# Does God love America above all countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 4, 2003, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210 "2003-07-04T08:26:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/21 "2003-07-04T16:08:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\*If God loves America above all others, why did he allow 9/11 to happen? > > Think about it. If anything, God is freakin’ PISSED at our country. (And for good reason, IMO.) \*\* If you really think this is true, you’d better convert to radical Wahhabi-style Islam right away, because obviously He’s on their side. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/22 "2003-07-04T16:19:09Z")
Ok, I retract all statements I made in this thread (esp. about the Jews) and I humbly apologize to all who were offended. That [CNN article](http://money.cnn.com/2003/07/02/technology/itunes.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes) really pissed me off this morning. (Yeah, it’s no excuse, I know I know…) ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/23 "2003-07-04T16:20:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*If you really think this is true, you’d better convert to radical Wahhabi-style Islam right away, because obviously He’s on their side. > > :rolleyes: \*\* That’s what I think everytime I read where someone says that 9-11 was a wake-up call/ sign/ punishment from God. I tell them, “That’s exactly what Usama bin Laden said too. How nice that you guys can find some common ground.” But KGS says he said it just FTSA. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/24 "2003-07-04T16:26:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > **Well I don’t believe in G-d anyway, so what I said was merely for argument’s sake.** If you don’t believe in God, then why do you write “G-d”? I thought that was normally only done by believers who wanted to avoid using God’s name in vain. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/25 "2003-07-04T16:28:18Z")
So Metallica won’t “share” their music with the free lunch crowd and that prompts you to spit out the whole “6,000 years of bitching from the Jews” line? Colour me skeptical of your sincerity. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/26 "2003-07-04T16:33:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe Random \* > \*\*If you don’t believe in God, then why do you write “G-d”? I thought that was normally only done by believers who wanted to avoid using God’s name in vain. \*\* I have no problem writing “God” in full, no more than I have writing any fictional character’s name, i.e. “Jahweh”, “Allah”, or “Voldemort” I only used that instance to show I was _specifically_ referring to the Judeo-Christian God. **Grey** - haven’t you ever been in a mood which makes you say something out of line that has nothing to do with what you’re pissed off at, and then regret it later? If not, then…well, open a fuckin’ Pit thread or something. I won’t speak any more of it here. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/27 "2003-07-04T16:47:01Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\* > **Grey** - haven’t you ever been in a mood which makes you say something out of line that has nothing to do with what you’re pissed off at, and then regret it later?_\* My advice to you , **KGS** : …well, open an effin Pit thread or something. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/28 "2003-07-04T16:59:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\ ***Grey** - haven’t you ever been in a mood which makes you say something out of line that has nothing to do with what you’re pissed off at, and then regret it later? If not, then…well, open a fuckin’ Pit thread or something. I won’t speak any more of it here. \*\* I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, if you ever catch me doing something similar, nail me for it. I do want to say, however, that up to when you posted Israel had been mentioned twice, Chosen People once and Jews once. You then posted a disclaimer about how you’re going to get pitted for speaking your mind before laying into the Jews. That all seems to indicate that you thought about the comment before you submitted it and that it wasn’t just an off the cuff comment. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/29 "2003-07-04T18:40:11Z")
> [@](#): > > God is generally on the side of the big squadrons against the small ones. > —Roger De Bussy-Rabutin (1618–1693), French soldier, writer. letter, Oct. 18, 1677. There is a Spanish saying that “God helps the bad guys when they outnumber the good guys” but I have no idea of its origins. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/30 "2003-07-04T18:48:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grey \* > \*\*That all seems to indicate that you thought about the comment before you submitted it and that it wasn’t just an off the cuff comment. \*\* Fair enough. And while I do have a response in mind, it’s not germane to this topic, and I don’t feel like opening a separate thread to discuss it. So if you want to take the initiative, it’s your call. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/31 "2003-07-04T18:55:33Z")
Nope. We’re done. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/32 "2003-07-04T20:19:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\* > > **Grey** - haven’t you ever been in a mood which makes you say something out of line that has nothing to do with what you’re pissed off at, and then regret it later \*\* Sure…such things happen. But the specific statements you make and regret later in such a situation isn’t totally random, as a rule… ---
**Author:** ![Avalonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/33 "2003-07-04T22:08:04Z")
At the risk of a hijack (though I think it’s dead-on-topic), I submit this scene from the “Tales from the Public Domain” episode of _The Simpsons_: > [@](#): > > \*\*A flashback episode- Lisa plays Joan of Arc, captured by the English. They try her and are about to burn her at the stake when she calls upon God “didn’t you tell me to fight the english?” A beam of light descends - “Yes, Good job joan.” > > “Wait” cried the english leader. “Didn’t you tell me to fight the french? What gives?” > > “Uhh… somehow I didn’t think the two of you would ever be in the same room at the same time,” says god… “well, gotta run, I’m late for an appointment…” > > …and the beam of light withdraws.\*\* The sequence illustrates (rather pointedly) that if every country that claimed they were “on God’s side” or “best-loved by God” were actually claiming it from fact, then God is rather cruelly playing both sides. More likely is the idea that a lot of people are lying. Probably everyone. Assuming that there is a God, be it the Christian version or some other permutation, there’s no reason to think It would favor one country over another. Certainly no reason to think It would favor America over other nations. But then, I am loathe to assume that there is a God in the first place, so… take it for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/34 "2003-07-04T22:31:27Z")
When ever this sort of thing come up I remember Great Uncle Fritz who marched into Belgium in 1914 with “Gott mit Uns” embossed on his belt buckle. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/35 "2003-07-04T22:42:52Z")
German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck is supposed to have said, “God loves children, drunkards, and the United States of America.” ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/36 "2003-07-04T23:14:35Z")
Could God take Jesus in a fight? ---
**Author:** ![Lightkeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lightkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightkeeper)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/37 "2003-07-07T18:52:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Major Kong \* > \*\*Is their **any** biblical reason for this belief? Anybody here who believes this who is willing to explain this belief? \*\* Does God love America above all countries? Not according to [this website!](http://www.godhatesamerica.com) !!! ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/38 "2003-07-07T19:14:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MC Master of Ceremonies \* > \*\*Could God take Jesus in a fight? \*\* I think the bible frowns on “self abuse” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/39 "2003-07-07T20:25:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SimonX \* > \*\* > > As I understand it, there were similar rumors about England going around a while back. > Some people even decided that England was the Holy Land and that some conspiracy plotted to convince everyone that the Holy Land was instead in the Levant. \*\* I believe what you’re referring to is the Christian Identity myth, cooked up by the Patriot movement and its associated white supremacist groups out in Montana/the Dakotas/Minnesota/Wyoming et al. The story goes that the English are the true descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel, and that those in Israel who “claim to be Jews” are actually the spawn of Cain. Its a buncha Neo-Nazi hooey and should be dismissed in the same breath as “masturbation will make your palms hairy”. ---
**Author:** ![Aldebaran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Aldebaran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aldebaran)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210/40 "2003-07-07T20:51:30Z")
The question should rather be: is it possible that God could “chose” a nation above others? My answer to that is no, because it is in my opinion unthinkable to begin with. Nations are merely human inventions. They are not part of Creation but come forward as result of the creation of the human kind. So whenever someone claims this or that “nation” or “country” is “chosen by God”, I can only smile. The same with people who claim they are the “chosen ones”. God doesn’t discriminate. Everyone who believes in God should be aware of that and I always wonder why so many people don’t even seem to reflect on it. Aldebaran. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-love-america-above-all-countries/186210.md?page=3)