lazarus@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Andrew J &) (08/24/86)
In article <20344@rochester.ARPA> ray@rochester.ARPA (Ray Frank) writes: >How absurd it would be for a christian living in Israel to claim that Israel >did not have a Jewish heritage simply because there were a few non-Jewish >folks living there. A few non-Jewish folks did little to nothing to shape >the culture and heritage of Israel. > As we knew all along, what you really mean by 'common religious heritage' turns out to be: nearly everyone in the 13 colonies was (in some sense) a Christian. What has escaped you is that *unlike Israel* the US Founding Fathers decided they wanted a comparatively secular state. One good reason was that the various sects which you claim as our religious heritage were always at each other's throats. As I understand it, you feel that America should be a more Christian nation -- presumably your brand of Christianity. Over time, the population of the US has become even more religiously diverse than it was in 1776. It's hard for me to believe that your vision of religion in America is what freethinkers like Jefferson had in mind. andy