OP-ED: THE BIBLE AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

2 Corinthians 3: 17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

By Van Yandell

The word “Creator” in the Declaration of Independence indicates a God/Bible believing people. The parallels to Bible teachings, concepts and people connect the Bible to the Declaration.

King George III ruled Britain in from 1760 until 1820. Many of the early settlers in America from Britain thought of George as the Antichrist. The tyranny and excessive taxation levied against them led those first Americans to rebel against the King and Britain.

When unalienable (sometimes spelled inalienable) rights are held for ransom, people can be expected to rebel. Those rights are those explicitly given by God to every human He has created. 

Those rights are considered by many to be “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The statement in the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson clearly defines the American perspective.

“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. Among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

God created man “In His own Image” (Genesis 1: 27) to be free; to have freedom of choice and freedom to pursue the lifestyle he desires. He did of course, in the Holy Bible give mankind guidelines to live by but within those limitations/commandments, He made man free. 

God gave Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden freedom. One of those freedoms was the freedom to sin just as He has given mankind the freedom to sin and He knew we would. He then planted the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God had a plan.

Isaiah 5: 20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 

God destroyed all life on earth (Genesis 7) and Sodom (Genesis 19) for the same actions/sins that America is not only approving but promoting in today’s society.

The Declaration of Independence; adopted July 4th, 1776 and signed August 2, 1776, set a course for America for these last 250 years. That course has been perverted but we do have a future.

While the Declaration does not specifically mention the Holy Bible, it does refer to “The Creator,” This appears to be a monotheistic attitude and a reference to the ensuing freedom of religion and basic other human rights. 

People leaving Ireland, England and other European countries has been compared with the exodus from Egypt in the Book of Exodus. To escape the oppressive Egyptian Pharaoh, God sent Moses and his brother Aaron to lead the Hebrews from Egypt.

Certain American revolutionaries led the occupants of this new land to freedom from King George just as Joshua led the Israelites to victory over the Canaanites. 

The oppression by the King could not be tolerated. At times, war is the only and final solution. Freedom is precious and sacred. It must be protected and at times that means it must be fought for. 

King Saul in 1 Samuel was an evil king. 1 Samuel 15: 11 God said “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.”

King George did not regard those that had left Europe for the new world as worthy of anything but his scorn. That included oppression, intimidation and taxation. Comparing him to Saul seems to be a fair comparison. 

A statement from Leviticus 25: 11 is “proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” Those words are emblazoned on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Those words and the bell are symbols of our free land and our determination to keep America free. 

Galatians 3: 28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Freedom and opportunity are rights of any American. Discrimination must not exist because of wealth (or lack of), race or gender. Our differences can be our strength or our demise. If we allow ourselves to be separated over our differences, perhaps we deserve to perish. 

Proverbs 22: 2 “The rich and the poor meet together’ the Lord is the maker of them all.” Our Declaration of Independence does not provide for any differences in the governing of the people.

Acts 10: 34 “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” The founding fathers honored God in the document; the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration and the Bible share concepts, philosophies, human rights and divine justice. All in all, we can trace our way of life, our freedoms and liberties to the Holy Bible. 

If we consider the teachings of God and the history of the world, specifically America, we can clearly see America exists for a divine purpose. The only way to accomplish that purpose is to return to our Creator in confession and repentance. 

John 3: 16 is also a declaration and a statement of freedom from sin. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9). 

Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com