America and the teachings of Jesus | Guest Column
When I was in seminary, there was a frequent question asked: “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” The question that followed was: “What kind of evidence would demonstrate that you were a Christian?”
The only answer that made sense to us was that you were actually doing/living the teachings of Jesus to, with, for and on behalf of others. Because doing/living the teachings of Jesus is the essential and primary demonstration of being a Christian. When you pay close attention to the teachings of Jesus, it becomes quite clear that what you do in how you live connected to others is what he taught and expected us to do. It wasn’t just some theological teaching of a mostly philosophical perspective, it had specific applications of daily living with others.
Whether it was the Good Samaritan — at that time a hated, despised, thought to be heretical person — who is the only one, though not one of the supposed faithful folks, who cares for the beaten and robbed person; or whether it was the widow who gave all she had to give to help others; or whether it was feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing those with no clothes, visiting those sick and in prison; or whether it was if you want to be the one who serves others; or whether it was doing for others as you want them to do for you — the constant and consistent emphasis was on what you do/live to, with, for and on behalf of others.
So, if one asks if America is a Christian nation, the only worthwhile answer is: “Only if it is doing/living the teachings of Jesus to, with, for and on behalf of others. It is completely and totally irrelevant that 65% of Americans claim they are Christian if there is not enough evidence to demonstrate the validity of their claim for whatever percentage of them — if there is not the actual, observable doing/living the teachings of Jesus with others (and surely there is some).
If you do not love others because of their beliefs — like Jews (after all Jesus was a Jew), or Muslims, or Buddhists, or atheists, or others of other faiths — that is not doing/living the teachings of Jesus with those others, who even used that hated Samaritan as the example of the best way to do and live with someone in need, who used an overwhelmingly hated Roman Centurion as a better example of faith than he had found in Israel.
If you believe or think racist ideas, or act toward others based on them, that is not doing/living the teachings of Jesus. If you believe or think any form of abuse is acceptable then you are not doing/living the teachings of Jesus.
If you wave the American flag in nationalistic fervor at war with other peoples, or as some symbol against people who do not agree with you, or even fail to realize that having one in a church sanctuary is an affront to doing/living the teachings of Jesus, because Jesus never once spoke of what it meant to be a Christian nation, then you are not doing/living the teachings of Jesus. Jesus never once asked anyone to kill or be killed on his or God’s behalf, so if you do claim that is acceptable then you are not doing/living the teachings of Jesus.
If you claim that socialism, Marxism or communism is the scourge of America, when there are no actual, factual socialist Marxist, or communist policies or programs in America — because socialism advocates that the means of production, of distribution, and exchange should be owned by the government, which does not happen anywhere in America — such distorted claims do not demonstrate doing/living the teachings of Jesus.
If you use such claims as a “bogey” man/scapegoat to cause people fear, then you are not doing/living the teachings of Jesus. If you claim the “left” is totally socialist and thinks it is the savior of the country when that is not the factual reality, then you are not doing/living the teachings of Jesus — who, by the way, gave out free healthcare, and spoke of feeding the hungry and all the rest of that passage, which is precisely what those who advocate for social programs that help the poor, the needy, the children and the mistreated seek to do — just as Jesus did.
America is not a Christian nation and will not ever be until and unless it begins doing/living the teachings of Jesus to, with, for and on behalf of others.
Rodney Noel Saunders is a Florissant resident and a retired United Methodist pastor.
Rodney Noel Saunders