The Path of Lady Liberty
- Aug 8, 2008 - comment
The United States of America just celebrated her 232nd anniversary of independence from Great Britain. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution on independence from Britain and two days later agreed upon a statement known as the Declaration of Independence explaining this legal separation. Many of the Founding Fathers of America and their documents support the establishment of this nation on a foundation of faith in God.
John Adams was one of the founders and also a member of the Committee of Five responsible for presenting to Congress a draft of the Declaration of Independence. Before Congress passed it, Adams wrote his wife, Abigail, about America’s independence. In this letter, he said the nation’s freedom “will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.” Adams believed that God Almighty—El Shaddai—is the One to be praised for this new independence.
America, by the Declaration of Independence, makes the bold statement that “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.” One’s own conscience bears witness to the fact that God the Creator created all of humanity with inherent rights that cannot be taken away from any human being. Since these rights are given by the Creator, then humanity as the beneficiary of these rights is subject to the Creator who declared these rights.
God’s law governs these rights, but His law has been increasingly replaced with the idea of personal autonomy. Individual autonomy basically says, “I have rights and I can do what I want regardless of what others think and say, God included. I am my own authority.”
The result has been a suppression of religious expression as only allowable in the personal realm—not out in public. This is in direct opposition to what the Founding Fathers and Framers of the U.S. Constitution intended. Faith in God is a public matter, and the Founding Fathers guaranteed this freedom in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Christians in America have constitutional protection from the government imposing laws against religious expression in both public and private realms.
Benjamin Franklin in a speech before the Constitutional Convention said, “I’ve lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing Proofs I see of this Truth—That God governs in the Affairs of Men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his Notice, is it probably that an Empire can rise without his Aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the House they labor in vain who built it. I firmly believe this—and I also believe that without the concurring Aid, we shall succeed in this political Building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our Projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a Reproach and Bye word down to future Ages.”
If Americans continue seeking themselves as their own god, then America is in no better position than Babel. Lady Liberty has been turning toward being a debauched country for quite some time, and America will face judgment lest she repent and God relents.
The church ought to follow the example of King Josiah who repented and led the people of Judah in repentance. The people followed him, and God withheld judgment for a season. So, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Heb 12:1).
This article is reprinted from the July 2008 issue of “Practical Principles for Christian Living,” the monthly publication of the Mississippi Baptist Christian Action Commission.
Further Learning
Learn more about: Citizenship, Christian Citizenship, Religious Liberty