Decline of christianity in the united states

[JohnH]

^^lots of posts added while i was writing. i’ll go back to read.

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Thomas_muntzer,
i believe your OP was posted in good faith for the purpose of constructive Christian dialogue.
sorry it’s doomed for the equivalent of a political food fight.

evil “hit the jackpot” with some of the fav divisive talking points even found here.
dividing Christians against one another is both pretty easy and, hey, “life is good” for evil, only required to sit back and tally wins.

fighting over the letter is the essence of human law. no bottom to that pit. [the spirit 2Cor3:6]

from your posting history, i believe you’re seeking the spirit, it’s a lifelong journey. ”the spirit gives life”

evil doesn’t sleep. it can’t, it has no peace, at all. it’s often noisy, always empty. insatiable.
evil has no shame about taking the most sacred things to twist for wrong. through the letter is a slam dunk. “for the letter kills”

I believe Thomas posted in good faith, but it’s also possible to disagree with him in good faith. His OP is an argument for Christian nationalism — it’s not exactly a shock that a forum full of Anabaptists would disagree and push back on him.

i prefer to address him about his thoughts, questions, rather than labeling, jumping to conclusions, going on attack.
you do you, tho.

Particularly interesting is when I quoted 3 verses and then immediately got attacked for promoting “Christian nationalism”, whatever that is.

[temporal1]

^^adding to above .. P.3:

“my elders and theirs were not ignorant, inexperienced, uneducated.”

even tho .. .. my father was a wildly imperfect man, he could be hurtful.
my mother loved him and was devoted to him. they were devoted to each other. not always a smooth road.
i sometimes questioned my mother. she would not allow disrespect or any hint of it!

my mother LIVED “love the sinner, hate the sin” - altho that was long before i heard the phrase. she didn’t say it. she LIVED it.
in time, we ALL benefited from her choice. very much so.

[temporal1]

I believe Thomas posted in good faith, but it’s also possible to disagree with him in good faith. His OP is an argument for Christian nationalism — it’s not exactly a shock that a forum full of Anabaptists would disagree and push back on him.

i prefer to address him about his thoughts, questions, rather than labeling, jumping to conclusions, going on attack.
you do you, tho.

Particularly interesting is when I quoted 3 verses and then immediately got attacked for promoting “Christian nationalism”, whatever that is.

hobby horses

[Szdfan]

Barnhart asked what a Christian nation is. I replied with scriptures that refer to a Christian nation.

Do you disagree with the scriptures?

I don’t disagree with the scriptures, I disagree with your use of it.

You’re quoting verses that describe the people of God and applying them to political entities. The first two describe covenantal Old Testament Israel. The last verse describes the Christian Church. The problem is that you then apply them to modern nations like the United States. That’s not faithfulness to Scripture. That’s Christian nationalism.

1 Peter 2:9 isn’t about America. It’s about the Church.

Hey Szdfan,

Can you stop putting words in my mouth? I literally quoted 3 scriptures. That was all.

I’m not putting words in your mouth. I’m responding to the theological implications to the verses you quoted in response to the question, “What is a Christian nation?”

[Szdfan]

^^adding to above ..

“my elders and theirs were not ignorant, inexperienced, uneducated.”

even tho .. .. my father was a wildly imperfect man, he could be hurtful.
my mother loved him and was devoted to him. they were devoted to each other. not always a smooth road.
i sometimes questioned my mother. she would not allow disrespect or any hint of it!

my mother LIVED “love the sinner, hate the sin” - altho that was long before i heard the phrase. she didn’t say it. she LIVED it.
in time, we ALL benefited from her choice. very much so.

I think you spend a lot of time trying to shield and protect people you like and perspectives you support from discussion and critique. This is a web forum — one of its basic purposes is to hash things out. Nobody has attacked Thomas, but many of us disagree with him. I think we are allowed to voice that disagreement and to scrutinize his argument.

Why are you so committed to shielding and deflecting for him?

[temporal1]

Why are you so committed to shielding and deflecting for him?

he’s still new, has an interesting posting history, he started an interesting topic, i’m interested in reading more from him what he believes.

[Szdfan]

Why are you so committed to shielding and deflecting for him?

he’s still new, has an interesting posting history, he started an interesting topic, i’m interested in reading more from him what he believes.

That’s fair and I appreciate your honesty and directness. I think we are allowed to engage him. This is a forum — it’s a conversation, not a sermon.

[Ken]

Blessed are a people whose God is the Lord.

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.

These scriptures you are quoting, are they about the modern nation-state?

I’m especially concerned about your misapplication of 1 Peter 2:9, which is directly about the Church as a spiritual people, not a political entity. I think applying these scriptures to secular national identity corrupts Scripture.

Barnhart asked what a Christian nation is. I replied with scriptures that refer to a Christian nation.

Do you disagree with the scriptures?

No, you did not reply with scriptures that refer to a Christian nation.

You quoted Psalms and Exodus which were written many many centuries before Christianity existed.

To the extent that those Bronze Age verses refer to any existing nation it would be Israel which is not a Christian nation.

[temporal1]

Why are you so committed to shielding and deflecting for him?

he’s still new, has an interesting posting history, he started an interesting topic, i’m interested in reading more from him what he believes.

That’s fair and I appreciate your honesty and directness. I think we are allowed to engage him. This is a forum — it’s a conversation, not a sermon.

i remember when you were just leaving Baltmore for Colorado. So excited. i was excited with you.
you had a good experience in Baltimore. i’ve been sorry you couldn’t have stayed.

[Szdfan]

he’s still new, has an interesting posting history, he started an interesting topic, i’m interested in reading more from him what he believes.

That’s fair and I appreciate your honesty and directness. I think we are allowed to engage him. This is a forum — it’s a conversation, not a sermon.

i remember when you were just leaving Baltmore for Colorado. So excited. i was excited with you.
you had a good experience in Baltimore. i’ve been sorry you couldn’t have stayed.

It’s kind of hard to believe, but I’ve been in Colorado for 14 years, which is the longest place I’ve lived. Baltimore was a good place and I’m always glad to go back to visit, but I suspect I might spend the rest of my life out here. The High Plains have a way to get under your skin. I was in Tennessee for a family reunion this summer and I remember feeling a sense of relief driving through the panhandle of Oklahoma.