The United States "is a Christian nation." These words seem shocking today, but they were part of the 1892 Supreme Court decision in Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States. They were penned by Justice David J. Brewer as he wrote for the majority.
President Harry Truman once said, "We must never forget that this country was founded by men who came to these shores to worship God as they pleased. Catholics, Jews, and Protestants, all came here for this great purpose. They did not come here to do as they pleased — but to worship God as they pleased, and that is an important distinction."
Historically, worshiping God has not been a partisan issue in the United States. It was generally taught across this land that our nation was founded by those who sought freedom to worship as they chose and who built what we now call a Judeo-Christian heritage.
Mark David Hall of the Heritage Foundation wrote in 2011, "My contention is merely that orthodox Christianity had a very significant influence on America's Founders and that this influence is often overlooked by students of the American Founding."
Now, though, a simple search of the phrase "Judeo-Christian" will elicit multiple articles declaring that the phrase is meaningless and outdated. As frustrating as that is, what's more appalling is the Left's desire to erode our country's Judeo-Christian foundation and to minimize the influence of the Christian faith.
The Left's assault of the Christian faith is three-pronged. First, leftists seek to redefine what it means to be a Christian. Next, they seek to silence Christian voices in the arena of public discussion. Third, they want to elevate the ideas of non-Christians to change traditional thinking. Hard to believe, but let's look.
The Left wants to change the way culture sees Christianity. We see it on several fronts. The Left wants to divide the church about what is right and wrong. The United Methodists are ready to split on the issue of same-sex "marriage." There's a push among a small but loud faction of liberal voices that declare themselves "exvangelicals," who resist the church's stance of LGBT issues and abortion but want to retain and redefine what it means to be a Christian in 2019.
In redefining Christianity, they want to shift the emphasis from a changed life to doing what they define as societal good. Presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) of South Bend, Ind. is attempting to put a new spin on the "old time religion." Kirsten Powers writes, "Does the country need an awakening of the Christian left? Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg thinks so." In Buttigieg's understanding of the Christian faith, since Jesus never specifically mentioned abortion, we shouldn't spend so much time on it. In his view, most of Scripture points to "defending the poor, and the immigrant, and the stranger, and the prisoner, and the outcast, and those who are left behind by the way society works." Buttigieg, as a gay man, is a staunch supporter of LGBT rights and thinks the church's view on them should change. For Mayor Pete and those who think as he does, Christianity is about not transformed lives, but rather a social gospel and agenda.
As the left redefines what Christianity is, it also wants to shame and silence those who are Christians. Curtis Wong, in a Huffington Post column, wrote, "New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees faced a barrage of criticism this week after appearing in a video promoting an event organized by an evangelical Christian group known for its anti-LGBTQ stance." Wong continued, "Brees partnered with Focus on the Family to promote 'Bring Your Bible to School Day,' now in its sixth year and slated for Oct. 3. The athlete encouraged students to 'share God's love with friends' in a 22-second video."
The "barrage of criticism" Wong mentions was more like a hate-storm. Newspaper columns, tweets, and blog posts blasted the Saints quarterback for speaking out for a Focus on the Family event that encouraged students to bring their Bibles to school. That was it. There was no hidden agenda, nothing about any other social issue. Just bring your Bible to school. The Left, though, has no tolerance for Focus on the Family, whom leftists describe, as Wong did, as "anti-LGBTQ." So anything Focus on the Family does is inherently evil, and those who work with or for it must be shamed and silenced.
When Focus on the Family's president, Jim Daly, defended Brees, he rightly spoke of how the Left views any disagreement as hate. Patheos, an atheist website, responded, "Daly treats his critics as people unable to handle a different opinion. That's a complete lie. That's a Christian lie. A difference of opinions might accurately describe which baseball team will win the World Series or whether a movie is really as good as people say. Whether or not LGBTQ people deserve civil rights is not about a difference of opinions. Rejecting their humanity isn't showing respect." It's hard to see how opposing the attempted redefinition of marriage is denying anyone's humanity, but that's not the issue. It's about shaming and silencing those who think differently.
As they seek to redefine the Christian faith and silence those who hold to a traditional or historic view, they seek to minimize Christianity's voice in the public arena.
On August 24, 2019, the Democratic National Committee passed a resolution that celebrates the role of non-Christians in the Democratic Party while attacking those who adhere to what the Bible teaches.
The Democrats and those on the Left believe that the number of those who classify themselves as having no faith is growing, and they seem to like it. They also acknowledge that this is a group that overwhelmingly agrees with the Democrats' beliefs on same-sex "marriage" and open borders. The Democrats seem proud that their plan for America cannot be connected with traditional Christianity.
The resolution also asserts, without supporting evidence, that the non-Christians have been subject to bias and exclusion in American society, especially in policymaking. The intent of this part is not to address acts of bias against people. There aren't any. It's an attempt to unwind the Judeo-Christian heritage upon which this nation was built. The Democrats of 2019 believe that America has had too much God, Christianity, and faith in her history. The Democrats want to unravel that by emphasizing worldviews that do not put God at the center.
Remaking Christianity seems to be part of the Left's plan to remake America. Kind of sheds a new light on 2020.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/09/the_left_hopes_to_destroy_christianity_by_changing_it.html
