You say that like it's a good thing . . .

John McCain on the Russia-Georgia crisis:

Georgia itself, my friends, has a long and remarkable history. It was a fourth-century convert to Christianity, one of the first nations on Earth to convert to Christianity -- if you go to Georgia, as I have several times, you'll see churches that go back to the fourth- and fifth-century -- and it's been a part of the grand sweep that comprises Western civilization.

And this is relevant to the current crisis in exactly what way?  Anyway, that's not the only reason this statement caught my eye.  First of all, a nation cannot "convert" to Christianity -- only individuals can choose to follow Jesus Christ.  Second, while some nations do establish an official religion, I find it disturbing that an American presidential candidate would seem to describe that as a good thing.   

McCain has stumbled in this area in the past.   It seems like he needs to set aside some time to reflect on these issues.  Perhaps McCain's Baptist pastor could get the ball rolling by giving him a little reading assignment from Baptist preacher John Leland.  Among many other wise things, Leland said:  "Experience, the best teacher, has informed us, that the fondness of magistrates to foster Christianity has done it more harm than all the persecutions ever did."

Comments

[Michael Westmoreland-White]

Also, many of McCain's comments on Georgia, including that paragraph, were taken straight from Wikipedia--a story that is causing much humor in the blogosphere. It's clear that McCain was trying to bolster a case for military intervention by playing to a "Christian" audience--even though Russia's "conversion" happened about the same time as Georgia's. As you say, nation-states are not Christian and cannot be.

[Cheap Sandals]

Each bird loves to hear himself sing.