianity in America is full of hypocrites. You either believe in the principles of Christianity or you don't - watching how the organi…
People won't like this comment but frankly I don't care, because it needs to be said. The biggest takeaway from this conversation and how religion in America has operated in the Trump Dynasty, is that christianity in America is full of hypocrites. You either believe in the principles of Christianity or you don't - watching how the organised religious organisations in the USA bend and twist their religious beliefs to fit their current goals is sad to watch.
That may be why so many people today identify as "spiritual but not religious." The churches seem to be full of people who are religious, but not spiritual.
Matt, I completely agree. The fact is that Christianity has been re-made in North America, in what is now the United States, since it set foot here around 1608. There's a great book -- "Under the Cope of Heaven" -- which describes the numerous Christianities that have evolved from the first colonizers through about 1805. Christianity is always in the process of being re-invented according to scholarship and politics.
It's really crucial -- in my opinion -- to set the background for the First Amendment. There were so many kinds of religious observance at the time of the Constitution -- including wildfire newcomer Methodism (brought by the Wesleys in the 1730s or so) that I think people in the 21st century are pretty ignorant of the sense of competition among the various old and new varieties of Protestant Christianity.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana - 1905
History is so often ignored, and that leads to ignorance of the lessons learned. Sometimes it is through laziness, and other times it's willful to benefit special interest groups. Take your Second Amendment as an example - the text is plain and easy to understand, and the framers provided context in their writings. The way it is interepreted in the current century however, has no relevance whatsoever to the words themselves and the idea behind them.
I love the way when it is quoted by gun nuts, the first half is completely ignored! I have no idea on the actual numbers, but would take an educated guess and actually bet my house that the vast majority of gun owners in America are not members of 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state....'. The wording and intention is clear, and when the context of the time it was written is added (and the framers writings taken into account), it becomes even clearer. Yet the lobbyists have twisted it into meaning no regulations AT ALL on gun rights is the true meaning
People won't like this comment but frankly I don't care, because it needs to be said. The biggest takeaway from this conversation and how religion in America has operated in the Trump Dynasty, is that christianity in America is full of hypocrites. You either believe in the principles of Christianity or you don't - watching how the organised religious organisations in the USA bend and twist their religious beliefs to fit their current goals is sad to watch.
That may be why so many people today identify as "spiritual but not religious." The churches seem to be full of people who are religious, but not spiritual.
Matt, I completely agree. The fact is that Christianity has been re-made in North America, in what is now the United States, since it set foot here around 1608. There's a great book -- "Under the Cope of Heaven" -- which describes the numerous Christianities that have evolved from the first colonizers through about 1805. Christianity is always in the process of being re-invented according to scholarship and politics.
Thanks for the book recommendation, I'll have to get my hands on it :)
It's really crucial -- in my opinion -- to set the background for the First Amendment. There were so many kinds of religious observance at the time of the Constitution -- including wildfire newcomer Methodism (brought by the Wesleys in the 1730s or so) that I think people in the 21st century are pretty ignorant of the sense of competition among the various old and new varieties of Protestant Christianity.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana - 1905
History is so often ignored, and that leads to ignorance of the lessons learned. Sometimes it is through laziness, and other times it's willful to benefit special interest groups. Take your Second Amendment as an example - the text is plain and easy to understand, and the framers provided context in their writings. The way it is interepreted in the current century however, has no relevance whatsoever to the words themselves and the idea behind them.
I love the way when it is quoted by gun nuts, the first half is completely ignored! I have no idea on the actual numbers, but would take an educated guess and actually bet my house that the vast majority of gun owners in America are not members of 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state....'. The wording and intention is clear, and when the context of the time it was written is added (and the framers writings taken into account), it becomes even clearer. Yet the lobbyists have twisted it into meaning no regulations AT ALL on gun rights is the true meaning
Absolutely. The National Defense Act of 1916, which established the National Guard, pretty much superseded the "need" to have a well-regulated militia. May I suggest: "https://stephenhalbrook.com/books/the-founders-second-amendment/