Expert: Messianic Rabbi Yochanan Levine - 8/8/2007

Question
thanks for your answer to my early question:"This is quite a big question and I'm not sure how to answer it in the round.What are the great influences that the Bible has on the western world£¿Especially on their daily life.Thanks for you helping."

But could you tell me something about the influences on everyday life,such as hobbies,conventions,celebrations...
You just mentioned 'moral standards''Marriage vows',could you say them in details? Because I'm not in a Engllish speaking country and few people around me know the Bible,your answer will be very helpful.  

Answer
Hi Jan,

We have Saturdays and Sundays as off-work days because of the Jewish Shabbat and the Christian Lord's Day (the day Jesus is said to have risen from the dead).

Our calenders are based on Jesus' birth (although not quite accurately). So the year 2007 should mean 2007 years after Jesus' birth (he was actually probably born closer to 7 BCE).

Our main holiday is Christmas, which tradition says is Jesus' birth day. Our second most important holiday is Easter, the day Jesus rose from the dead. Our third most important holiday is Thanksgiving when we theoretically give God thanks for His blessings on our nation and so on.

Our standard marriage vows are based on a loving discussion between two biblical women, Ruth and Naomi: "I will go where you go, your God will be my God, your people, my people" (and yet we persecute gay people based at least in part on a misreading of the Bible).

Most of our traditional moral views are Bible based:
do not kill
do not rape
do not steal
do not lie
do not commit adultery
do not take God's name in vain
etc.

Many of the early American settlers were from a strict Christian sect known as Pilgrims and they (and other Christians) enthused the US Constitution and our general society with many "Judeo-Christian" values.

The "Protestant Christian work ethic" pushed Americans to excel and create the most modern and wealthiest nation in human history.

The Doctrine of Manifest Destiny states that God has chosen the US as the vehicle of His will and that we therefore were justified in slaughtering the Native American people, attacking and occupying other countries etc. In other words, whether most Americans care to admit it or not, the United States works on the assumption that we are God's representatives on earth and have the right and ability to do anything we want, including committing various atrocities.

Our Constitution refers to all men being created in the image of God and endowed by God with certain inalienable rights (most of these rights have been revoked since 9-11).

Bible stories such as the good Samaritan inspire Americans  to care for others who are less fortunate. This inspires us to create a lot of charities to help others.

Talk radio here has a profound impact on what Americans believe and many of these are on Christian stations. From these shows Christian views (usually of the fundamentalist variety) encourage Americans to act in often self destructive ways but they also encourage us to great heights of goodness.

If our politicians can convince Americans that God is on our side we are far more likely to go along with them. For instance, many Americans have been deceived into believing the current US wars are in reality the Christian US fighting godless Islam for God's glory and so they will support anything our government chooses to do, including torture etc. Americans are very gullible when it comes to such things.

Not every influence our religious faith has is good and in a great many areas we as a nation choose to violate our own deeply held beliefs in order to do evil.

The United States is now loosing its belief in God and the Bible, however our belief in Manifest Destiny has never been stronger. For now the Bible continues to play an important role in US culture and society.

Many of its influences are becoming progressively more subtle.

Hope this helps,
~John of AllFaith