The title of this message happens to be "Launching the the Declaration of Independence onto the National Stage." Perhaps, your response falls somewhere along the lines of "Why does theDeclaration need to be launched onto the national stage? It has already been launched!" Theoretically, "yes," but for all practical purposes, "no." The "1776" launching has vanished from the national stage. This happened incrementally over the decades and, as such, it deserves a "second launching" or "re-launching."
When the Declaration was introduced initially, many people in Western Civilization were fascinated! As more and more copies were printed in America, reading it in the public arena and o the Fourth of July were common. This went on for decades. However, not only has this fascination and practice evaporated, but it seems as if they never existed.
To begin, we need to look at four lines of reasoning: 1) the significance and impact of the document, 2) the Foundational Underpinnings of the document, 3) the underlying "genius" of the document, 4) the "downfall" of the document.
First, the significance and impact of the document. The underlying premise of this message is this: "The hand of God was and still is on The Declaration." You may ask, "Where is this proof?" According to church historians, The Declaration of Independence is one of the "two most significant documents in human history, second only to the Bible." The other document happens to be the U.S. Constitution.Together they are designated as the pinnacle of Western Civilazation since the time of Christ.
The Declaration, along with the U.S. Constitution, serve as "the two most significant documents" because of the vastness of their impact. Not only was The Declaration instrumental in ending the tyranny of the king of England, but it was instrumental in terminating a whopping 2,000 years of tyranny in Western Civilization! (Not all of these rulers were tyrants but most were operating under a dubious "right" known as "the divine right of kings.")
As for the Constiutution, while the Revolutionary War raged on and on, the other countries and entities in Western Civilization "watched" from afar until war’s end on September 3, 1783. This left these countries in a governess quandary. Four years later, the Founding Fathers ratified The Constitution on September 17, 1787, and sent copies of this document to all of those countries. Eventually, they all became "Constitutional Republics," as did all fifty of our state governments! They all chose "a government of laws, not of men," according to President John Adams. He wanted a government based on laws, not the whims of men.
(Appreciation and acknowledgment of historical details go to Never Before in History—America’s Inspired Birth, published by Discovery Institute, Seattle, Washington; Co-authors Gary Amos and Richard Gardiner; Academic Editors Thomas G. West and William A. Dembski. Also, Enough Is Enough, published by FrontLine, A Strang Company; Lake Mary, Florida; Rick Scarborough, author. Both books used by permission.)
Second, America’s Foundational Underpinnings of the document. Secular historians tell us that "the pathway to The Declaration of Independence began when the British attacked Lexington, Massachusetts at dawn on April 19, 1775." However, church historians tell us that the pathway consisted of three pivotal events, spanning 700 years. Put briefly:
1) In 1075, Pope Gregory VII admonished the kings and rulers of Western Europe "to stay out of the church’s business." This marked the beginning of "freedom of religion" and it also brought about the concept of "separation of church and state" in its original form. Seven centuries later, the Founders would turn the Pope’s "freedom of religion" slogan into a rallying cry throughout the colonies.
2) In 1215, Cardinal Stephen Langton introduced his 3500-word document, the Magna Carta. It dealt with "limiting the power of kings," the overriding issue of the Middle Ages. It was later designated as England’s foremost legal document, still in effect to this very day. The Founders relied on this document as their primary source for rebutting the king’s edicts and atrocities. (The Roman Church was vastly intertwined with America’s Foundational Underpinnings.)
3) In 1517, Martin Luther, a priest and Bible scholar, was aghast with abuses he saw in the Roman Church. This provoked him to tack his ninety-five theses onto the Wittenburg door. Pope Leo X then put Luther on trial for heresy, under penalty of death by burning at the stake. At his trial, Luther argued that it was "wrong for anyone to act against his [or her] conscience in religious matters." This became known as "liberty of conscience" and sparked what became known as the Protestant Reformation, still in effect today. He also stirred up a Political Reformation by advancing his "Resistance Theory" in which he strongly advocated "disobeying corrupt magistrates and their unjust laws." The Founders drew heavily from Luther and his two Reformations.
Why were these events so vitally important? In short, these three men and their considerable contributions to "America’s Foundational Underpinnings" paved the way for America’s Founding in The Declaration of Independence.
Third, the underlying "genius" behind the document. The Declaration contains four references to God. These four references are found in the first two sentences and the last two sentences, effectively forming bookends aroundThe Declaration of Independence. This was the Founders’ way of "shouting from the rooftops" that God is in The Declarationand God is in the founding of this country. The underlying "genius" of The Declaration centers on these four references.
The Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God
The first reference addresses "the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God." This topic came about because the King of England had laws written, which portrayed the Founders and colonists as outlaws and criminals. As a result, Jefferson needed a way to legitimize American independence to four audiences: the king and his minions, fellow colonists, the watching world, and all future generations. Jefferson needed a law, that not only preceded the king’s law, but superseded the king’s law.
In writing the first sentence, his thoughts turned to Sir Edward Coke (pronounced Cook but spelled C o k e). He was a Catholic theologian and scholar. Jefferson had been introduced to Coke’s "law of nature" through his writings, dating back to 1611. Coke described this law as being "infused into the heart of the creature at the time of his creation."
Coke knew that even before Moses introduced the Ten Commandments, the Jews were said to have had this law "written with the finger of God in the heart of man." He also knew that the Apostle Paul had written about this law in Romans Chapter 2: "While the gentiles who do not have the law do naturally the things of the law …." In dealing with the credibility issue, Jefferson brilliantly appealed to "… the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God." (He "pluralized" law to acknowledge that other Laws of Nature exist.)
Before the Protestant Reformation existed, this "law of nature" was embedded in the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church in the 1300s. After the Reformation began, a long line of thinkers like Blackstone, Rutherford, Sidney, and Locke passionately wrote about it. Remarkably, since the beginning of Creation, this same "Law of Nature" has been written in every person’s heart at the time of his or her birth.
All Men are Created Equal and Endowed by their Creator with Certain Unalienable Rights
The purpose of the first references was to address "laws" and the purpose of the second reference was to address "rights." Here we see the two pillars of governance: laws and rights. This reference reads, "… all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights …." While "all men are created equal" addresses the laws of nature, unalienable rights" refer to inborn rights. Under English Common Law, "unalienable rights" are possessions that "could not be denied, taken away, or transferred to others."
So, what does the phrase "all men are created equal" mean? It means three things: 1) it means we are all created in the image of God, 2) it means we were all created in a state of perfect innocence, 3) it means that, having never sinned, we will never be closer to God in this life than when in our mother’s womb.
However, we were also created equal in other ways. Because of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace in the garden, we were all born with a "sin nature" and, according to Luther, this automatically implies that we were all born with a need for a Redeemer to forgive our sins. He called this his "Creator/Redeemer Distinction."
The Supreme Judge of the World
In the third reference to God, the Founders appealed "to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions." The Founders were well-acquainted with God’s "omniscience." They knew Jeremiah 17:10: "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." They wanted their massive audience to know that their motives were pure.
The Protection of Divine Providence
In the fourth reference, the Founders appealed to "the protection of Divine Providence." This refers to the "Sovereignty of God," defined as "supreme authority." Martin Luther and his successor, John Calvin, were both ardent advocates of this teaching. Years later, the phrase "Divine Providence" started showing up in literature at the end of the Sixteenth Century. Both terms are similar, but "sovereignty" is an attribute while Divine Providence" is a title. The Founders literally knew "our lives, fortunes, and sacred honor" hung in the balance. These four references serve as the underlying "genius" of The Declaration. Without these references to God, The Declaration would have been "an empty shell of a document."
Fourth, the "downfall" of the document. Oddly, the "downfall" of the Declaration started in a court of law. How so? The U.S. Supreme Court of 1947 was considering Everson v. Board of Education when they received an amicus brief from an atheistic organization. This was a case about taxpayer dollars being used to transport children to religious schools. The crux of the matter was "wall of separation of church and state."
The original meaning in 1075 A.D. had to do with "keeping the state out of the church’s business." However, the 1947 amicus brief called for reversing it to mean "keeping the church out of the state’s business." The atheists argued that the Court could change the original meaning lawfully, because it had never been codified into law. The Chief Justice "bought into" their argument but it took some heavy-duty persuasion to garner enough support to codify this highly controversial issue into law. Supposedly, this change would "secularize America" but the word "de-Christianization" would have been more appropriate. It may have been "lawful" to change the meaning of "separation" but it was an "ethical disaster."
What happened next? The Everson Case lay dormant until the 1962 U.S. Supreme Court dredged it up to ban prayer in public schools in Engel v. Vitale, which blindsided a large segment of the nation. Then the 1963 Court relied on Everson to rule in favor of Murray v. Curlett. This was the case initiated by atheist Madalyn Murry O’Hair to denounce Bible reading in public schools, which caused a national uproar. The practice of reading the Bible to children and teens had been a practice since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. It had played an integral role in America’s Foundational Underpinnings.
What caused the "downfall" of The Declaration? The Court’s reversal of the original "separation" and those "four references to God."The Declaration’s death knell came when public schools removed history from their curriculums and the public follows the lead of public schools. In closing, the Chief Justice, who ramrodded "separation," posthumously received the award as "The Most Influential Supreme Court Justice of the Twentieth Century."
EPILOGUE: What are the results? The "downfall" of The Declaration denigrates of 700 years of America’s Foundational Underpinnings, desecrates 160 years of precedent, degrades peoples' sweat and blood that made freedom possible, and demeans Christian citizens who, knowingly or unknowingly, have been relegated to second-class citizenship since 1947. The results include the belittlement of the two documents that attained status as "the pinnacle of Western Civilization since the time of Christ" and as "the two most significant documents in human history, second only to the Bible."... Because God's hand is, on the Declaration, it is time to Launch the Declaration of Independence onto the National Stage!
Consider these travesties!
Grieve over these travesties!
Do something about these travesties!
It is time to Launch the Declaration of Independence onto the National Stage!