Charity

What does it mean to live in a "Christian Society"? Since the majority of Americans identify themselves as Christian, and as the influence over our "secular" government has come increasingly from Christian corners (evangelical or otherwise) – what does that mean?

How Americans think about our government is interesting, and I think many of our concepts about property rights and individualism have affected how we interpret the Bible and not the other way around. Many other nations who have large populations of Christians have drastically different government policies for welfare, 'morality' issues, fiscal policies and etc. While we like to say that we have a separation of state and religion, more and more, at both the individual and federal levels, discussions like abortion, taxes, gay rights, privacy, and welfare have taken on implications from the religious quarters.

1) If as Christians, we believe in charity and caring for others -- at which level do those things come from: government or individual?

2) If as Christians, we believe in a certain moral absolution (i.e. abortion, death penalty, gay rights) – at which level do those things come from: government or individual?

Are those two things mutually exclusive or for instance, can Christians believe that helping others is an individual pursuit while having an abortion becomes government domain?

NOTE: I don't agree with everything this article states (Christian life should encompass both questions of both moral and communal choices – but at which level?) I think the author makes large generalization and is a definite left-leaning piece, but it does raise up an interesting question about the paradox of being an "American Christian".