CR Fallacy #1: The U.S. is a "Christian" nation.

Many people believe that the United States of America is a "Christian nation" founded on Biblical principles. Partly, this is simply the result of constant repetition of this lie by those who wish it were true. "You know it's an amazing thing -- this is a Christian country, it's founded by Christians, Christmas is one of our great celebrations. It's been a time of joy for our people for many years, and not only us, but now they're picking up Christmas in Japan, picking it up in China. It's something that has blessed the world. And if people don't like America and the traditions that made America great, let them go to Saudi Arabia, let them go to Pakistan. Yeah, they can go to the Sudan and find a wonderful Muslim holiday."--The 700 Club, Dec 23, 04. "[T]he only purpose of the First Amendment was to allow the acknowledgment of God.... [T]he very purpose of the First Amendment was to allow the acknowledgment of God." "We need to learn that God is the standard, and God was the standard for law in our country, and we need to acknowledge that and then all of these other things would follow." "All of our forefathers knew that the event was in the hand of God, and the Constitution was about the acknowledgement of God." --Roy Moore, suspended Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice. "This whole nation was founded as one nation under God."--Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), speaking at the "Road To Victory" convention.
There are scores of further examples (these came from the good folks at The Humanist Society of Gainesville, http://www.gainesvillehumanists.org/index.html), but that gives you an idea of how dearly some people hold onto this utter fallacy. Yet, when we look at the facts, the argument holds no water whatsoever. The United States was founded on humanist principles put forth by philosophers and other thinkers over the two centuries before the Declaration of Independence, including people like Nietzsche, Kant, and especially David Hume and John Locke. The Constitution contains no reference to God (other than the date, ie, "year of our Lord") and its references to religion are the First Amendment and Article VI which states that religion shall not be a test for public office. The supreme authority in American government is the electorate, not God or any representative of God.
Several of the 'founding fathers' were Deists, not Christians. Deists believe(d) in a Creative Force that set the laws of the universe into motion and took no further interest in the affair; a far cry from the common interventions (including sacrificing a son) that characterize Christianity. This belief also coincides with the intention to make people as responsible for their own affairs as possible, not subject to a God-like monarch or theocrat dictating to the nation.
Under George Washington's presidency, the U.S. signed a treaty with Tripoli (an Islamic state) that verified in writing that "the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." Either George Washington was lying (which would not make him a very good Christian) or Pat Robertson is wrong.
In the Federalist Papers that many conservatives love to quote there is no mention of God at all and only one mention of religion. The Federalist #69, by Alexander Hamilton states, "The one has no particle of spiritual jurisdiction (speaking of the president); the other is the supreme head and Governor of the national church (speaking of the English king)!" Here he is pointing out one of the most favorable differences between the (at the time) proposed government and the one they had thrown off.
One argument that some people throw out in support of the "Christian nation" theory is that many of our laws and values come from Christianity or the Bible. There are only three of the vaunted Ten Commandments that are currently on our lawbooks: 1. Thou shalt not kill. That can hardly be given as evidence since many cultures with no exposure to Judaism or Christianity have figured out that murder is a bad thing. 2. Thou shalt not bear false witness (referring to giving false testimony in court). Again, hardly evidence of anything. Our court system does not work correctly when people are willing to lie about evidence. Of course, often it doesn't work anyway, but perjury undermines any chance whatsoever. 3. Thou shalt not steal. This one is pretty self-explanatory as well. Most cultures that recognize personal property have some injuction against stealing it. Correlation is not proof of causation. Any scientist can tell you that. Just because A and C occur together, does not mean one causes the other. Many of the moral values espoused by Christians may also be adopted by moral non-Christians.

Please see The Humanist Society of Gainesville for more myths and counter-proofs.

What the "Christian Right" believes and why they're wrong!

I was going to post this on my other blog, but it is more political than religious and I don't want to mix the two quite that thoroughly. This is actually the first of a series of posts. I plan to list a number of the fallacies I see in the political and social views of the Christian Right and treat each individual fallacy with its own post. Henceforth, each one of these posts will be labeled as CR Fallacy #1, CR Fallacy #2, and so on. That way, if the topic offends you or you are simply not interested (I cannot imagine why anyone wouldn't be!), then you can skip right by those posts and get directly to the subjects you actually care about (if any). Please feel free to leave comments, but try to be fairly objective and intellectually honest whether you agree or disagree. While my interpretation of the facts may differ greatly from yours (and that is fine), I certainly do not want to be guilty of spreading lies; if a 'fact' I have posted in support of my opinion is demonstrably incorrect, please let me know and include the proof, even if it is a reference or link to a web site. However, while I am open to your opinion even if it is different from mine, please refrain from stating illogical or obtuse arguments as proven facts in your disagreement. Now that I have completely bored you all...back to the subject!
There are a number of beliefs held by the 'Christian Right' that I find absolutely indefensible in a logical and reasonable debate. I put the term in quotes because, while many assume the movement to be some sort of organized conspiracy, the Christian Right is actually a very loose confederation of groups and individuals, many of who disagree with one another nearly as much as they disagree with anyone else. Some of these ideas are very wide-spread throughout the movement and some are held only by certain factions or groups. You may even find Christian conservatives who disagree with a number of the beliefs I outline here. You will, however, discover that a great many of these beliefs are held by a majority of those who would identify with the term, "the Christian Right." And they are wrong.

CR Fallacy # 1: The United States of America is a "Christian" nation, founded on Biblical principles by devout followers of Christ.

CR Fallacy #2: Homosexuals are evil people & damned to burn in Hell for eternity.

CR Fallacy #3: Abortion is an abominable sin.

CR Fallacy #4: Diseases (and other disasters) are God's punishment on a sinful people.

CR Fallacy #5: Women should be subordinate to men.

CR Fallacy #6: Evil in the world is a result of, or controlled by, Satan/Lucifer.

I will attempt to expose these lies in a methodical, logical, and consistent manner. First I will quote proof of the belief in the movement. Then, I will argue several points to the contrary. In some cases I will end with quotes from great thinkers in support of my position (since I am not known as a great thinker myself for some reason) and in some cases I will even give Biblical and other religiously based support, even though I realize that many of my readers do not accept the Bible or any other religious text as final proof of anything. I hope you find this series intellectually stimulating and informative. Watch for CR Fallacy #1!