Episode 13 - Can America Survive without Christianity? - Part 2

Aug 21, 2018

America’s Judeo-Christian heritage plays a vital role in the survival of American’s form of government.  This is because a Judeo-Christian worldview is unique in that it is a belief system that is compatible with liberal democracy that respects individual liberties while potentially impacting both the people and their leaders in a way that other belief systems—secular libertarianism, stoicism, utilitarianism—cannot.

 

But it doesn’t follow that all who hold a Judeo-Christian worldview contribute to the American republic in a positive or productive way.  What happens when those who profess a Christian faith fail to recognize the role of the believer in a free society and instead seek to use government to subvert a free society?

 

Continuing on with their discussion on the role of Christianity in America's form of government, Bob and Josh turn their attention to the state of the American church.  If John Adams was right—if only a moral and religious people are fit for the American Constitution—and if Americans are increasingly less Christian, where do we go from here?  Is it possible to find an alternative to the Judeo-Christian model that existed at the time of the founding?  And, if not, is it possible to revitalize the model of the past?

 

If religion is to play some role in our society, in what ways should it be separate from the church and the state?  Should Christians seek to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to this earth, using government as a tool to do so?  Or does Christianity and Christian beliefs have no place in the public square?  Would we be better off with a monument to the Ten Commandments on every government building?  Or do many of our fights over the separation of the church and state represent a distraction from the things that matter most?