Religious pet peeve 33d: "this nation founded on Judeo-Christian Principles" -- NOT!
I heard this again today. The famous phrase is just partly correct, mostly misleading.
America is famous for it's liberty, it's democracy, it's constitution--the first constitution since Ancient Greece. Everyone has them now. The ancient Greeks wrote bunches on it, and democracy. Hundreds of years before Jesus. You won't see any of this in the Bible.
Jesus makes just one, rather obscure, comment on politics in the entire New Testament. (unlike our buddy, Muhammad, in his book).
The Romans refined many of these institutions of reason and goverment. It was the influence of Cicero on John of Salisbury and Thomas Aquinas that helped those fathers of the church argue to keep reason and logic in it. And here's some words for ya of Latin/Roman origins: constitution, federal, republic, representative, vote, president, magistrate, congress, veto, quorum and statute..... So I'd say "Greco-Roman Judeo-Christian"
The theme of individual salvation helped idea of individual rights along, but mostly insofar as it didn't kill it like happens in most theocracies.
And what of the science that informs nearly every movement we make every day, from our gadgets, health---to the very air we breathe. Again, that's from Ancient Greece and we give thanks to the historical Christians just for not squashing it to death (tho many tried).
Our Founding Fathers were really children of Enlightenment rationalism, and thus everything they saw---including religion---was through the lens of man?s reason.
but what's this "Judeo" part? It was hardly mentioned in this context until the last century. Few Jews were among the Founding Fathers or the thinkers they consulted. You could argue that it's a bow to the influence of the Old Testament on Christianity, but as outlined above, Christianity's influence isn't as large as others to our founding, and most Christians I know don't pay nearly the attention to the OT as the NT (and nearly ignore the Greek language the NT was originally written in, those damn pesky Greeks again, but that's a pet peeve for another day).
"Greco-Roman Christian"
but not just any Christian. Thank goodness we were not founded by the Catholic variety of the day. How many of those Catholic colonies turned out well? Argentina, Chile, Brazil, or Mexico? Argentina had the same standard of living as us not that long ago. Many thought 230 years ago Brazil would turn out better than the 13 colonies due to it's better natural resources, climate and trading partners. Adam Smith rightly predicted why that was wrong.
Look at the British Protestant colonies: the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. And by the way, the first and most influential colonists in USA were the commercial and gambling ones in Virginia, not those Puritans we hear so much about (but that's yet another pet peeve for another day)
"this nation is founded on Greco-Roman Protestant Principles"
but why even Protestant? By definition those Christians are ultimately unconcerned with earthly existence. Their focus is on another world attainable through salvation and death. Jesus certainly never spoke of wanting a Christian Nation-state, taking credit for USA is something I doubt He'd want---His focus is clearly elsewhere. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is a whole concept of bettering our life here on earth, you don't see that in His stuff (but yes, in some of His "followers").
So I think even the "Protestant" in "Greco-Roman Protestant Principles" is arguable, but definitely should be mentioned least and last.
I heard this again today. The famous phrase is just partly correct, mostly misleading.
America is famous for it's liberty, it's democracy, it's constitution--the first constitution since Ancient Greece. Everyone has them now. The ancient Greeks wrote bunches on it, and democracy. Hundreds of years before Jesus. You won't see any of this in the Bible.
Jesus makes just one, rather obscure, comment on politics in the entire New Testament. (unlike our buddy, Muhammad, in his book).
The Romans refined many of these institutions of reason and goverment. It was the influence of Cicero on John of Salisbury and Thomas Aquinas that helped those fathers of the church argue to keep reason and logic in it. And here's some words for ya of Latin/Roman origins: constitution, federal, republic, representative, vote, president, magistrate, congress, veto, quorum and statute..... So I'd say "Greco-Roman Judeo-Christian"
The theme of individual salvation helped idea of individual rights along, but mostly insofar as it didn't kill it like happens in most theocracies.
And what of the science that informs nearly every movement we make every day, from our gadgets, health---to the very air we breathe. Again, that's from Ancient Greece and we give thanks to the historical Christians just for not squashing it to death (tho many tried).
Our Founding Fathers were really children of Enlightenment rationalism, and thus everything they saw---including religion---was through the lens of man?s reason.
but what's this "Judeo" part? It was hardly mentioned in this context until the last century. Few Jews were among the Founding Fathers or the thinkers they consulted. You could argue that it's a bow to the influence of the Old Testament on Christianity, but as outlined above, Christianity's influence isn't as large as others to our founding, and most Christians I know don't pay nearly the attention to the OT as the NT (and nearly ignore the Greek language the NT was originally written in, those damn pesky Greeks again, but that's a pet peeve for another day).
"Greco-Roman Christian"
but not just any Christian. Thank goodness we were not founded by the Catholic variety of the day. How many of those Catholic colonies turned out well? Argentina, Chile, Brazil, or Mexico? Argentina had the same standard of living as us not that long ago. Many thought 230 years ago Brazil would turn out better than the 13 colonies due to it's better natural resources, climate and trading partners. Adam Smith rightly predicted why that was wrong.
Look at the British Protestant colonies: the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc. And by the way, the first and most influential colonists in USA were the commercial and gambling ones in Virginia, not those Puritans we hear so much about (but that's yet another pet peeve for another day)
"this nation is founded on Greco-Roman Protestant Principles"
but why even Protestant? By definition those Christians are ultimately unconcerned with earthly existence. Their focus is on another world attainable through salvation and death. Jesus certainly never spoke of wanting a Christian Nation-state, taking credit for USA is something I doubt He'd want---His focus is clearly elsewhere. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is a whole concept of bettering our life here on earth, you don't see that in His stuff (but yes, in some of His "followers").
So I think even the "Protestant" in "Greco-Roman Protestant Principles" is arguable, but definitely should be mentioned least and last.
