What foudations are destroyed? Who are the righteous? What needs to be done? How can this be accomplished? How do we measure success? How does this apply to me? Why would it matter for the whole of America?
The foundations of America are based upon what we as a people believe to be our "rights". What is a right? It is the valid claim of one person on the duty of another. Rights must have an origin in order to be valid. Therefore, they are based either upon the will of God the Creator or it is based upon the will of humans.
Some might say that the concept of valid claims of one person on the duty of another is based upon the laws given by God in the scripture, such as "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." And, Christ had said that this was the second great commandment that was like the greatest. The greatest cmmandment was that "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart...." Thus, belief in God is the basis for understanding the nature of rights.
Thomas Jefferson is not known to be a devout Christian but history reveals that he believed firmly that religion was essential for a moral government. He wrote the words in the Declaration of Independence, "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 happpiness."
That document, the Declaration of Independence, is vital as a foundation for America because it is the document that established, along with the sacrifices of patriots during the Revolutionary War, the very sovereignty of the United States of America. Without sovereignty, there is no government supremely able to direct a nation and to create laws that define what rights are and how they are to be used.
Today, the foundations of what people believe their rights to be are greatly distorted. Children in school are taught that Thomas Jefferson believed that religion should be separated from government and yet he wrote those great words in the Declaration of Independence. Children are taught that the founders of our country were greatly influenced by the French "enlightenment" which was a way of thinking based upon agnostic, godless attitudes. The French philosopher Rousseau wrote that Christianity was a belief that made people the willing servants of tyranny.
And yet, the American colonies were populated with self proclaimed Christians that quoted Psalm 35 in which ancient David tells the giant Goliath that he confronts him in the name of the Lord. Most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were devout Christians. They signed that document knowing that it was a letter to the King of England who would command the world's greatest military force to kill them.
In fact, the Great Awakening was a much greater influence. The Great Awakening was a fervant Christian revival of faith among the colonists beginning in the mid 1700's decades before the Revolution. It spread among the general population of the colonies and upon the leaders who forged the Revolution and the government that would follow and become the America we love today.
The beginning of the American understanding of rights was that God was their origin. That is the foundation being assaulted in the laws and courts, in the institutions of learning and governance of our land. What can the righteous do about this?
Who are the righteous? Those in right relationship to God. For the purpose of this writing, let us simply say that the righteous are those who rightly understand and act upon the concept that God is the source of rights. There is much more to say on this subject of righteousness and relationship to God. Those have been addressed in previous posts to which you, dear reader, are referred.
The righteous who understand that God is the source of rights must find God as their resource to stand for what is right. They can and must be salt and light in this confused American society.
What exactly needs to be done? How can this be accomplished? How do we measure success? How does this apply to me? Why would it matter for the whole of America?
These specifics must be applied in future posts. For this day, take these thoughts above and see if they do not find validity in your own experience and thinking and faith. If you agree with this writing, take comfort that you and I are not alone in our concerns. I welcome your comments.
