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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.
We had a long discussion via Facebook status updates and comments. I then took it on myself to make an attempt at synthesizing all the comments and well-made points into a single item. Here it is. Enjoy!
First of all, I would like to acknowledge one thing that was pointed out that I think is a VERY important item to remember. I think that Christians in the US have become convinced, despite our protestations, that there is something innately Christian about the founding principals of our country, that somehow we are, in the US, the Kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven. While we must acknowledge that our country has much that can be said is in line with the Kingdom, our country is NOT the Kingdom. We cannot, therefore, put the values of our country at equal level with the values of the Kingdom (they can't be higher, because there is nothing higher than the Kingdom). Our country and it's government, while allowed to have its place by God (read Romans 13), is still subject to God's laws and, as a human agency, is bound to have the failures inherent in humanity's ability to choose rightly. So, even our founding fathers' principals must be subject to critique in the light of the Truth that only comes from God.
Another friend of mine though made mention of something the other day. I'm not sure where this comes from but they quoted the phrase "All Truth is God's Truth". Anything that can be said to be truth must ultimately be of God because God is the only source of truth. So, if something is true, it must be of God. We must therefore discern, of all the things that are said to be "true" in this world, those things that are True by God's truth and those that are not. So, even if the Declaration of Independence is not an accepted canonical scripture text, this does not mean that there is not some truth to be found in it. It is then our task (although, perhaps not THE task) to discern, with help of the Spirit, what of those rights in that document are Truth, and what are not.
One of you pointed out an important thing. Because of our sin and because of the righteousness and justice of God, we have no rights in His eyes. Our lives, our freedom, and our liberty are forfeit in light of our failures. In light of this, our inalienable rights outlined in the D of I, no longer apply to us. At least, as applies to our relationship and responsibility towards God.
Additionally, our right to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness, in the light of the example set before us by Christ, are no longer ours because we are told that the true test of love is to give of ourselves, even of our lives, for our neighbor, whoever our neighbor may be. We cannot claim our rights as dictated in the D of I as ours to hold tightly because to do so is to deny the demonstration of love we are called to give. So, again, we cannot claim our rights as applicable in the light of our responsibility towards our fellow man.
But the gospel tells us something additional here. What is the point of laying down our life for our neighbor if our neighbor does not have, on some level, that right to live? Why did Christ lay down his life for us if our right to life wasn't precious to him to some level? "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Our responsibility towards our God and towards our neighbor requires us to recognize that they have rights that are not ours to take away from them. Our right to life is ours to give and God's to demand, but we cannot, as fallen humans, demand it of someone else. Our right to liberty, to choice, to freedom of will, is ours to give and God's to demand, but we cannot, as fallen humans, demand it of someone else. Our right to pursue happiness (we can define that elsewhere) is ours to give and God's to demand, but we cannot deny someone else that right.
As to pursuit of happiness, we need to define that better in the light of the Gospel. Someone made mention that happiness does not necessarily guarantee wealth and possession. In fact, happiness in Christ is more a contentedness with where you are. But we have a right to seek Christ and to seek that contentedness as do all men. We cannot deny people the right to seek. Again, it is our right to give up and God's to demand of us, but we cannot deny it of others.
One more thought of my own here. The language of the D of I uses the words "endowed by their Creator" in referring to these rights. To "endow" is to gift. These rights are gifts. God gave them to us. And, as with all gifts from God, there is an expectation: that we will likewise gift others. How can we deny that Christ like part of the D of I?
So, all that to say this: the D of I is NOT equal with Scripture and we in the US have taken it to mean that we have the liberty and the freedom to do anything and everything we want, regardless of consequence. It's our freedom and our right. But God's truth is that we do have rights that we have been gifted with, but we have responsibility with those rights to use them in a way in keeping with God's truth.
