Some Christians are upset because President Obama, speaking in Turkey, declared that, in America, we do not think of ourselves as a Christian nation. I've been thinking about this for days, and, speaking for myself, I have to agree. I would not want to hold up America as she is today as the model of a Christian nation. We are far too shallow, self-absorbed, materialistic, sensual, and besotted with entertainment to qualify as anything other than a purely pagan people. I suppose I would ask of those who insist that America is a Christian nation, Where's the evidence? Sure some 70% of the population claims to be Christian, and most of those also claim to be born-again. But still, Jesus said that by their fruit you will know them, and the fruit which tends to predominate in the lives of the people and culture of our society doesn't strike me as particularly Christian. America never was a Christian nation. There was a time in the history of the American experiment when Christian values, a Christian outlook, and even Christian Law were the driving forces in society. But even then, this was not always a good thing, since some of what it meant to be a Christian was not well understood and what was well understood was not always well practiced. Still, the kernel of that original vision continues to bear a certain amount of fruit in our land; there is much that is good about America, and much of that has its roots in the vision and values embodied in our colonial forebears. This is, I believe, a vision worth recovering, but it will take a good deal of work. Those who decide to throw in with the effort will be mocked, scorned, threatened, and ostracized. So what else is new?

T. M. Moore