Filed under: Declaration of Independence

American Principle Two: God Is the Source of Unalienable Rights

“All men are … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Declaration of Independence

 

“We The People Of The State Of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of those blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent government, by the name of the State of Iowa …”

Preamble, Constitution of Iowa, adopted in 1846—

seventy years after the Declaration of Independence

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Belief in a Higher Authority also believes in the opposite side of the coin:  that man does not originate law, God does.  Legislators articulate this pre-existing law and give it particular applications to changing circumstances.

 

During the 1765 crisis caused by the king's Stamp Act, John Adams, when writing the Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, August 12, 1765, the Boston Gazette, pointed out that liberty was not man's creation or something radically new to the world, but rights "derived from our Maker," rights "indisputable, unalienable," "inherent," "essential," "divine" and even acknowledged since the Middle Ages by British law.

 

"We further recommend the most clear and explicit assertion and vindication of our rights and liberties to be entered on the public records, that the world may know, in present and all future generations, that we have a clear knowledge and a just sense of them, and, with submission to Divine Providence that we never can be slaves" (John Adams, pictured below, adopted on October 14, 1765, by the town meeting of Braintree, Massachusetts, and sent to their representatives in the Massachusetts state legislature).

 

Those who reject God's authority and proceed to fix the rights of others are, by definition, false gods and, in practice, become tyrants.  Alexander Hamilton, in The Federalist, No. 78, says:  "A constitution is, in fact, and must be regarded by the judges, as a fundamental law."  When a particular statute violates the meaning of the Constitution, it is the duty of judicial tribunals to disregard it and adhere to the Constitution.  

 

"The sacred Rights of mankind are not to be rummaged from among old parchments or musty records.  They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or voided or obscured by mortal power" (teachingamericanhistory.org, Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 1775).

 

Education in America today is energizing the enemies of the family, self-rule, prosperity and liberty because it does not emphasize that man’s unalienable rights are the gift of God.

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A full discussion of these vital American Principles can be found in my book, Restoring Education Central to American Greatness.  For more information or to purchase the book:

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American Principle One: The Spiritual Nature of Man is Supreme

There is a definite, unique, American belief that translates into specific principles for the establishment and workings of our government.  It can be found in the Declaration of Independence. 

James Wilson was one of six men who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.  Addressing the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention for the new constitution, Wilson read the Declaration of Independence and then he stated:  “This [Declaration] is the broad basis on which our independence [from authoritarian rule] was placed; on the same certain and solid foundation this [the Constitution of the United States] system is erected.”*

 

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This begins a discussion of immortal principles central to liberty and American greatness as found in the Declaration of Independence.   Compromise of any of the following principles leads to harmful consequences.

American Principle One:  The Spiritual Nature of Man Is Supreme

“All men are created ... endowed by their Creator …”

Declaration of Independence

Foundational to liberty and the American approach to government is the fact that man is of divine origin.  His spiritual or God-honoring nature is held as being of supreme importance.  Upholding man’s God-given “rights” from abuses sanctioned by governments makes liberty possible.  The divine quality of these rights calls for the unequivocal rejection of the authoritarian entitlements claimed by elitists of all stripes—kings, authoritarian politicians, clergy, educators, and militarists.  This principle enshrines certain limits that must, for the sake of liberty, be placed upon the use of the law and government power.

Humble support for the sovereignty of man under God over government is the guarantor of freedom for family wholeness, self-reliance, and prosperity.  People who know the truth can reject, without fear, the alarming chatter of atheistic sectarians.

Stay tuned for my next blog entry:  American Principle Two.

 *(cited in John Elliot, Elliot’s Debates, The Debates In The Several State Conventions Adoption Of The Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 11-20-1787, Book I, published 1836, 457).

 

 

 

In God We Trust (Except In Public Schools)

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Having confronted the barriers to success imposed by the British Crown at the First Continental Congress, the Founding Fathers needed to address the following questions:

I.               How do we bring into focus the justification for independence that can, in fact, support the life, liberty and happiness that the colonists found possible?

II.             How do we declare the sovereignty of man under God over government, upon which respect for impartial law, citizen self-rule and liberty are justified?

III.           How do we emphasize the need for strict separation from the British king and other pretender gods, who have managed to betray and exploit mankind down through history?

IV.            What must we proclaim that will convince other nations to have confidence in the United States as a sovereign entity?

The answers to these questions became the basis for the unique principles for government in America.  The Declaration of Independence provided a moral and just basis for law as no other document before or since.  These principles were adopted unanimously by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776.  On July 4, 1776, the delegates signed their names to the Declaration, and the new nation—independent from Great Britain—was born.

What is the common bond that enabled Americans to establish the greatest nation on earth?  The USA Today/Gallup Poll published May 6, 2010 reports that 92 percent of Americans believe in God and only 5 percent said they oppose the National Day of Prayer.  The problem is that public schools stopped teaching how the basic American belief “In God We Trust” translates into principles for political decisions that made America the overwhelming choice of immigrants from around the world. 

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As Justice Brandeis said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

The American states did not become united until the constitutional delegates agreed to amendments that were specific about religious and educational freedom from government and nongovernment dictation.  The first ten amendments included the codification of the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence (separation from authoritarian rule).  Far from being secular, all aspects of human endeavor, including government, fall under the purview of creation’s God.  The value system for determining the proper role of laws and the use of government power is clear.  We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).  Adoption of this morally-specific, nonsectarian, God-honoring predicate has served as a marvelous unifier for our diverse immigrant nation.

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We no longer have public education.  In the behavioral and political sciences it has become government education comparable to the monopoly state doctrine that decimated Medieval Europe.

The secular militants claim to be patriots because, as they say, dissent is American.  What they mean is evident from how they have gutted traditional American values in public education.  They demand freedom for themselves but reject the American concept of academic freedom (the freedom to be honestly informed) and the freedom of others to make their own choices.  The soft underbelly of the secular left is the fact that they cannot withstand the competition of ideas.  For them, it is intolerable to allow students to learn of the God of creation alongside their atheistic lifeview.

An elaboration of “In God We Trust” is found in Proverbs 3:5-6:  “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

The “In God We Trust” worldview has been the foundation for public education, beginning in the original thirteen colonies and continuing for over 250 years.  Tragically, the Supreme Court ruling in the Everson v. Board of Education decision of 1947 began a dramatic shift away from “In God We Trust.” 

Stay tuned for more discussion about socialism, civic religion and a strategy for restoring competition in education and choice by the people …

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posterous theme by Cory Watilo