A Question for Obama Concerning Our Christian Nation, America As a "Cut Flower" Civilization, and a Question About the 10 Commandments In Schools

Welcome to The Think Institute’s Newsletter. We took a week off last Friday, but we are back with more intriguing quotes and insights to help you understand, apply, and defend the truth of the Christian worldview. Today we are zeroing in on the theme of Christianity’s influence on America and Western Civilization. This was the topic of a recent Meetup we held at Bureau Gravity in Aurora, Illinois. I’ll give you more info on how you can come out to the next one at the bottom of this email. And hey, if you enjoy these newsletters and the work we do, I would love to chat with you about prayer and financial support of The Think Institute. Simply reply “Partner” to this email, and I’ll reach out to you. Now, let’s get into your newsletter for this week.

AN IDEA FROM ME

On June 28, 2006, then-Senator Barack Obama said these words: “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation—at least not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.”

With that statement he implied that a Christian nation is one in which everyone is a Christian (and now that many Americans belong to other religions and no religion, the term “Christian nation” no longer applies.)

But if being a “Christian nation” means not having any adherents of other faiths—or no faith—then we have never been a truly Christian nation. But then, how do we make sense of his statement that we are “no longer” one? 

Alright, I get it—he was campaigning, and he was playing fast and loose with history. 

But it brings up a big question: what does it mean to be a Christian nation? And whatever it means, should the United States be one?

—You can hear my reasoning for why America should be a Christian nation on this debate stream: “Should America Be a Christian Nation? | Debate” https://youtu.be/70eGKlyIVIg?si=On9jWk4YRvkyF3lV 

A QUOTE FROM SOMEBODY ELSE

“Quaker theologian D. Elton Trueblood once described America as a ‘cut flower civilization.’ Our culture, he argued, is cut off from its Christian roots like a flower cut at the stem. Though the flower will hold its beauty for a time, it is destined to wither and die. When Trueblood spoke those words… the flower could still be seen with some color and signs of life. But the blossom has long since lost its vitality, and it is time for the fallen petals to be acknowledged.” 

—R. Albert Mohler

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

In 2024, Louisiana required public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. What do you think of this move?

Reply to this email within seven days, and I will write you back. 

In Christ, 

Joel Settecase

President, The Think Institute

P. S. Men, come to a theology meetup! Get more information here: https://meetup.com/thethinkinstitute.