Are you America?

The question to me is if we represent America and its history. Are you responsible for the choices made by others in the past, present, and future? I'm more of the mindset that each person should identify as an individual rather than lumped into the whole.

Once this is realized, the narrative that we are guilty for the evils and irregularities of others collapses. Suddenly, you hold nothing in common with the bad actors who so often come to represent us as a nation. History has been inaccurately represented in order to displace blame away from those who are responsible.

We are their scapegoat.

We are not the totality of offenses of others from the past. We are individuals who will make our own reputation despite what you've been told.

Ezekiel chapter 18 is the "Man Taking Responsibility" chapter. It is the transition between children being held responsible for their father's sins and no longer being responsible for their father's sins. Now it is the "soul that sins is the soul that will die. The soul that obeys is the soul that will live."

Yes. I find that sometimes people are talking about America as if you're an American then you are responsible for whatever America does. That sorta of thinking they've locked people into is a form of bondage because the past never goes away therefore the guilt never goes away.

People are being controlled by the mentality that they can never escape the shortcomings of others and, therefore, remain in a perpetual system of shame/guilt.

I just want to set the record straight.

True Christians reject the idea of Fear, Shame, and Guilt. These three horrific evils are what Adam and Eve suffered from, and these ar the three primary tools of the Devil. If and when Satan plants Fear, Shame, and Guilt into the mind of a person, the Devil sits back and watches that person's life turn into a complete debacle. Self-hatred is essential to the unholy work of Satan.

1 Corinthians 2:16 NLT - 16 For, "Who can know the LORD's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?" But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ."

I'm not American, but I see a lot of parallels between your premise here and the general secular view of Christians... because we identify with the name, we are held responsible for all the misdeeds of every Christian at any time. It's understandable to a point, but ridiculous when held as a general view.

There is a sense in which a society is held responsible for its corporate activity. This is true of cities (Woe to you, Bethsaida! Woe to you, Chorazin!...) and nations (Edom, Moab, etc.) in Scripture. That said, God also does not sweep away the righteous with the wicked.

I believe the key to both issues is what we as individuals do. This is illustrated both in the parable of the sheep and the goats and, more poignantly, in Ezekiel 9:4, where those who grieve over the sins of the people are protected from the wrath to come. We as believers need to pray for our nation (whichever it may be), seek God's favour, and His conviction on those who sin.

Amen to that.

1John 4:18
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Eggggxactly!