Is the right wrong and the left right?

"Christian is a great noun, but a poor adjective."  Rob Bell

"I still have the pain. I still have the scars, but my heart is healed." Kim Phuc

"Christian" as an adjective is a mixed bag for me. One of my most pressing issues with "Christian", the adjective,  is the "Christian" right.  These are the politicians and their devotees who will tell you that America is a "Christian nation."  They lay their Bibles right on top of the American flag. They tell you that "America was founded on the Bible, on Christian principles."  They insist on posting the Ten Commandments at public government buildings, especially court houses. They get the words of the Bible all scrambled up with the words of the Constitution and make them inseparable, as if God inspired them both equally.  They work tirelessly to 'bring America back to the Bible' and , therefore, "to the America of the Founding Fathers."

The problem that this presents for me is that no amount of history seems to thwart their enthusiasm. It doesn't matter that America was founded by people fleeing religious persecution.  It doesn't seem to matter that those early colonists were escaping a totalitarian system where the government (the state), and the church were one and the same. Under that regime in Europe, if people went against the teachings of the church, they were at the same time subject to discipline by the state.  In some cases, the penalty was torture and even death. Because of all this, our founding fathers built into the fabric of America the separation of church and state. Those laws were not only to protect the church from the government, they were also enacted to protect the state from the church. The Constitution is very clear on this.

 Many on the "Christian" right believe that the "freedom of religion" clause in the first amendment to the Constitution is the freedom of the Christian religion. They honestly believe that no other religion in the United States is protected by the Constitution (because it is "founded on the Bible"). And yet, if you actually read the Constitution, the words are clear that it protects all Americans regardless of their profession, even those who profess no religion at all,

In 1972, forty-three years ago,  nine year old Kim Phuc was seeking shelter in a Vietnamese temple.  When she heard the planes overhead, she ran into the street to find shelter.  The planes rained napalm, liquid fire, on her head.  Her hair and her clothes were burning. She tore off her clothes and ran down the street naked. An Associated Press photojournalist saw the moment and instinct took over. Right after he snapped the iconic photo, he put his camera down to help her.  Many believe that this famous photo shortened the Vietnam War by several months and saved  thousands of lives.

Kim was in the hospital for over a year. She was subjected to a multitude of painful surgeries and grafts. Now, at the age of 52. she lives in Canada with her husband and children. They have created a foundation to help children scarred by war.  By her own confession, Kim is now a Christian.  She says that she became a Christian ten years after the photo at age 19. "When I became a Christian, I have a wonderful connection--the relationship between me, and Jesus, and God." Because of this relationship she was able to forgive. Forgive who? She didn't say, but I would think it was that "Christian nation" who rained fire on her head. She forgave those people who were fighting in her country for freedom, for justice, for democracy, for the Bible, for  the American way.

By her own confession, when Kim Phuc became a Christian, she embraced not a doctrine, but a relationship. Because of that relationship she was able to forgive.  Jesus said, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."  Not everyone who forgives calls themselves a Christian. But everyone who forgives demonstrates the love of Jesus.

"Christian" as an adjective is a mixed bag.  In my opinion America has never been a "Christian nation."  And never should be,. Who knows? Maybe I'm wrong about the right.  But I can read the Constitution. The way I read the first amendment  it gives every American citizen freedom of religion and freedom from religion. It authorizes no official government sponsored religion, including Christianity. If the right is not wrong about the first amendment, then regarding the Constitution of the United States, what's left?