Here’s my opinion: America is a nation of destiny. It has the greatest potential of any nation in the whole of human history. God has intended this country to be “the city on the hill”, one nation under God, a sovereignty under which all are equally protected, equally valued, equal participants. This philosophy of state, articulated in our country’s founding documents, acknowledges the transcendent value of all races, cultures, and ethnicities.
Furthermore, God intends our country to be the prototype for other nations to observe, appreciate and emulate. His hope is that we create a moral, ethical, civil standard that reflects His original vision of humanity: one united people, living as His sons and daughters. This unity, transcending race and ethnicity, was intended to be the example from which world unity and peace would eventually be derived.
Based on this understanding of America’s destiny, we can see that this is not to be a country for one race, or for one tribe. It is certainly no accident that, at the start of its colonial history, two distinctive tribes, the Europeans, and the Africans, both arrived on its shores. And long before them, the Native Americans had arrived, as representatives of the Asian race.
Indeed, the racial situation in this country has relevance world-wide. The racial/tribal struggles here epitomize scenarios around the globe in which various tribes have encountered each other in archetypal pairings of favored and less favored, or all too often, as oppressor and oppressed.
We must now ask ourselves this: Have we lived up to our potential to be a prototype for other lands to emulate and follow? If not, then what’s the hold up? What is prolonging the fulfillment of America’s destiny?
Do you agree that the United States had and still has the unique potential to be a prototype nation? Why or why not?
How would you describe the role of the U.S. in the context of our broader civilization?
What do you belief is causing the hold up in the U.S. fulfilling its destiny?
What is the relevance, if any, of the race/tribal issue in this country for other countries?
Please share your thoughts below.
“When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.” (Proverbs 28:2/NIV)
“When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.” (Proverbs 28:28/NIV)
When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” (Proverbs 29:2/NIV)
These passages–and numerous others–show that the realization of a nation’s destiny begins and ends with the Will of God, which is understood by properly comprehending the Word of God. Until this nation embraces the ordained “man of understanding and knowledge,” and likewise embraces with his God-centered, prophetically-uttered way of daily, national life, the “holding up” of America’s destiny will continue. That’s because the wicked will continue in power and in rulership, and the righteous and their righteousness will not be able to thrive.
Hello Curtis – Yikes, that sounds a little hopeless :-(. You are saying that no progress can be made on the painful issues of racial tension in our country unless the entire nation embraces the “ordained man of understanding and knowledge”?. Have the people of our country learned enough from Jesus and Martin Luther King do a better job than we are doing? Is it possible for an intermediate level leader or an grassroots organization to emerge that can help us make quicker forward progress towards racial integration?
Rev. Oliver, I have no answer except the weakening of the hold of Christianity and other faiths, which was the original force tempering the power of capitalistic greed. We have allowed economic interest and consumerist values to dominate our whole culture. Selfish individualism is happy to sacrifice our children, marriages, environment and national institutions for its interests.
The answer seems to lie with another religious/spiritual revival as occurred in the early years of our republic, and this requires some fresh insights and experiences to make these religions newly relevant to the contemporary mind. How? I had hoped Unificationism might have have held the potential to do this but it seems unlikely.
Very well said, Rev. Oliver. I believe Father and Mother Moon had the solution: bring together all people of faith in America to fulfill its pledge, “One Nation Under God, With Liberty and Justice For All.”
They began the work by bringing together African American Christians, which they have done very successfully for the past 30 years. Now it’s time to unite these fine folks with Christians of other cultural groups. Finally, Father and Mother Moon have also reached out to Muslim and Jewish leaders in America.
In the end, the plan is to unite all people of faith. That united group will be the hope of the future. So in this view, we do not attack the racial issues directly, but appeal to “the higher power” in all of us to bring the healing.
Thanks again for your very thoughtful conversation starter. Let the conversation begin!
In my experience, the national situation is directly personal. If we want America to fulfill its destiny, we must fulfill our own. The individual must be the nation’s conscience. Each of us must have the same heart–for every one of our countrymen, for every situation–that the greatest patriot has. And that heart must impel us to be active in building as families, as neighbors, as people of God. In America, we have no king, a leader is there for a limited time, and at the will of the people. We become “American” by ascribing to a set of ideals and beliefs. Freedom, equality, and the ability to choose one’s own path–these come not from an ethnic or cultural tradition, but from something deep and present in every human soul–and put there by God. People all long for these things, so they want to belong to a nation built on those… Read more »