First of all I am an Agnostic, but one who is open to some Christian beliefs. Second, I do NOT want this to become a debate whether or not God exists. So, you rabid atheists can go pound salt. But feel free to participate if you can suspend your disbelief momentarily, and accept the premise, “God is.”
I have pondered the idea of whether or not God blesses nations for decades, even before I wandered away from the faith. What brought the idea back to my mind’s eye more forcibly again was Obama’s recent trip to Israel. He closed his ridiculous pontificating with, “May God bless you. May God bless Israel. May God bless the United States of America”. (To hell with the mooslims, I guess.) Obamadevil calls upon God to bless America constantly. Will God answer, “OK!”?
According to Barna Research about half of all Americans consider themselves “born again”. I know how these people think. They believe God is involved in all things America; from its past glory to its future redemption. Perhaps that’s why we have so many sheeple …. it’s pretty damn easy and convenient to not do anything when you believe that God will sort everything out.
I’m not going to examine the hundreds of applicable scripture verses. (Thank God!!) Just two of the more popular ones will suffice. It sure seems like God, indeed, blesses America.
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“Blessed is the Nation Whose God is the Lord” ———— Psalm 33:12
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” ———— 2 Chronicles 7:14:
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The other side of the coin question is, “Does God curse nations?” Various born-again preachers have pronounced that God has cursed America for a variety of “sins”. Jerry Falwell said God cursed America because of abortions. Others give popular reasons such as; Sodom and Gomorrah-like promiscuity, taking prayer out of schools, homosexuality, worshipping money, and, well … the list is nearly endless. Like, this one from Pat Robertson, who after Haiti’s devastating earthquake said it was God’s curse on Haiti …. for getting rid of the French!! You can’t make this shit up. (I know for a FACT that God hates Frenchies. It’s in the Bible. One of God’s plagues upon Pharaoh was what? Froggies!!! Case closed. )
“Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French … and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French.’ True story. And the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal.’ Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another.”
Again …. from the perspective of a non-believer, talk of God cursing or blessing people or nations is absurd. But for genuine Christian believers … (those who believe the Bible) … there is nothing absurd about the idea of God blessing or cursing nations.
Some believe the Founding Fathers established a Christian nation, which God then blessed. For example, John Adams cautioned that our government is wholly inadequate for a people who are not moral and religious. However, the degree of liberty Americans have enjoyed is dependent on a government that treads lightly … not on a certain group of people praying on their knees. Adams believed a government can tread lightly without inviting chaos and license only in a society where the majority of the people obey the law voluntarily, not simply from fear of punishment. His error was that he believed only Christians can obey laws voluntarily because only they are aware of their accountability to a Higher Transcendent Moral Order (God) for the way in which they live their lives.
Even if Adams was right, what does it actually mean to ask God to bless America? What “America”? Is it a piece of geography? If we invade Mexico and basically exterminate them (like we did Native American Indians) does that mean God blessed America … even though most all of Mexico is also Christian? Aren’t we asking God to treat America better than other nations, especially other Christian nations? Why would He do that? On what basis?
I think the story of Sodom & Gomorrah better exemplifies what most Americans think God’s Blessing means. Abraham was able to bargain with God to spare the city. God agreed to spare the city if even only 10 righteous souls were found therein. Archaeological evidence suggests the population to have been around 1,000 souls, give or take a few hundred. So, it’s safe to say God would have spared S&G if the righteous in the city was only 1%. Yes, that is the Christian hope for America. The verse from Chronicles listed above is often used as further proof for it reads … ““If MY people, who are called by MY name …”. You see, it doesn’t matter how many heathens inhabit America. As long as the REAL Christians, even if they number as few as 1%, turn to the Lord we shall all be blessed.
Unfortunately, this belief ignores a pretty major biblical truism; GOD HATES COMPETITION. This pretty much puts the U.S. Constitution at odds with the Biblical command to put God first. We pride ourselves (rightfully so) regarding our religious liberties; Christians, Mooslims, Joos, Buddhists, Satanists, Atheists … ALL are welcomed in this land, a land Christians expect God to bless.
Now put on your thinking caps and recall your Old Testament knowledge. Recall stories such as when the Jews left Egypt and very shortly thereafter worshipped a Golden Calf. Did that please God’s multi-cultural heart, or did he strike dead 3,000 Joos on the spot? Please tell me the number of times God says; “Oh, yeah. You wanna let any religion into the land of Israel? Sure, I’m cool with that!”. Did you come up with …. zero? Good for you. BTW, Jesus was even less tolerant, casting forth curses and promises of hellfire to even Joos who didn’t believe his story. So, people can claim this is a Christian nation until they are blue in the face. But when one looks at the ONLY nation in the Bible ever called “God’s people”, and the requirements thereof, then you will see America is no more Christian than Outer Mongolia, and both nations can expect similar “blessings”. None.
To which a Christian might respond; “Well, so what! Whether or not God blesses nations is irrelevant. God can and will continue to bless ME, no matter where I live!!” I won’t argue with you. I just hope for your sake that you do not equate biblical blessings with American prosperity; your mortgaged house, your cars, your toys, your job, and even your security; do you think God will send down angels to minister to you? Why, you? Wouldn’t God owe an apology to the millions who have died a martyrs’ death? So, as God looked down as Roman lions ripped into the flesh of a first century Christian perhaps He thought to himself; “Sorry Zachariah. That’s got to hurt! Haha. But, don’t worry, I’m gonna bless Mary Jones in Iowa in a couple thousand years. She’s Amurrican, ya know! I owe it to her.”
Here’s what I believe. America is on its own. YOU are on your own. God isn’t going to save you from the coming destruction. Go ahead and trust God to send your soul to heaven, but here on earth you alone better take care of your sorry ass.
