McKibben points out the obvious: a great majority of Americans are Christians. American political and economic assumptions and policies must therefore reflect the faith of large numbers of Christians. The troubling part of all this is that so much of what Americans believe is simply contrary to what the New Testament actually says. And large mnumbers of people take as Gospel truth, things that are not only not in scripture, but are opposed to it. A few examples.

"God helps those who help themselves" Three out of four Americans believe this statement is found in the Bible. Actually it comes from that most canny and wily of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. One does find in the New Testament such passages as: "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2: 44-45). Most Americans wouldn't recognize that one though it is indeed in the Bible, so let's get on with tax cuts for the rich.

How about the contrast between Scripture and our levels of children living in poverty, per capita spent in foreign aid. How about giving aid to the poorest of people, or that rather scary passage in Matthew's Gospel about judgement depending upon whether we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, etc. The Old Testament prophets denounced injustice, oppression, corruption in high places, withholding hospitality, oppressing widows and orphans.

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." "The poor have the Gospel preached to them," etc. etc. Then there's always the Beatitudes found in Luke 6: 17-20 and in Matthew 5: 1-12)

It seems that core passages like these escapte the notice of most American Christians. Nor do we see any practical consequence of Jesus telling Peter to "put away the sword, he who lives by the sword dies by the sword." We certainly have no intnetion of putting into practice anything like "turn the other cheek." What the heck, let's pour another 85 billion into our pre-emptive war of choice.

The training seminars described in the Los Angeles Times are possible because most American Christians actually adopt Benjamin Franklin as their inspired guide rather than what Jesus actually said.

The gulf between Christian biblical theology on the one hand and the understanding and practice of the faith by vast numbers of American Christians on the other seems impassable. There are now two different faiths using the same name in this country. Perhaps we should ask the religious right to rename themselves to reflect their real philsophy, enunciated so well by their intellectual founder. They are the Franklinians! Old Ben would be pleased.