O ETERNAL God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~ The Collect for Independence Day, 1928 BCP...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them... that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights... appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions... And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
No less than four mentions of God were made within our Founders' Declaration, framing the founding of this great nation, America (the Latinized feminine derivative of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci's first name, meaning "work power; home leader"), as one delivered to an imperfect people, striving to work and lead towards the fulfillment of a home in the power of His perfect will that enabled its independence all along.
And these foundational words of wisdom from just a sampling of the minds who worked and lead towards America's independence display an indelible thankfulness for the One who made winning and maintaining their liberties possible, as we today should also reflect on towards a much needed and necessary rejuvenation...The year was 1776, but the goal of establishing a government by which the people largely govern themselves was centuries in the making. Liberty and self-rule are part of man’s DNA. We inherited it from our Father in Heaven. As John Locke taught us, it is our “natural” state. But it was America that made that common dream a practical reality. ...
In these times of social unrest and civil strife — when forces not of good intentions are trying convince the nation and world of false ideas about our founding — the best thing we can do is turn directly to the words themselves.
And though the message of Independence Day in our current times focuses on a worldly necessity for freedom to defeat totalitarianism, the Divine goal of that nonetheless shines through..."It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here." ~ American Patriot Patrick Henry
"I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning..." ~ Founding Father and American Inventor Ben Franklin
"I have carefully examined the evidences of the Christian religion, and if I was sitting as a juror upon its authenticity I would unhesitatingly give my verdict in its favor. I can prove its truth as clearly as any proposition ever submitted to the mind of man." ~ Founding Father Alexander Hamilton
"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come." ~ American Patriot Samuel Adams, 1776 (at the signing of the Declaration of Independence)
"We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus!" ~ Founding Fathers John Adams and John Hancock (April 18, 1775)
"The laws of nature are the laws of God, whose authority can be superseded by no power on earth." ~ Father of the U.S. Bill of Rights, George Mason, 1776
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation of life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!...My only hope of salvation is in the infinite transcendent love of God manifested to the world by the death of His Son upon the Cross. Nothing but His blood will wash away my sins." ~ Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush
God help us to graciously realign our political powers as a reunited people with the fragile liberties held so dear in the maintenance of righteousness, fleeing evil, seeking peace, and always remembering God at the center of our Independence.Our goal is to establish, to the best of our ability (which within its range is considerable) something that resembles the divine. As the deity is one, while creating and upholding a coherent universe of immense and unfolding complexity, so too we aspire meaningfully to integrate all the complexities of our individual lives within an all-encompassing unity.
That unity is not the merely intellectual unity of the Big Idea. As important as that is, we are aware within ourselves of ideas as being things we derive, however competently, from a fuller and larger reality.
The immense complexity of the universe miraculously resolves itself into coherent ideas. Our human advantage is tied up with what ideas enable us to do — not to be confined to an overwhelmed response to the immensity of the world that surrounds and includes us, but to be able to act in a focused and powerful way.
But not being angels, confined to the holy the way that animals are confined to natural grace by instinct, we find that we must constantly work on ourselves to govern ourselves — and thereby our country — well. Despite the overwhelming seductiveness of political power, we have as a country been generally aware that power that is not harnessed to beneficence is simply evil.
As simple as that is, the long and continuous tradition of law in the West has taught us how complex a process it is to keep political power righteous — or at least not abjectly evil. In the American/English law tradition, there is a continuous, deep engagement with the mighty problems of having freedom and having a government strong enough to protect it against those who care less about liberty.
Related links: Quit Telling People That The Founding Fathers Weren’t Christians!
Independence Day 2021 - God-Given Rights vs. Government-Mandates
