Reformation Faith Today

Sen. John McCain said recently just that. He kicked up quite a storm of controversy with his remarks.

He was asked about a recent poll that showed 55% of the American public believes that “the Constitution establishes a Christian nation.” McCain said:

I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation. But I say that in the broadest sense. The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn’t say, ‘I only welcome Christians.’ We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles.

In response to McCain,

Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, made the most sweeping and profoundly misleading comments. Regarding the poll that provoked the McCain controversy in the first place, he noted that its results “suggest that a great many people have deeply misunderstood the Constitution. The framers clearly wanted to establish a secular nation…

Michael Medved had some very insightful comments about the outcry by folks like Haynes over Mr. McCain’s remarks. Medved said,

Like so many other commonly held convictions about the role of faith in the nation’s founding this politically correct contention isn’t just confused and unfocused; it is, rather, appallingly, demonstrably and inarguably wrong.

In order to put today’s church-state controversies into proper perspective, we must first clear-away some of the ubiquitous misinformation that pollutes are present public discourse. Honest historians and fair-minded observers will acknowledge eight undeniable and sometimes uncomfortable truths:

And Medved goes on with his eight undeniable truths. I encourage you to navigate on over to Mr. Medved’s article at Townhall.com. I believe Mr. Medved’s remarks are irrefutable. But, as with all blog posts, I enjoy the interaction with those who disagree. We often sharpen one another. So, thoughts?

By the way, I have interacted with my friend Wes (with whom I do not see eye-to-eye) on his post on the subject here.

By the way, Medved is not Christian. He is Jewish.