catocom said:
I see it simply as a guideline, to do our best to follow what we believe his path would be for us according to his teachings.
Indeed our representatives, and we the people are not perfect. Some are even
unethical, but we should always strive to do the right things.
There is quite a disagreement as to how things should be dealt with.
That's the great thing about democracy though, one person doesn't make all thew decisions.
Several people make the important decisions, though they've all got quite a lot of money behind them.
No nation is run in an ethical manner. I would put it to you that invoking God in your national motto is an insult to God if your nation fails to do everything it possibly can to operate under Christian values.
That would mean looking after the poor and the needy first and foremost, outlawing execution and abortion. It would also mean taking a pacificist approach to confrontation at all times and removing the accumulation of wealth and possessions as the purpose of life from society.
It would mean lifting unfair aid/trade agreements with third world nations, ending the international arms trade and ending unfathomable other un-Christian activities that the world economy revolves around.
It's simply not concievable in the modern world to run a country with Christian values. Then again, it's not supposed to be easy. Eternal life, closeness to God is the reward for suffering on Earth, supposedly, so if it were simple then everyone would be doing it.
I do believe that Jesus Christ did give us the basis in His words for a heaven on Earth. The afterlife, I'm not so sure, but as a philosophical theory, Christianity is a great idea. Just a pity we'll probably never implement it.