The Role of The Bible within the Moral Make-Up of the American Society
It seems evident that each nation during history has chosen a whole set of values and moral ideals that they founded their society and social institutions on. The background to the first steps made in a country's life was never of neutral origin. In America's case, the ethical system that...
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| Dokumentumtípus: | Szakdolgozat |
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1999
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| Online Access: | http://diploma.bibl.u-szeged.hu/77171 |
| Tartalmi kivonat: | It seems evident that each nation during history has chosen a whole set of values and moral ideals that they founded their society and social institutions on. The background to the first steps made in a country's life was never of neutral origin. In America's case, the ethical system that was adopted rested on a moral order derived from the Bible of the Christian faith. The Founding Fathers and the early settlers in the New World started a Christian Commonwealth, whose laws and ordinances were centered around biblical principles. It was also under these circumstances that the first charters of the colonies, state constitutions and other governing papers were constructed, all of which is testifying about a strong belief in the God of the Bible. However, this belief later started to have been taken for granted, as the document of the American Constitution shows, lacking almost all direct references to God, who was believed to have been the very provider of all the affairs of the colonies. The Declaration of Independence, being one of the most significant and monumental document in the American history, is also a religious document, establishing all human rights as received from the Creator. Not legal papers are the only witnesses of the Christian heritage of America, though. One can find a number of official acts, holidays and habits that are still very much incorporated into American life today. Government buildings and their inscriptions are other living proofs of the faith and philosophy that was so earnestly shared among early settlers and leading minds of the nation. Nevertheless, an overview of what Americans presently believe and consider important will show us that Christian values once given heed to are seriously eroding and are ignored. Not only that, but such convictions and opinions are being exposed to public reproach and ridicule. A great majority of today's Americans keep their belief in Christianity a solely private affair. However, an ignorance and rejection of the forefathers beliefs on which the whole society was found, means a negligence of national values and heritage too. This kind of attitude cannot be defended or maintained due to an over-appreciation of American multiculturalism as the basis for excluding Judeo-Christian traditions either. |
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