The above painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence hangs in the rotunda of the National Capitol in Washington, DC.
We believe that Christians should choose to participate in public life not to dictate but to demostrate the positive virtues of a hope filled life. Although it is true that this world is not our final home, it is also clear that for now it is our home and we must do what we can to make it a better place. If God did not place us here to make a difference, why did He place us here? If we do not make a difference, then the difference will be made by those who wander without hope. As individuals, our first function is to seek and secure our own salvation from God. After that our corporate function is to offer hope to a hurting world. That's why we are here.
Heritage Home Journal is a website devoted to restoring the Christian worldview that so directly informed the making of this declaration. This liberated worldview is in stark contrast to the darkness of our contemporary culture in America and worldwide. We invite you to visit this sight daily as we encourage each other in the liberty that is the gift of Jesus Christ.
Our Declaration of Liberty for All
By John C. Oster
No concept is more important to 21st Century America than the concept of liberty which is essentially the gift of God through the Christian faith to a still emerging American culture.
One need only look to the place of liberty in other existing world cultures to understand the validity of this premise. Consider for example the limited freedom of conscience now allowed in Middle-Eastern countries, the former Communist bloc, and many nations of Asia.
The idea of liberty has been an integral part of Christianity from its earliest days and was pronounced clearly by Paul, the apostle, in a letter to the churches in Galatia in the first century when he said, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made you free, and so not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Gal. 5:1) He wrote this because even in those days there was a movement to turn back the clock on the idea of liberty. Paul would have none of that, and we today should give equally short heed to those who would quench again our liberty to speak in the public square.
A determined attempt to ban Christianity from the Public Square
Today we face a determined attempt to ban Christian liberty from the public square by means of a devious and entirely new and false doctrine that the Constitution requires something that it nowhere requires–total separation of personal faith from the operations of government. To do this would be to cut off the very taproot of American liberty. If that were to succeed, it would not only be harmful to those of the Christian faith, but it would be fatal to every other faith and every other minority that has found a place of refuge beneath the wing of liberty.
The God of the Christian faith is the author of liberty for all
Thomas Jefferson, "All men are created equal. . ."
The Declaration of American Independence, signed July 4, 1776 created the basis for a new nation and declared, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Liberty is meaningless without life which is the first unalienable right. Likewise life is meaningless without liberty. That is the reason behind Patrick Henry's famous words, "Give me liberty or give me death."
The culture of death which surrounds the abortion rights movement is the absolute oposite of a culture of liberty. How sad that the pseudo debate between "choice" and "life" has come to define the cultural decline of our era. How sad as well that we have afforded the jihadist philosophy of death a legitimate place among the philosophies of men. Jihadism has nothing all all to do with faith and everything to do with moral depravity. It is totally unacceptible to true Christians, Jews, and Moslems, or any other people of faith.
The men who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Constitution of the United States, were men of the Christian faith. It was no accident of history that both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution are steeped in the language of the Christian faith. It was no accident, because these men carried their faith with intention into the halls of government.
George Washington, military hero and devout Christian: "It is impossible to govern rightly without God and the Bible."
Of the 55 men who signed the United States Constitution,
29 were Anglicans
18 were Calvinists
2 were Methodists
2 were Lutherans
2 were Roman Catholics
1 was a non-practicing Quaker
1 was a deist.
That adds up to 55. Not a professed atheist in the bunch. Yet liberty of conscience was so important to these men of faith that they created a government that would forever protect the right to not believe at all, knowing full well that to deny liberty to one is to deny it for all.
In fact, they realized that true freedom of belief necessarily includes the right to be wrong in our beliefs. Only then can the truth prevail in the free market place of ideas. "Political correctness" is deadly to freedom.
Benjamin Franklin: "He who will introduce into public life the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world."
The one professed deist was Dr. Benjamin Franklin, whose many public statements of faith left no doubt that he was well versed in and sympathetic to the Christian faith.
Separation of Church and State is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution
In fact, the word "church" does not appear in the entire U.S. Constitution. The so called "separation of church and state" as it is discussed today is not a constitutional concept and it never has been. This is a spurious debate brought forward by elements of our contemporary culture who fear faith and want to ban it all together. All rules based on faith are anathema to them, and yet without a faith based on foundational truth, there can be no hope for a better tomorrow.
First Amendment affirms and protects all liberties of conscience
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution was considered to be the most important. That is why it was placed first. These are the words of continuing significance:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Obviously, in the last 50 years or so we have been hearing repeated lies deliberately told to us about the separation of church and state, and these deliberate lies have led to a loss of the idea of liberty itself. Make no mistake about it, those who would deny liberty of religious speech will later deny liberty to any minority with whom they happen to disagree. Liberty of conscience is the one line that must not be crossed if freedom is to survive. The enemies of faith are the enemies of liberty. When liberty dies, so do we all.
Radio comentator Albert Mohler asks.
"How can we define and defend human rights in a secular world? If God is dead, what secures the ought of human rights and human dignity? This may be one of the most haunting questions of our times."
He quotes Edward Feser who writing in Crisis, argues that human rights cannot be sustained or secured in a secular context:
"It's clear enough that the moral ideals that Western secularists value had--as a matter of historical fact--a theological origin. But could they not be given a foundation instead in some other, non–Judeo-Christian religious tradition--or in a purely secular philosophy? It doesn't appear so. For the dignity that the Western tradition has attributed to human beings derives entirely from the idea that their distinctive attributes--reason and free will, personhood and moral choice--reflect the very nature of the ultimate reality that is God Himself. "
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What the founders of the United States had to say:
Patrick Henry: Give me liberty or give me death. . .This great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason people of other faiths have been afforded assylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.
Thomas Jefferson: The God who gave us life, gave us liberty.
George Washington: It is impossible to govern rightly without God and the Bible.
Benjamin Franklin: Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. He who will introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world.
What does Scripture Say?
Leviticus 25:10--Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.
Galatians 5:3--For brethren, you have been called unto liberty. (For Galatians 5:1 see above)
II Corinthians 3:17--Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
James 1:25--But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Romans 8:21 " . . .from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
Luke 4:18--"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . .to proclaim liberty to the captives . . .to set at liberty those who are oppressed."
Since we have the liberty to speak, how can our voice be effective in the cacophony of voices that clog the public debate in America? Let me suggest some things that we can do.
1. Associate with others who think as you do. There is power in group speak. For example, I am not only a member of my church but I am also a member of its Christian Citizen Action Team which seeks to inform church members about public issues and encourages them to take stands on moral and compassionate issues in every election. In addition I am a member of the Kansas Judicial Review of Johnson County which seeks to make our judicial system more accountable to the will of the people and to the rule of law. The Center for the Church Activated (CCA) provides the nexus by which Christians can positively impact the culture. Your church can be a voice of faith and reason in a world short on both.
2, Inform yourselves about public issues. Read Heritage Home each day. Check other web cites with similar mission of informing and energizing public participation by people of faith.
3. Attend public meetings, stand for election to office, participate in debates. Get involved in grass roots community activism. Be ready at all times to live your faith, as well as speak it, in the public eye.
4. Be sure that the positions you take on public issues are based on the principles of what Benjamin Franklin called "primitive Christianity." Too often what are called "conservative issues" are motivated by economic self interest and lack of faith in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The answer to the abuses of government is not more government, but more positive passion in the private sphere.
5. If you have financial resources at your disposal, use them judiciously in support of those who stand for you in the public square. This includes groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund, Concerned Women for America, and Judicial Review groups. Also consider making contributions to political action committees that support your views.
6. Actively help those less fortunate than we are through community service. The reason liberty works for one is that it works for all and the liberty we give is the liberty we receive. The gifts that we give are the only ones we get to keep. The world that we make is the world we get to live in, and the laws that we pass are the laws that govern us. So it is and so it shall be. Enough said.
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