What does "God-fearing" mean in "a patriotic, God-fearing American"?
In Christian parlance, ‘the fear of God’ means you believe what God says about himself in the Bible. More specifically, it means you not only believe God is loving and merciful, but you also believe he is a just God who, ultimately, calls evil-doers to account. Although God’s love is the overwhelmingly dominant factor in the lives of Christian believers, the sterner part of God’s nature can also be felt on occasions. This is because sometimes God sees fit to discipline us. The Bible likens this to the way a good father will discipline a much-loved child—not out of anger, but in order to correct a character fault and steer the child in the right direction. Some of the newer Bible translations use the word ‘respect’ in place of ‘fear’, presumably to avoid giving the wrong impression that God is a capricious ogre. With regard to the phrase ‘patriotic, God-fearing American’, I think this refers to the idea that, traditionally, the bedrock of America has consisted of people who are both nation-affirming patriots and God-fearing believers (mostly Christian, but also Jewish).
Has America gone from a God fearing society at its founding to a Godless society now?
Let us all hope so.There is no proof that the Abrahamic God exists or for that matter, any gods exist.Except for the letters written by Paul, most of the books in the Bible have anonymous authors. And who was Paul? He was just a man. Like any other man. No wiser than you or I. In fact, modern humankind is much wiser than the antiquated Paul, so why adhere to his hallucinatory rantings? His only connection to Jesus was in a ghostly apparition. Much like that of founding father, Joseph Smith, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; or perhaps, John of Patmos, who wrote of the nightmarish end of the world and gave us the ever impending apocalypse, and mankind’s demise in the Valley of Armageddon. Just three guys, centuries apart, seeing things and confounding the gullible and the credulous with their writings.To complicate those issues, these letters and books have been copied from different languages and recopied, edited, redacted, expanded and expounded upon. We have nary a true copy of the Bible anywhere. Not one true copy! It is believed that the last true edition(s) of the Jewish Law was contained in the Great Library of Alexandria, of which burned down in 48BC, taking most of it's books and scrolls to their destruction.But, this is all rather academic. The true test is, does this book originate from the correct God? Thus, do gods exist in toto? We do not know if the Abrahamic God exists, then how can we know if these words in the Bible are his words? Trying to prove the existence of the Abrahamic God is far more difficult than trying to describe the beginning of the Universe, of which we have a far better description.I always sign off my commentary with the following bit of advice. I hope the readers will take it as a kind gesture, and of my hope for humankind.If one values truth and honor in one’s life, then no one should accept the Bible or any other religious or spiritual doctrine as a guide for that life.Be a skeptic. Question everything in your life and what you think you know. Use the bywords of Honor, Truth, Reason, and Logic in your life and you will be much happier and more fulfilled for doing so.I am a humanist as well. If you are interested in this, take a look at the below link. I am not selling memberships or in any way gaining monetarily in providing the link but merely as a way of providing further information to those so intellectually inclined.Are You Humanist? - American Humanist Association
Should America denounce God as a part of who it is as a nation?
No, what america needs to do is wake up and allow people to follow what ever path they want as long as it harms none. The problem is not people fighting each other from wanting to, the problem is cultist spewing personal agendas. False propaganda suggesting a religion is more dangerous than another. People make religion bad, not the religion itself. America is not based or should not be based on any religious agenda. It has been pro-claimed by our founding fathers that no religion will govern this country. Well, we need to stick to those principles. People have a right to their chosen faith or to not have a faith at all.
One nation under God, In God we Trust, God Bless America!?
The government is secular but most of the people aren't. God does not represent a specific religion but rather is a part of most religions. People who whine about things like this must live blessed lives.. BTW the VAST majority of the founder were in fact Christians. You might make a case about one or two like Franklin bit the rest practiced their faiths regularly and publicly. Don't believe the revisionist history..
Why did Americans accept the Constitution w/ its strong national goverment and powerful executive after....?
"revolting against similar British Institutions" - actually no. British institutions were the state (colonial) legislatures and governors: there was no national government of America before Independence. Each colony was independent, except for very weak oversight from London - oversight so weak that the UK govt couldn't even enforce the very low taxes it tried to impose. Also, the US had tried weak central govt in between 1776 and 1789, and it was a hopeless failure. Furthermore, US constitution doesn't impose a strong national government - it's a rather weak national government compared, for example, to the govts of the UK and France at the time (and even now). Over time, however, the power of the central govt has grown in response to the needs of the nation.
Should America be a "Christian Nation"?
And if you say yes, the obvious follow-up is: Which brand of Christianity? Do you actually think it's going to be yours? That's apparently the tacit assumption of most people who claim to want this. They never stop to think that there are hundreds of different cults of Christianity, all at loggerheads with each other; and that their own is always only a negligibly small minority. Can you imagine if we decided that everybody had to be Catholic, or even
Why do liberals not want the national i.d card...?
Actually true conservatives do not want a national ID. That is getting way too Orwellian.
Are all crimes in the US considered sin due to it being “one nation under God”?
Not all crime is sin, and not all sin is crime. Sin has a moral definition, and crime a legal definition, if both apply, then sin and crime are the same. God doesn’t rule America, neither are all American’s God fearing, and it’s a lack of respect for God that brings their fate’s upon nations. However,’ just ten righteous men’ might save the city… and It’s men of God, ‘the salt of the earth,’ that God favors and watches over in every nation.
Explain"what does this mean" :one nation,under God ,,,indivisible mean to you?
Originally it said, "one nation, indivisible". That was the principle held by Lincoln, that the nation could not legally be divided, but after the Civil War when the healing took place it meant the southerners were again glad to be part of the nation, and the northerners were glad it turned it out that way. Nothing in the Constitution says that a State may opt out of the Union once it has been accepted; that was Lincoln's argument. "Under God" was inserted because the Communists were considered "godless" and they their socialist buddies were psychologically tearing this nation apart. That is what the House Un-American Activities Committee was all about. It is why all the collectivists in Hollywood were blacklisted. If we declared that we would not be torn apart by "godless" men, then God would protect. us. But in the end, it is just a means to break the separation of church and state. If it was not intended to do that, it does it by not being removed.