"A Nation Following Whose Values?"

I saw the youtube video today of President Obama telling the Turkish people that we are a predominantly Christian nation, and also that we are not a Christian nation. Confused? I think what our President was trying to say was that while Christianity in its various forms is the dominant religion in America, it is not the official state religion. I think that is what he meant after I watched the four minute clip of this part of his speech. I also think most everyone would agree with that conclusion. As we look at our nation's history, it is abundantly clear to all that all of the Europeans who came hear to colonize considered themselves Christian. All of our nation's Founding Fathers identified with Christianity to some extant, to the exclusion of other world religions.

However, the other half of President Obama's speech puzzled me. He said, "We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values." But he never identified what those ideals or values were. Where did they come from? What belief system most heavily influenced our nation's ideals, values, laws, concepts of self-government within the framework of a Constitutional government? Buddhism? Islam? Hinduism? None of those had any impact whatsoever on the creation of our country or our values, ideals, laws.

When you actually read the foundational documents of our nation (The Mayflower Compact, The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Constitution), it is certainly clear that Christianity, more than any other belief system--most heavily influenced our nation into promoting the things we all value so highly--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to own property and to enjoy the fruits of one's own labor. To ignore those facts is to embrace "values" without a foundation and without direction.