Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Where is the USA in the Bible?

I've asked a few learned folks this same question and nobody seems to have an explanation but I find it odd that the historically world renowned United States of America would not be included somewhere in the Bible. It puzzles me a bit and also makes me wonder. If any of you out there have any insight, I would like to hear about it. It may be an insignificant question and there may be no real relevance to why it is not mentioned in the scriptures. It just gives me an unsettling kind of feeling about the future of our country. I have no insight into what might happen to the USA in the future. We have been quite resilient as a nation. We have been able to endure many trials as a nation because the fabric of our Judeo-Christian heritage has sustained us and we have been able to survive because our government has always made us secure and given us hope.

I did a study on authority and faith once based on Matthew 8's great story about the centurion that approached Jesus for help. Jesus gave the centurion a wonderful affirmation. The centurion understood authority and therefore he understood that Jesus was not operating purely on his own but that He was authorized to do what he was doing by some higher power. Jesus praised the centurion and even said that he had not seen such great faith in any man in all of Israel. That made me begin to see the link between authority and faith. I began to see this link on a national level as well. Nations with weak authority(often because of corruption) do not give their people much faith or hope.

This seems to be a subject that needs to be researched and taught about more. If Jesus was astounded at the centurions understanding of authority and faith then I am sold on the premise that without understanding authority our faith is insecure and at best just wishful thinking. What does this have to do with the USA not being in the Bible? I'm not sure but I am pretty certain that the United States must continue to have a strong moral authority in order to survive. Let's pray that we continue to do so.