Tomorrow’s World: America No Longer a Christian Nation? But Was It Ever?

America No Longer a Christian Nation? But Was It Ever?

By Tomorrow’s World News Bureau

“The Christian God isn’t dead. But he’s less of a force in U.S. politics and culture than at any time in recent memory.” So said a Newsweek magazine article (“The Decline and Fall of Christian America,” April 13, 2009).

The article went on to explain, “The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades.… The right longed to engineer a return to a fabled Christian America of yore. For now, that project has failed.” In 1990, 86 percent of Americans claimed to identify with some form of “Christian” belief, but that figure has dropped to 76 percent according to the American Religious Identification Survey. A full 15 percent of the U.S. population claims no religious affiliation at all.

It is no wonder that so many are losing their faith, when that faith was based on superstition and sentiment, rather than on the sound and provable truths of Scripture. Yes, Scripture! Although the Bible remains the best-selling book in the Western world, it is the most misunderstood, misinterpreted and unread volume ever written. So it is natural to wonder: what does the Bible say about this problem? Just what is a Christian, anyway?

Notice these words of Jesus Christ: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you… the Spirit of truth” (John 14:15-17). A true Christian will keep the Ten Commandments, aided by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This includes the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Why? “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (v. 11).

What does it mean to “hallow” the Sabbath? “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 58:13-14).

How many of America’s professing Christians “hallow” their day of worship in the way Isaiah describes? After an hour of worship (or in many cases no worship at all), most devote the rest of the day to sports, business, or other personal pleasures.

Most shockingly, the vast majority who profess to be Christians have been deceived into believing that the first day—the Day of the Sun—is the proper day of worship! Because a false religious authority centuries ago presumed to “change” the command God gave—and Jesus and His disciples faithfully observed, setting the example for future Christians—billions have lost touch with this vital instruction from God. Remember, it is no small thing to reject God’s commandments in favor of the traditions of men. As Jesus warned: “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19).

Can America call itself a “Christian” nation when the vast majority of its citizens have rejected Christ’s words and example? If you are a true Christian, you will want to follow Him, to receive the many blessings He has promised. Read our booklets Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath? and What Is a True Christian? to learn more about true Christianity. Even if you live in a God-rejecting nation, you can individually go against the trend and experience the abundance He wants you to have (John 10:10).

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