Thursday, December 8, 2022

Christian Nationalism Can& May Appreciate Ancient Cultures

Marshall McLuhan[1] encouraged humans to make certain mutual words& phrases address the heart of an issue rather than a subsidiary aspect. Similarly, reliable statistical research cannot exclude dominate variables. I want to suggest that Christian Nationalism can, during Advent 2022, at University Baptist Church (UBC), focus on accepting that the-mystery-of-God survives global civility& legislation. I doubt Jesus is the-God and could be wrong. However, Christian Nationalism is a Christ argument against the-metaphysical-word-of-Jesus (MWJ). For all I know, MWJ expresses the-good human being (verb) or even good-application of physics. I do not write either as Phil Beaver’s opinion: I don’t know.

Christian Nationalism springs from 5 cultural evolutions: humankind, Sumer, Israel, Christendom, and the United States.

At the recent edge of 300,000-years’ cultural development, a fairly-well documented succession of kings in Sumer, an ancient, Mesopotamian civilization, attributed otherworldly forces to a system of Gods. Also, each city-state sponsored its champion-God. It seemed to those kings that order& prosperity in their part of their world was their nation’s sole, collective responsibility. I think it is unfortunate that no civilization improved Sumer’s responsible-human-independence (RHI).

Starting 10-thousand years ago, Sumer kings developed a civilization predicated on mankind working for order& prosperity while the Gods saw to other worlds. Each citizen could responsibly pursue the happiness they perceived rather than subjugate to someone else’s vision for them. Slaves, artisans, administrators, and royalty collaborated to constrain consequences of the-laws-of-physics, in order for Sumerians to survive if not prosper. Some citizens did not cooperate.

Successive kings developed statutory law that pursued civic-justice. “Civic” refers to practicing reliable connections& transactions between humans more than to adherence to municipal rules. Civic-Sumerians could& might pursue comprehensive-safety& security to their city-state (hereafter security). However, among dependent citizens some perceived the Gods were in control and individual contributions did not matter. Some dependents were criminals or worse.

Monotheism seems 4,000 years old; for example, an Egyptian sun god.[2] The Bible suggests that Terah, who left Mesopotamia, was born 4100 years ago[3]. He was Abraham’s father. Abraham’s first son was born 3800[4] years ago. At least 3 monotheisms are attributed to Abraham’s descendants: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Moses shared the 10 commandments perhaps 3600 years ago.[5]

What about MWJ? Jesus lived 2000 years ago. Writers controversially abstracted Jesus’ actions& expressions during 40 to 90 years after he died. Several Christian movements emerged by 1600 years ago, including Roman Catholicism, eastern Orthodoxy[6], and oriental orthodoxy[7], with early branches in Africa.[8] Protestant Orthodoxy is only 500 years old.[9] Baptist orthodoxy emerged 376 years ago. Can any sect claim to witness for Jesus? I don’t think so. Emerson thought Jesus was an insightful man whose message was forever hidden when the Church made him divine. [10]

Physics began to control development of the universe 13.7 billion years ago. MWJ seems there for future discovery. Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago. Cultural development of human being (verb) includes this sequence, in years ago:         

300,000 homo sapiens branched from other bipeds                        

                         10,000 Sumer civilization developed responsibility to their world                              

  4,000 monotheism dominated religious development

  3,600 Moses shared the 10 commandments

  2,000 Jesus lived

  1,600 Christian orthodoxies canonized

      500 Protestant orthodoxy

      376 Baptist orthodoxy

      235 the United States proffered pursuit of responsible-human-independence (RHI)

      233 Congress unconstitutionally gave itself freedom of religion despite RHI-citizens.

 

MTJ (the metaphysical word-of-Jesus) expresses, in 2022 perspective:

presence 13.7 billion years ago (John 8:58);

political philosophy (Genesis 1) refutes Moses’ law (Matthew 19:3-8);

human-leaders’ responsibility to the earth (Matthew 22:16-21);

to resist MTJ invites personal woe (Luke 9:26);

MTJ serves truth rather than kingship (John 18:37); and

responsibility impacts ourselves and our posterity (Luke 17:20-21).

Please forgive my omissions and my ignorance of what the authentic Jesus really, actually said& meant. I express opinion, because I do not know the-ineluctable[11]-truth.

Today, at the leading edge of 13.7 billion years’ physical evolution, 300,000 years’ psychological evolution, and 10,000 years’ cultural evolution, human being (verb) demands awareness of past experiences& observations. By not neglecting the-laws-of-physics, humankind plans to colonize the moon in 10 years. Yet some nations work to annihilate others, and children are being enslaved to gender change. With 2000 years since Jesus’ death, predicted second coming seems un-impactful to Genesis-1-human-duty to benefit from physics.

The United States was proposed 235 years ago and has yet to pursue the USA’s 246 year-old intentions: independence from England’s religion. The U.S. framers, in 1787, proposed a nation that pursues security, leaving spiritual or religious pursuits to privacy. Framers had observed& experienced 1400 years’ war among Christians and with others -- exacerbated 300 years before then by Protestantism. Aware of history, framers decided to create a nation that leaves motivation& inspiration to the individual. Civic-citizens collectively aid security.

Although, the United States’ intentions to develop RHI with religious privacy is proffered, Congress imposed a Protestant legislative branch, hidden as freedom-of-religion-to-Congress, in 1791. The Bill of Rights completed the constitution that was negotiated in the ratifying constitutions of 9 of 13 states, succeeding on June 21, 1788. Some states wanted Congress to feel divine like Parliament, with its 26 seats constitutionally assigned to Church-of-England-bishops.

Congress, by self-assigning freedom-of-religion, promulgated a civic-tyranny that 99% of voting inhabitants (4% of the population) did not mind, because they were Protestants. The consequence is the chaos Americans suffer this December 2022. The nation seems approaching the nadir of Protestant if not religious imposition on U.S. governance. Intentions for national religious-privacy can& may be established at last.

U.S. RHI can& may be initiated by amending the First Amendment. I suggest: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or promoting the free exercise thereof. The long-standing practice clause is, “preventing the free exercise thereof”. The extant phrase is a shockingly clear challenge to statutory-justice and demonstrates how ruinous democracy can be. The U.S. promises a republican form of government; elected representatives develop the-rule-of-law in a system that ruins democracy.

Despite all that has transpired, it seems MJW prevails: humankind can& may pursue security. Let the person who knows better take charge; they may be right. But my vote is to reform the question of Christian Nationalism to a petition to amend the First Amendment’s religious-practice clause. UBC has the intellectual power, authenticity, and civil standing to petition for statutory-justice. Delivery would be Congress’ responsibility.

Christian Nationality lessens a dominant variable to human being (verb): the-metaphysical-word-of-Jesus, which humankind can discern together.

Copyright©2022 by Phillip R. Beaver. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for the publication of all or portions of this paper as long as this complete copyright notice is included. Updated to add earth formation 4.5 billion years ago.

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