The religious character of the United States is something that many of us do not feel comfortable with. Fundamentalists insist on placing the 10 Commandments in the courthouse, but how many are actually enacted as laws? Only three:

1. Thou shalt not kill.
2. Thou shalt not steal.
3. Thou shalt not bear false witness (when under oath).

Other laws, for example, criminalizing adultery, have been repealed or forgotten. Many commandments never were law in this country: We cannot forbid the worship of false gods without violating the First Amendment, the basis of our freedom. Americans are religious but suspicious of would-be theocrats.

God is anyway a difficult master: He likes to give vague commandments, but leaves humans to sort out the sticky details: Is abortion murder? It doesn't get any mention in the Bible. You'd think God would want to clarify that point . . . but no.

God never explains things. After David Khoresh and his followers burned themselves up in Waco, a thunderstorm swept in, and the reporters taped their stories to a suitable background of thunder and lightning. But was God angry with the false prophet or the FBI or both? He didn't say. In any case, the rain came too late for David Khoresh.

George Bush (the Younger) claimed divine authority for invading Iraq: He had consulted with a "higher father." So why didn't God help him out when he really needed it? There may be something to the old saying that God does not take sides in politics, though he is often invited to do so.

What are we to make of the claim that America is a "Christian nation?" Lincoln would disagree: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty . . ." The United States is the work of men and not of God. It is fitting to thank God when things go right, but folly to blame Him when they go badly. God cannot be held responsible . . . a point to consider before we invest Him with executive authority.

"Kings" provides a warning for those who would entrust our affairs to God. It reminds us that God can be arbitrary and unforgiving. Sometimes he punishes people's descendants . . . yeah, to the seventh generation. And sometimes, he demands blood.