Does anyone find it peculiar that God-fearing Christians founded America?

Question

We all know the history. Kill off the Natives by giving them small pox-infested blankets, steal their land, go get slaves from Africa, separate them from their families, culture, language and everything they know and through fear and ignorance, force them to build our nation. Why would anyone want to follow a religion taught to us by such horrible people?

Answer 1

Not me.

Answer 2

1. Early Christian settlers of America may have considered themselves believers but weren't good Christians. The Bible does not condone slave-holding, land-stealing, or genocide, but the opposite actually. If you disagree, I invite you to quote for me a verse that says otherwise.

You'll find modern Christians who commit adultery, lie, steal, etc., but the Bible does not teach any of those things. The fault lies with the person, not the religion. Christianity also teaches that human beings are inherently sinful and cannot be perfect. So a Christian will freely tell you that they have broken God's commandments and violated the teachings. The difference is that since they have accepted Jesus Christ in their heart, if they genuinely repeant of their sin, God will be faithful and just to forgive them. (This doesn't exempt them from judicial proceedings. For instance, a Christian murders a man genuinely seeks forgiveness from God and is forgiven, but he still has to face trial and jail time).

Additionally, it was Christians who largely organized the abolition movement to end slavery. It was Christians who also organized so many charity and aid organizations throughout the history of America.

2. We obviously do not know "the history." Killing innocent natives was the exception, not the rule. A majority of land was purchased peacefully from the Indians. The same holds true with disease. You must understand that a majority of Americans at that time weren't educated on how diseases were transmitted. Many believed they were spread by evil demons. Was there a mass movement to deliberately give small-pox infected blankets to Native Americans? I don't think so. So please don't take isolated incidents as "evidence" against everyone.

3. "Why would anyone want to follow a religion taught to us by such horrible people?"

...umm, because these horrible people weren't teachers of the religion? The only teacher is Jesus Christ. I invite you to read the Bible (the New International Version (NIV) is an easy to understand translation, start in the Book of John in the New Testament if you never read the Bible before).

I also invite you to examine history more closely.

Answer 3

While I don't necessarily have the highest of respect for these kinds of actions ... many of the things you describe were accepted or practiced in general before modern times.

As an example, slavery is not something unique to Colonial America ... and in fact, the slaves brought to the Americas were purchased from other African tribes. Slavery was a very common practice before the founding of The United States of America. While we might look back upon this time now and think of how wrong it was to do such a thing ... had we lived during the time period we might view the situation differently.

Certainly there will be some things about contemporary culture that, in 100 or 200 years, our ancestors will look down upon and wonder how we could be so barbaric.

Answer 4

People often make the mistake of comparing Christians of centuries ago with or current morals. No group of people from that time would look good by today's standards. To be honest, if that interest you, one needs to looks at christians of that time and compare their behavior to non-christians of that same time. I f you do then you will see that christianity has caused huge improvements to every society that has converted to it. Additionally even people who have not adopted Christianity have benefited because they have been treated better by Christians than by nonchristians.

I find it interesting that many non-Christians sat that our nation was founded by Christians or on Christian principles, when they recall they sins of those people. Then they often turn right around and claim that our nation was founded on secular principles. It must be one or the other. It cannot be both.
Also in order to decide whether or not this nation was founded on Christian principles. You would have to know what Christian principles are. Anyone who makes a claim on this, with out knowing those principles is obviously just repeating ignorance.

To those who think that our founders were mostly deist, you need to learn history. About 3/4 of the signers of the Declaration of independence had gone through seminaries. that's pretty odd behavior for guys that supposedly were deist. Try getting your info from a neutral source to be objective.

Answer 5

First off If you can find ONE mention of a person on the Mayflower who INTENTIONALLY gave smallpox invested blankets to natives or who went back to Africa to get slaves then show it to me?
Second Most of the people who CLAIM christianity were really in it for money and USED Christianity as Carte Blanche but that didn't mean they were following Christ. There were also a lot of people who FOUNDED this country from other faiths I dont see you blaming them for those troubles. (that is why the Original Bill of Rights had that seperation of church and state thingy in it)

Answer 6

Let me educate you! First when the first white men arrived in North American it was estimated that there were over 500 wars going on between the native Indian's. One of the tribes in Mass...was well known for their torture of enemies. The practice they used was to eat the children of their enemies in front of the conquered tribe..these people were brutal to say the least. Liberals hate to tell us the truth about this because they love to BASH American on anything and everything they can think of..because they hate capitalism and obviously themselves.
The American Indian's were not the happy go lucky people the liberals love to say they were.

The fact is they were just like all of mankind..at time we all can be awful, horrible, evil, and yes even the Indian, the white man, the black man, the red man, the European...EVERYONE, we are all human and capable of incredible love and at time incredible hatred and evil

Answer 7

THE Contract to raise-up this Land for GOD ALMIGHTY was between GOD and the Pilgram's. They were Friend's to the Indian's. Now what happened when everybody else came over here, is another story. HEY, what happened to those People who dissapeared down in North Carolina, near the Ocean. Something about a Name being Carved on a Tree, they were never found---Interesting---- Ditto......

Answer 8

Wait, I thought America wasn't founded by God fearing Christians. Are you admitting something here? And, anyway...are you sure ALL God-fearing Christians were responsible for the atrocities you mention? Or, do you just hate Christians? It sure would be interesting to find this out.

Answer 9

The Founding Fathers who wrote the American Declaration of Independence didn't exactly support those acts. Some of them inherated slaves, and as they became educated they realized that it was wrong.

It was even worse to just vanquish the slaves out into to a world that they had no ties or history to and didn't like what they knew of so far. Some Founders allowed them to stay on as workers under their own supervision.

It probably wasn't until another 3 generations, or so, that the level of virtue began to wane in lieu of the convenience of wealth and power.

By this time, the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" and the other inherent, Divine, inalienable rights of the Founding Principles of American Freedom were slipping in meaning and definition from the minds of Americans.

Government found more lofty ambitions and no longer felt it necessary to express the founding principles. They no longer secure the inalienable rights of the people as mandated by the American Declaration of Independence. (To this day)

Regarding the Founders and slavery, Thomas Jefferson presented anti-slavery legislation in Virginia before he was even appointed to represent his state in congress. Thumbed down.

He was the first American to write anti-slavery legislation. It was thumbed down by the Southern Aristocrats who had an entire economy built around slavery.

Had Jefferson had his way, slavery would have ended by 1800. As it was, he wrote anti-slavery articles into the annexation of the Virginia Territories, which included all the land from Virginia to the area of Minnesota. It was not legal to conduct or perform in any slave related activity.

He also wrote anti-slavery legislation into the annexation of the Louisiana Purchase which ended up being in effect all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

By 1800, 7 of the original 13 States had abolished slavery.

During the signing of the Constitution, one of the commitments made by the representatives of the Southern states was to abolish slavery and develop another form of economy, within 20 years, (1808). Not!

Christianity had its problems centuries before any of this took place. The Roman Church and its Christian armies destroyed anyone and anything, (including burning the Great library of Alexandria, Egypt, 850,000 ancient manuscripts), that thought differently than the Roman Church, for centuries. Records show that over 100,000,000 people were executed by this religion for their beliefs.

What ended up going on in America was of course not justified but was right in line, perhaps a little reserved, compared with the history of the Roman Church. Today, humankind is plagued by a priesthood that simply sets an example for gay and heterosexual child molesters and rapists, so as we know.

People who abide by and convey the meanings and definitions of what the Founding Fathers called the "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God", are far to virtuous to make victims of the innocent, they don't think in those terms.

If one doesn't abide by and express the "Laws of Nature's God" then who do they serve? Particularly, church and state. God did not create evil. Evil acts exist in the absence of expressing Godly ones. Morality means to, make no victims. Transgressing these Divine Laws/Rights assurs suffering both individually and globally.

Answer 10

Feel free to go to the country of your ancestry. Whether it be England or Africa. They were not true Christians, if you read the bible you would know that they obviously did not follow the plan of Christ to love each other. Christ taught that all of us are equal in the eyes of God. Alot of disbelievers have done many atrocities, yet you are following their train of thought.

Answer 11

Well in fairness our nation wasn't founded on Christian principles, though indeed most if not all of the founding fathers were Christian.

Take a look at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Not one mention of God or Jesus.

The Declaration alludes to rights being endowed by a "Creator" but not by "God" or Jesus, etc.