Is America a Christian nation?

I have been reading Leo Tolstoy's The Gospel In Brief, which summarizes the teachings of Jesus as follows:

To carry out the will of the Father which gives life and welfare to all men, five commandments must be obeyed:

1. Do not be angry, but live at peace with all men.

2. Do not indulge yourself in sexual gratification.

3. Do not promise anything on oath to anyone.

4. Do not resist evil, do not judge and do not go to law.

5. Make no distinction of nationality, but love foreigners as your own people.

All these commandments are contained in one: All that you wish men to do to you, do you to them.

Tolstoy then provided more detail concerning these five commandments:

1. The first commandment is to do no ill to anyone so as not to arouse anger, for evil begets evil.

2. The second commandment is not to go after women and not to desert the wife with whom you have once been joined; for desertion and change of wives causes all the world's dissoluteness.

3. The third commandment is to take no oath of any kind. A man can promise nothing, for he is altogether in the Father's power; and oaths are taken for bad purposes.

4. The fourth commandment is not to resist evil, not to condemn, and not to go to law; but to endure wrong and to do even more than people demand, for every man is full of faults and incapable of guiding others. By taking revenge, we only teach others to do the same.

5. The fifth commandment is not to discriminate between fellow-countrymen and foreigners, for all are children of one Father.

These five commandments should be observed not to win praise from men, but for your own welfare; therefore do not pray, or fast, in the sight of men.

The teaching of Jesus surprised and attracted the people by the fact that it recognized all men as free. It was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, that God's chosen one would bring light to men, would overcome evil and re-establish truth, not by violence but by gentleness, meekness, and kindness.

Now ask yourself, do Americans follow any of these commandments?

1. We are angry at just about everyone, including each other. We are at war with all, often for no stated reason.

2. Our TVs, Internet screens, and video game consoles are awash with filth, porn, and smut which have taken over our lives. We lust after everyone and everything. At least half of our marriages end in divorce.

3. All elected and appointed officials, judges, and members of the military take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the US Constitution; but it seems that to those in the highest positions of authority this oath means nothing. Even when it does, it is used as an excuse to commit thefts, tortures, and murders in the name of "national security".

4. We have made "resistance to evil" our civil religion. Our jails are crowded to overflowing with the largest prison population in the world. And we continually seek new ways to imprison people without trial and with no possibility of release.

5. Emma Lazarus' sonnet to the Statue of Liberty beckons all humanity with this promise:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Americans do not welcome the world in this manner any more. We don't think there's enough wealth to go around, and we are jealous of all the "illegals" who are taking it away from us. If we admitted that most of "our" wealth has been stolen from indigenous peoples around the world, perhaps we'd feel differently; but we choose to remain mired in our delusions. We think we're special, in spite of the fact that Jesus said not to do this.

Is America a Christian nation? Not by the standard set forth in the Gospels. And the saddest part is that your pastor, who should know better, is telling you otherwise.