As Joseph Campbell observed, we need our myths and legends.

It reminds me of a different form of water torture--the relentless single drip of water, infinitely applied.

is that it implies so many things are due solely to (or uniquely associated with) Christianity, when they are clearly not.

Our laws are based, for the most part, on the Bible. The weekend, which includes Sunday, when so many businesses are closed, is based on the Sabbath. Many states do not allow alcohol sales on Sunday, or at least not on Sunday mornings. Christmas is a big deal, even for people who are atheist, since there is the time off of work for the holiday, and even retail stores closed. Even our vocabulary is laced with god-related terms----Oh, god, I wish I was thin. God damn it (and even just the word "damn&quot . I pray things work out for you.

I like to think that there isn't a lot of influence on my culture from Christianity, but there is and I don't even think about it.

Even holidays like Solstice or Spring Equinox. Not Christian - stolen/co-opted by Christians, yes. But not Christian in origin.

"Our laws are based, for the most part, on the Bible."
This is a terrible MYTH.

The Bible never once mentions democracy. The Bible never once mentions freedom of speech or freedom of religion. It does not mention checks and balances and limitations on the power of the executive; nor an independent judicial branch; it does not mention elections or voting.

The Bible does not even mention tolerance for other believers, much less non-believers. There are more than 200 denominations in the US alone, and each claims to have the one true faith. The sheer number of claims makes it difficult to believe any one of them. And there are so many different versions of the Bible--including the Douay-Rheims used by Catholics that contains more books and different commandments! The KJV is well-known to have deliberately changed text to meet the political needs of the time.

The Bible provides no model for ‘good’ government or for personal freedoms. The Bible is a purely religious/theological document for some believers. The Commandments—10 or all 613 of them—do not represent American society.

We are not a Christian nation, nor a Judeo-Christian nation. We are a Constitutional nation.

than the Constitution. Until not so long ago, there were Blue Laws in my state which required all stores to close on Sunday...this is in my lifetime and it was my culture growing up. Or how bars are still not allowed to serve alcohol on Sunday till after noon. And the definition of marriage. And why is it illegal for a woman to walk around topless? What about the tax-exemptions for religious organizations? Capital punishment? Abortion laws?

You are looking at the federal setup of this country. I am looking at the everyday laws that we are forced to adhere to.

Things are changing slowly away from strict adherence to Biblical teachings, but there are still a lot of remnants in our laws in existence.

Jefferson wrote that American law was based on English Common Law, which had absolutely no basis in the Bible or Xianity. For the very good reason that English Common Law got its start while Britain was still pagan. So it was impossible for America to legally be a "Xian nation," since its laws were rooted in a legal system pre-dating Xianity. (All of that is subject to the usual IIRC Disclaimer...)

Which doesn't help with Curmudgeoness' complaint - many local laws do get passed thanks to Xian bluenoses and buttinskis.

The whole nation did try one big experiment in moral do-gooderism. It was called Prohibition and didn't work out very well.

You are exactly right. At best we have laws formulated within our system of government to enforce christianity, or christian customs, on people. We can look to the non-christian greek and roman civilizations for where we got our ideas about government from.

but never a cultural Christian.

I'm pretty much a pacifist, I use meditation to relieve stress, and do some yoga to keep my aging body flexible. But I really can't get into the whole deity thing, so I really couldn't imagine myself attending some kind of Buddhist temple or anything formal like that.

"culturally Christian" is just a subcategory for Western Civilization.

I'm starting to think in terms of , not Jewish, Christian, Muslim.... but just Abrahamic religion.

They are part of western culture.... but so is Greek mythology and Roman mythology not to mention the Babylonian, Sumerian etc etc etc ... Judaism!....which are all part of the late-comer Christianity.

So most "culturally Western" folks are also culturally Jewish, Ancient Greek and Roman and a whole lot of other things. Why does the Christianity get a special place? Because it's what's around you now? Because it's more recent? Cultures are complex. Why stop at one place?


Like Trotsky points out in post #3....

about the myth of the christ, and how that myth is a product of multiple previous mythologies, cobbled together in an oral history that spans countless lifetimes. I referenced Elaine Pagels and Barbara Walker. She would not speak to me for years.

I am not sure you read the article? I don't think she was using the term as a subcategory--more a description of her personal experience growing up with folk who "believe" inexorably.