Canada orders ministry by Christians shut down!

[Xenia]

"Canada is no longer a Christian nation," she said. "And watch out America!"
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=59600

[righter1]

*shivers* scary! Big time!

[ProfessorAlan]

Was Canada ever a "chrsitian" nation? I mean, I don't think the US ever has been, so ... Canada? Probably not.

And our Bill of Rights probably protects us more down here ...

[righter1]

Was Canada ever a "chrsitian" nation? I mean, I don't think the US ever has been, so ... Canada? Probably not.

And our Bill of Rights probably protects us more down here ...

Yeah, but look at things like Campaign Finance Reform, which steps all over the First Amendment, or the gun restrictions that trod on our 2nd Amendment rights... Liberals won't hesitate to <insert visual image here> on the Constitution if they want to try to control people and their thoughts and actions.

[Ransom v. Unman]

Yeah, but look at things like Campaign Finance Reform, which steps all over the First Amendment, or the gun restrictions that trod on our 2nd Amendment rights... Liberals won't hesitate to <insert visual image here> on the Constitution if they want to try to control people and their thoughts and actions.

And conservatives have no problem removing habeas corpus when they see fit, and would try to get a state-sponsored religion. Your point?

[Tommie Lyn]

Was Canada ever a "chrsitian" nation? I mean, I don't think the US ever has been
The men who founded the uS, and other leaders in the beginning years, thought it was a Christian nation. There are many, many quotes from those men attesting to that fact. Here are a few:

"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?" - Thomas Jefferson

"It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains." - Patrick Henry

"The highest glory of the American revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of
Christianity." - John Quincy Adams

"Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? . . . Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission upon earth? That it laid the corner stone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity, and gave to the world the first irrevocable pledge of the fulfillment of the prophecies, announced directly from Heaven at the birth of the Savior and predicted by the greatest of the Hebrew prophets six hundred years before?" - John Quincy Adams, on July 4th, 1837

"Finally, let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They journeyed by its light, and labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its principles with the elements of their society, and to diffuse its influence through all their institutions, civil, political, or literary." - Daniel Webster

That this is now a pagan nation doesn't mean that it was pagan when it was established.

[Ransom v. Unman]

To be certain, Tommie, it was a deist nation at first, and the Christians in the beginning were the ones most concerned with keeping a separation of church and state, because they'd seen in the past what that union had done to the church.

Considering that according to latest census polls this country is still 86% Christian (of some sort) I'd say we're as Christian now as we've ever been.

[righter1]

To be certain, Tommie, it was a deist nation at first, and the Christians in the beginning were the ones most concerned with keeping a separation of church and state, because they'd seen in the past what that union had done to the church.

Considering that according to latest census polls this country is still 86% Christian (of some sort) I'd say we're as Christian now as we've ever been.

In church this weekend, my pastor made the point that while 86% of Americans say they believe in God, only 30% go to church on a regular/semi-regular basis. On days like Easter & Christmas, that number goes up to 50%. Sad.

[Ransom v. Unman]

I'm not saying the survey indicated they're good Christians, but it's been a long, long time since the majority claiming to be Christians lived lives (or even believed things) that were consistent with their creed.

This stretches back to past the founding of this country as well, I should note.

[Cymrugirl]

Ditto what Ransom says. The references to God by our forefathers include the views of all-encompassing ideas about God - including the Quakers who believed as long as men recognized the existence of a deity, they were 'saved.' The Quakers believe firmly in God, but not in Christ. The forefathers were a mixed bag.

And at the time, they did allow state-sponsored religion. Quite honestly, I don't want to go back to the way it was initially. I think what we have now is much better.

[ProfessorAlan]

I just have a hard time using "chrsitian" as the adjective to describe a nation that was founded allowing race-based slavery, with the 3/5th rule written into the Constitution, limiting voting to male property-holders ........ is that WWJD?

I'm proud of my nation, its ideals and much of its history, but I hesitate to call that history "christian."

The separation of church and state helps the church way more than it hurts it.

[Ransom v. Unman]

Ditto what Ransom says. The references to God by our forefathers include the views of all-encompassing ideas about God - including the Quakers who believed as long as men recognized the existence of a deity, they were 'saved.' The Quakers believe firmly in God, but not in Christ. The forefathers were a mixed bag.

And at the time, they did allow state-sponsored religion. Quite honestly, I don't want to go back to the way it was initially. I think what we have now is much better.

I know Quakers are like that nowadays, but I thought back in the day they were all about Jesus & the Spirit – hence the name "quakers" originating from when they'd quake during pneumatic experiences during their prayer meetings.

[Cymrugirl]

Not according to the Quaker historians we met in Philadelphia this last fall. They were telling us that the colonial period Quakers believed in a "great spirit" and that upon meeting the native Americans believed their recognition of the "Holy Spirit" meant that they were already spiritually "converted" so to speak.

The meeting house we were in - the oldest in Philadelphia - had a lot of historical documents to back this up. The quaking may refer to some sort of behavior during their services, which aren't led by a pastor-head, but allow members, when "moved by the spirit," to stand and offer the message from the spirit. This spirit is not necessarily the spirit of Christ - but the all encompassing Holy Spirit. At no point in their history did they recognize Christ as a divine deity, but simply the human through which the Holy Spirit manifested the most powerfully.

There are also FreeQuakers - a faction of the Quaker movement which believed in fighting, unlike the main Quakers, but still believed that all religions were evidence of the Holy Spirit communicating with man. This is the group that is responsible for the U.S.' freedom of religion. The Puritans, in contrast, only believed in the freedom to be a Puritan - and to be a specific denomination of Puritan. Philadelphia has a remarkable number and variety of churches thanks to the Quakers. Though I disagree with their theology, I believe God used them greatly to bring freedom to all Christians at a time when Christianity was largely organized and anything but tolerant of those who disagreed with their particular brand of theology.

EDIT: As for the slavery issue being the debate to our Christian founding, the history of the first continental congress shows that the Christian (as well as others) portion of the legislative body recognized that a government which recognized God given unalienable rights could not paradoxically validate slavery. However, the opposition in that legislative body by those who disagreed was so powerful, they knew that if they pressed the matter, our union would resolve.

So, in order to form a more perfect union - in order to maintain unity - they compromised. They put that subject off til a later date when the union was stronger. However, they still constructed within the Constitution, language which would ensure the eventual breakdown of the slave trade.

For those who recognized the freedom of all men and the sanctity of life, it had to be a difficult compromise - but it was probably the compromise which saved our nation from early dissolution. For me, it makes the Declaration of Independence

[Joshua Brown]

People have been trying for years to find ways to silence Christians. This is not a new thing they're doing. Isn't it funny, though, that the ones who claim to be the most tolerant are actually the most hateful, mean spirited, and intolerant?

[Krezca]

No nation is Christian regardless the quantum of its church going members. The church is a borderless community that exists in the all nations of the earth.It is one large community that will experience opposition from the nations from time to time.

We will triumph in spite of the hostility that will come our way from time to time.