Western Civilization..."The Greatest Gift For All"

[murphy_p_t]

I thought I'd share this article for the open-minded folks on these threads, in particular the ones who are not Christian. I think this article will be of interest to those who are concerned about the excessive power of the State, as libertarians are wont to be.

from the article by Paul Craig Roberts:
"All Americans have a huge stake in Christianity. Whether or not we are individually believers in Christ, we are beneficiaries of the moral doctrine that has curbed power and protected the weak."

"Christianity’s emphasis on the worth of the individual makes such power as Lenin claimed, and Washington now claims, unthinkable. "

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/12 ... for-all-2/

[D1984]

Christianity’s emphasis on the worth of the individual

That's a good one...really, this just cracks me up...Mr Roberts conveinently seems to forget that it was mostly the values of the Enlightenment, not Christianity, that put emphasis on the individual as valuable (and even today relatively moderate religionists decry modern secular culture's emphasis on the individual as selfish and destructive in the long run to society). How much "worth" did someone have under a medieval absolute monarch (whose right to such absolute power was defended under religious cover as "the divine right of kings" ) or under the unchecked power of the Church and the Inquisition?

And how come the countries that rank highest on the press freedom index (from Reporters Without Borders), human rights indexes (from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International), Human Development Index (the UN) and economic freedom indices (from the WSJ and Fraser Institute among others) are overwhelmingly atheistic/secular societies like Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, and the Scandinavian countries...the US is one of the few heavily religious First WOrld countries anywhere near the top (and we usually trail behind most of the countries listed above)? If what PCR is saying is true then we should rank at or near the top on every one of the above but we don't.

[notsheigetz]

One of the reasons I've soured on Christianity of late is because I believe modern American Christians have done a 180 degree turn towards statism. This seems to be the natural progression of things with organized Christianity starting with Constantine who made it the semi-official religion of the empire, but the early American Christians seemed to originally be headed in the opposite direction. Seems that way no more. Today most Christians are taught and believe that the America government is a divinely appointed force for good in the world and she can do no wrong, at least as long as there is a Republican in the white house.

Having read the Bible through many times in my earlier years it always struck me that one of the major themes is the evil of human government, starting with the tower of Babel and proceeding to the wicked kings of Israel, the crucifixion of Christ, the persecution of the early Christians and even on into the book of Revelation at the end where it talks about God finally destroying all of the governments of the world.

As we get ready to go over the fiscal cliff, I give you this gem from the Bible, only wishing it was just 10 percent they were talking about....

”?So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”?

(Just had to add this: When I read that part about some "running before his chariots" it brings up the picture of the motorcade we will probably soon see with Obama riding to his coronation and secret service men running along beside")