Originally Posted by KAding

Interesting. What kind of 'parameters' did you have in mind?

I ask, because it is always quite unclear to me how (orthodox) Christianity approaches government. To what extend do Christians want man to judge over man? Islam seems quite clear in its intention to legislate morality. Among Christians this seems a more contentious issue?

The fact is that the whole christian world has now post protestant, mainly anglo-saxon political system, which is liberal, secular democracy. The catholic and orthodox tradition is monarchy was defeated.

The secular-republican system began to break in catholic world since the 1848-49 revolution. In the second half of XIX century the catholic counter revolution for re-establishing the blessed by God christian traditional monarchy was defeated. Mostly with jewish money, masonic connections and protestant ideology.

The masonic french president and protestant american president eliminated the last catholic monarchy in Europe, Austria-Hungary in 1918.

The civil war (1939-1945) between three ideological children of Enlightment, communism, national socialism and anglo-saxon democracy tore down traditional christian Europe into pieces.

So now, even catholic and orthodox countries have anglo-saxon systems of state, although that our tarditions are completely different.

Originally Posted by Pygoscelis

The thing about the bibles in courts is true-ish. It used to be that anybody who believed in God could testify in court (and would be allowed to swear on their holy book, but they only had bibles in the courts so most people, christian or not, swore on that).

Atheists were banned from giving testimony as it was thought that since they don't fear divine retribution they couldn't be trusted to tell the truth.

The US has come a long way since these days of bigotry. They got rid of slavery too and gave women the right to vote

Whenever somebody brings up the "The USA was founded on Christian principles" line, I'm of course tempted to correct them by quoting all the founding fathers who spoke against Christianity (there are many such quotes). But then it occurs to me that this is a pointless exercise, for even if the country was formed on christian principles, that doesn't mean it should retain them or that they are in any way good for the country. Which is why I mention the country also being based on male chauvenism and slavery, two principles the country thankfully abandoned.

Oh and the old Christian society had some other strange legal ideas. So to Christians who judge Sharia law for being barbaric, I have to point out some things Christian theocracy came up with in its time in the spotlight. Both are called judicium Dei (God's judgment):

-- Trial by ordeal, where witches and other's suspected of demon infestation were drowned to see if they died or not. If they lived they were possessed or a witch. If they died they were not and were sent to God, so it was ok to have killed them. Literaly a no win situation.

-- Trial by combat, where two people having a dispute would fight to the death and whoever won was right because God favored them in the fight. These people could hire champions to fight in their place and these champions are basically the first trial lawyers. A descendant of this, the honorable duel, remained legal until far more recent than you may think.

For a catholic, american system was always a mistake, no matter five years ago or 200 tears ago. In traditional catholic system, only God is the source of law, while the american forefathers, as protestants and/or masons built the american constitution on the heretical assumption that the source of the law can be human mind, which as we know often fails. Also the division between church and state is heretical and comes from the masonic thought. In catholic meaning, the Church and state are two different bodies but they co-operate, to work in common good, the salvation of the citizens.

So the political and religious system of USA isn't treated by catholics as christian system, even 200 years ago.

To understand better what's real christian system was, you can read the sentence about Spain from its Golden Age (Siglo de Oro) -

"...The essence of the Hispanidad is to make the faith the fundament of every aspect of life - individual life of soul and group life of the community. Spanish national-religious integralism is the unconditional submission of current life to transcendental eternity. A Spaniard with castyllian soul is someone who fights for Heavens just like others fights for markets and money. This spiritual direction shows itself in every sphere of expression of Hispanidad - in the transcendental politics of spanish kings, in the architecture of enormous cathedrals, in emotional religious paintings, in poetry and theater of Siglo de Oro, in the connection of exaltation with military order of jezuit monastery, and of course in the numbers of mystics of Siglo de Oro. The spanish archbishop from the times of the national Cruzada (1936-1939), cardinal Isidro Goma, said in one of his homilias - " To be a Spaniard is to be a catholic. In Spain you are a catholic or no one."
Las Espanas, Monarquia Espanica, the Empire of God, which consists of - one Monarchy, one Empire, and one Sword, given to the king, whom Christ gave His banner to re-establish Universitas Cristiana."

"Only with the unity of faith, the nation can live with its own life, aware of the power which gives like-mindedness (...) Without one and the only God, without the same altar, without same martyrs, what great and powerful will nation have? (...) Happy is that age, the time of our glory and miracolous hapennings, the time of youth and vigorous life. The Spain conquering for the light of Evangelion the half of the Globe! The Spain the represser of heretics! The light of the Trident, the sword of Rome, the cradle of St. Ignatius! This is our greatness and our unity - we don't have other! "

Compare those transcendental system of reigns with system of early United States of America. You will see the difference.