To begin with, I should mention that Americans seem to lose their tempers. The whole segregation circulates at a high speed. People even take it for granted, thinking it is a way of sorting people into perfect and insignificant kinds. What are the features of our difference? Taking into account the color of people’s skin and their origination, of course, we cannot, but admit the religion we confess. As we know, the United States seems to be many-colored and shady with different peculiarities of taste and compatibility.
Bill McKibben in his essay “The Christian paradox: How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong” points out that many Americans are deeply inclined to think that they are the real believers without even knowing The Commandments and the authors of Gospels. Why are there so many treatments of The Holy Bible lagging out of its context? The motivation of such people is to argue for their interests:
The more troubling explanation for this disconnect between belief and action, I think, is that most Americans—which means most believers—have replaced the Christianity of the Bible, with its call for deep sharing and personal sacrifice, with a competing creed. (Bill McKibben 37)
We hurt our faith with such steps because there is nothing worse than when people do not know something and are trying to explain it anyhow. We need strong and clear objectives in discussing our life position. If there are any refusals as to the right interpreting of the affairs we do, we should refer to the public opinion based usually on moral fundamentals. However, we are constantly trying “to get Jesus wrong”.
Professor Diana Eck in her book “A New Religious America” tries to find out and learn the cultural and religious diversity of the United States. One of the chapters in the book “Afraid of Ourselves”, bears in mind the idea of today’s America, it’s standing on the verge of disaster. We stop realizing the power of our country as a bearer of great potential. First, it concerns the human resources, religious and cultural variety. D. Eck notes: “The “we, the people” of the United States of America has become so much more complex, richly so. But most of us don’t realize it.” (Diana Eck 24)
She figures out the need for Americans not to go so far in discussing their belonging to a definite religious group but to listen to one another: “Christians and Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and Sikhs and people of no faith but of deep concern for humanity should listen to each other.”(Diana Eck 25)
The other objective of America’s regeneration is to stave extremist ideas off. Sam Harris, one of the public figures according to this problem, criticizes the so-called “moderation of faith”, which is stimulated by thoughts of other people undertaking to make people’s life better and easier. In his “The Reason of Exile” he notes:
Religious moderation is the product of secular knowledge and scripture ignorance… The doors leading out of scriptural literalism do not open from the inside. The moderation we see among non-fundamentalists is not some sign that faith itself has evolved; it is, rather, the product of the many hammer blows of modernity that have exposed certain tenets of faith to doubt. (Sam Harris 2)
He also combines the real forces of our nature to ignore the bad sides of a man’s nature. Among them are greed, hatred, jealousy, and fear. Is our faith dead? Will it be so in the future? The answer is near the global interpretation of humanity and love as they are, without any odd words.
At the very beginning of the US foundation, our predecessors’ first wish and the intention was to build churches. I mean, that from that time we ought to lend our ear to The Holy Bible, as one of the Universal Scriptures, and Jesus Christ, as the personification of Love. In his mountain sermon, he says revolutionary words for present people as well as for America:
- “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
- “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
- “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
- “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
- “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (The Gospel According to Matthew 5:3-10)
Realizing the atmosphere of the growing total threat of democratic fundamentals destruction Americans should pay special attention to what Jesus said. If only remembering above mentioned basic principles notwithstanding, we can accumulate the power to love, forgive and appreciate those who distinguish themselves in religion.
To sum up the main ideas, we should remember the truth of Love that comes from above and leads to the prosperity of every nation which takes it. Let us generate this power in the United States, which possibly maybe not be forgotten by the Highest Power.
At last, keep in mind the words: “God helps those who help themselves.”
Works Cited
Cited, Not. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Revised Standard Version. Rev. ed. Toronto: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1952.
The Best Spiritual Writing 2002, Philip Zaleski, Harper Collins, 2002.
A good war is hard to find: the art of violence in America David Griffith, Soft Skull Press, 2006.
Reason in Exile, The Nature of Belief excerpted from the book The End of Faith, Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, Sam Harris, WW Norton, 2004.
“Afraid of Ourselves”, A New Religious America, Diana L. Eck.
“The Christian Paradox: How A Faithful Nation Gets Jesus Wrong” , Bill McKibben Christian life, 2005.