One of the lies I was told as a child was that America was founded on Christianity and a Christian Nation. How can I call this a lie? I can call it a deception due to the study of what “Christian”means to God and was Jesus stated would mark the life of His disciples. Christian is supposed to mean-imitator of the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. What America was founded upon does not mirror the heart, spirit, or nature of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus stated you would know His disciples by their agape love-unselfish/sacrificial love. He stated you would know a tree by the fruit it bears. Meaning you will know the heart of a person and their character by their actions.

America was founded on stealing land from Indigenous persons and Mexicans in the west. Genocide occured here so that white men could establish their “kingdom.” There was brutality that occurred, murder, displacing of human beings who were not considered “white.” Research the Trail of Tears and Indian Boarding Schools (includes Canada’s history). Indigenous children were stripped from their families and many sexually assaulted. Aside from murdering, stealing from, raping, molesting children, and forced bondage on Indigenous persons…America participated in the human trafficking of African people. For over 400 years the United States of America brutalized, exploited, raped, and murdered black people. They built wealth off of free labor and even set up breeding farms to force black women into having countless children for free labor. Even after much revolt and a Civil War, America moved into Jim Crow. Setting up unjust systems to keep black persons from advancing in society. I have not even touched on the treatment of the Chinese and the rail roads and the interference in other countries affairs that led them into poverty.

None of these actions imitate Jesus of Nazareth. They were part of an empire called “white supremacy.” There is a form of Christianity that has nothing to do with Jesus other than putting forth a false image of piety while living opposite of the teachings of Jesus. It’s anti-Christ (in place of Christ). People bow before it, and worship a false blond haired and blue eyed Jesus who never existed. People pledge their allegiance to an idol that has nothing to do with Jesus. People scream they are Patriots of a system that has oppressed and murdered millions of people. It’s not Jesus of Nazareth.

The founding fathers of America, when they spoke of religious freedom, political freedom, and life/liberty/justice for all. They were speaking about those rights existing for white men only. They were not interested in equal rights for women, Indigenous persons (whose land they stole), black/African people, or anyone who do not belong to their “white male group.” That is not the character of Jesus. Jesus was not European. He was not a white man. He would have been considered an immigrant. The same “God” people think America was founded upon would not have had rights in America. He would have been treated horribly.

Hanging the ten commandments in our buildings and praying in school is meaningless if those same people go out and murder black people for sport, deny other humans their rights to choose, and it involves oppressing people to maintain power. It is what Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Outwardly you are pious, yet inside you are depraved. You are white washed tombs. You are blind guides and children of the devil.”

I have encountered two types of “Christians” in my lifetime. There are those fully devoted to Jesus and they seek to do the will of God. Then there are those who are in love with their religion/church/denomination/political party/ the power they can hold over people by using God’s name in vain. They do not bear the fruit (character) of Jesus. They can be brutal, controlling, manipulative, and the desire is to force people into their belief system rather than to live a life of a good witness. They are the poster children for hypocrisy. They speak of God they do not imitate.

Stating someone or something is a Christian does not mean it belongs to Jesus nor that it’s imitating Jesus. Jesus did not steal, murder, rape, commit genocide, promote violence of those deemed other. Jesus was not a white supremacist. Jesus did not bully people into compliance. Jesus did not use politics to force people into His way of life. Jesus did not oppress women. Jesus was not racist. Jesus was not abusive nor oppressive. Jesus was a thorn in the flesh of the politicized religious of His day. He called them out as belonging to the evil one and not His father.

My prayer is not that America turns back to who she was in former seasons. My prayer is America turns to Jesus for the first time. I pray America repents of her sins and knows Jesus for the first time. My prayer is people seek Jesus, know the real Jesus of Nazareth, and this country has a genuine revival that leads people to Jesus-not America’s version of Christianity.

The greatest commandment was and is to love God and then to love our neighbor as ourselves. I will say I have met an abundance of Christians who have religion and they are void of the love of Jesus. They are more into their political ideology and worship of America than they are obeying Jesus of Nazareth. I say this strongly and it’s written in the word of God, “No idolater has a place in the Kingom of Heaven,” those who love America, their political party, their church, their pastor or Pope more than God shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Jesus stated, “If you love your mother or father or sister of brother more than me, you are not worthy to be my disciple.”

My encouragement is seek, know, and follow Jesus!

Erin