A letter to America
A Letter to America
In America, we have generations of citizens who have grown up enjoying the benefits and privileges of freedom and justice. These rights have been fought for and defended. Lives have been sacrificed upon the altars of liberty to preserve these right for future generations. But where does the idea that freedom and justice are important come from? Is it just a feeling that we all have? Are the concepts of justice and freedom nothing more than popular desire which can change over time? Or do these core human rights originate from a deeper and permanent source that has shaped our national identity?
Because the United States is separated from most countries by two large bodies of water, far too many of our citizens are unaware that other nations do not share the same foundational values and doctrines that we take for granted. Among these values that we hold dear, are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” From our inception as a nation, America was founded on what the authors of the Declaration of Independence labeled “self-evident” truths, meaning that these beliefs were objectively established by a Creator who has given certain rights to humans and the role of government was to secure these God given rights for its citizens.
Many Americans are unaware of the Biblical foundational principles of our government. I am not arguing that all the Founding fathers were devout Christians…although they all had some Christian background…rather, I am recognizing the profound impact the Bible had upon the drafting of essential governing documents in America. We are after all “One nation, undivided, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” It was the shared morality from a Biblical worldview that shaped the ideals of our great nation. One of which includes prohibition against an official state religion. Many of the first pilgrims in America were escaping religious persecution in countries where the government controlled the church. The founding Fathers believed that God’s word gave each individual the ability to reject the sovereignty of God or embrace His love for us, and this freedom of choice of religious belief was built into the very fabric of our nation. The concept of free will and human choice is found in the very beginning of scripture and runs throughout. In Genesis three, we see God give a command to Adam and Eve not to eat from a specific tree in the Garden of Eden. God’s governing concept in the Garden was not by force or by cohesion, but an invitation for those being governed to make the wise and correct decision. Our founding Fathers recognized this as God’s ordained governmental model and used it as the backdrop of American democracy, a nation governed “by the people, for the people".
Another example of how the Bible influenced the values of our country is found in the “Castle Doctrine.” The Castle Doctrine is a legal principle that allows individuals to use reasonable force—which may include deadly force—to defend themselves against an intruder in their home. Whereas in a public space the law often requires a person to attempt to retreat before deadly force is legally permitted, in the Castle Doctrine there is no legal duty to retreat if your own home is being broken into. The basis for this law is found in the book Exodus:
“If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guiltiness on his account” (Exodus 22:2 NASB).
Founding Father James Wilson, one of the original justices of the US Supreme Court and a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, wrote:
“Every man’s house is his castle … and if anyone be robbed in it, it shall be esteemed his own default and negligence.”
Put bluntly, you not only have the right, but you also have the responsibility to defend your own home, or castle. This is one of the many core beliefs that America holds dear because it was rooted in scripture. Because self-defense is a Biblical right given to every person, it is therefore an inalienable right, also stated as a God-given right.
It is essential to recognize that if a right is inalienable then it must be a right established by God. Inalienable rights are not determined by popular vote or even by governments. When we claim that there are inalienable rights, we are making a truth claim that there is a Creator God who has established objective morality. This goes against many modern philosophical politics and anti-Christian religious movements that teach all truth is relative, a self-defeating statement. We could not have inalienable rights if truth was relative or subjective. We could not even communicate with each other if words did not have a set meaning. This is an important point because the main attack on the Bible is always centered around interpretation. Many in our culture believe that the teachings of the Bible are relative and their meaning and the authors’ message cannot be discerned. Yet these same individuals want you to apply a different standard of objectivity when it comes to their writings attacking the scripture. Here we see the basis of the argument that even language itself and our ability to communicate effectively is evidence for a Creator who has established objective morality and meaning in the universe. The only way to have inalienable rights or self-evident truths is to have a Creator. This belief is why the Declaration of Independence announces that certain human rights were “endowed by their Creator.”
Other examples of God-given rights founded in Scripture include:
The Bible as the word of God is a threat to those who wish to control, manipulate, oppress and brutalize others. In every government that has ruled by oppression and tyranny, the Bible is prohibited. In Nazi Germany, Hitler sought to rewrite the Bible. Scripture reveals that God views all humans with value, not just those of a specific race, gender or economic status. In modern application, God also values unborn humans. The idea of objective human rights and value was and is contrary to Nazi beliefs. Thus, to create a nation where the atrocities of the holocaust could be carried out one would have to create a Biblically illiterate culture. Why? Because the word of God threatens to undermine the sinful nature and reveals God’s intended purpose for government.
The Nazi party recognized God’s word as such a powerful threat against their movement that they completely rewrote the New Testament with alternative scriptures, including a rewritten version of the Ten Commandments that included "Honor Thy Führer and Master". Any pastor that did not adopt and preach from the altered scriptures was imprisoned, tortured, and/or killed. In communist Russa, Joseph Stalin and Vladimer Lenon opposed God’s word and sought to eliminate the Bible from Russia. In his treatise titled “Relationship of the Workers’ Party to Religion,” Lenin said:
“‘Religion is opium for the people’—this statement by Marx is the cornerstone of all the world concept of Marxism in the matter of religion. Marxism views all of today’s religions and churches, each and every religious organization, always to be organs of the [enemy] bourgeois reactionary forces.”
Ironically, Marx who taught that the Bible and religion were oppressive, was simply seeking to control people with the evils of socialism and communism. While the Russian government never issued an outright, total ban on reading or owning a Bible, the government made it almost impossible to acquire one legally with a ban on publication and importation. Many Christian leaders gave their lives to import Bibles into Russia at the height of communist power. During the 1900’s, any attempt to import Bibles across the border resulted in confiscation, imprisonment, torture, or death. Why? Because the Bible is objectively true and the laws for governing established by God, which should be the model of governing by all nations, are found in the scriptures.
If an outside observer were to study the history of governments, it would not take long for them to recognize that dictators hate the Bible and that democracies thrive under its teachings. So, what makes the Bible so dangerous that entire governments have sought to suppress or eliminate it from the grasp of the people? Simple; the Bible is the word of God and it gives instructions on what we are to value and how we are to live. The sixty-six books in scripture teach us how we are to behave as children of God towards both those we care for and those whom we perceive as potential enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Protect all human life, born and unborn. Defend those unable to defend themselves. Forgive others. Properly administer justice and ensure a fair trial. And many more.
I often remind people that even if they don’t believe that Jesus is God, they should still follow his teachings because they reveal the correct and best way to live. One of the best examples of this is the hallmark teaching that many of our founding Father’s embraced, The Golden Rule, as taught by Jesus,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12 NIV).
John Adams believed that if the nation could follow Jesus’ teachings in the Golden Rule, that it “would produce a society and culture that would be a blessing to all citizens.”
Said another way, John Adams believed that the Golden Rule was the key to self-governing personally and as a nation. This simple rule of life has shaped more decisions in our government than any other statement or ideal. This single sentence was the cornerstone of anti-slavery in America and is still a threat to any evil form of government in existence. This one rule expresses that our lives are able to be transformed to resemble the beauty and glory of our heavenly Father. We do not need to live imprisoned by our human nature, rather, we can live in a more perfect union of the people, for the people, by the people, under God. To make America great, we don’t need a republican or democrat presidential candidate. We need to take the Bible and its influence on our history as a nation seriously and go back to the foundation of what made America “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. Within the beautiful pages of scripture, we discover the objective morality that all human life has value, which would end all racism. We find ethics on marriage, divorce, child raising, and friendship that build loving and lasting communities. Within the pages of the Bible, we see examples of courage to defend human freedom. We also discover failures of past rulers and governments from which we could learn invaluable lessons. Most importantly, we discover that we are all equally sinful and in need of a Savior, which is good news for those willing to recognize their failures and discover the peace of salvation by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
America, it’s time to take the Bible seriously again. The Bible provides for us the foundations for believing in the value of human life and establishes the framework for freedom and justice.
Happy birthday, and wishing you another 250 years of freedom, or until Jesus returns.
Yours truly,
Pastor Aaron
In America, we have generations of citizens who have grown up enjoying the benefits and privileges of freedom and justice. These rights have been fought for and defended. Lives have been sacrificed upon the altars of liberty to preserve these right for future generations. But where does the idea that freedom and justice are important come from? Is it just a feeling that we all have? Are the concepts of justice and freedom nothing more than popular desire which can change over time? Or do these core human rights originate from a deeper and permanent source that has shaped our national identity?
Because the United States is separated from most countries by two large bodies of water, far too many of our citizens are unaware that other nations do not share the same foundational values and doctrines that we take for granted. Among these values that we hold dear, are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” From our inception as a nation, America was founded on what the authors of the Declaration of Independence labeled “self-evident” truths, meaning that these beliefs were objectively established by a Creator who has given certain rights to humans and the role of government was to secure these God given rights for its citizens.
Many Americans are unaware of the Biblical foundational principles of our government. I am not arguing that all the Founding fathers were devout Christians…although they all had some Christian background…rather, I am recognizing the profound impact the Bible had upon the drafting of essential governing documents in America. We are after all “One nation, undivided, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” It was the shared morality from a Biblical worldview that shaped the ideals of our great nation. One of which includes prohibition against an official state religion. Many of the first pilgrims in America were escaping religious persecution in countries where the government controlled the church. The founding Fathers believed that God’s word gave each individual the ability to reject the sovereignty of God or embrace His love for us, and this freedom of choice of religious belief was built into the very fabric of our nation. The concept of free will and human choice is found in the very beginning of scripture and runs throughout. In Genesis three, we see God give a command to Adam and Eve not to eat from a specific tree in the Garden of Eden. God’s governing concept in the Garden was not by force or by cohesion, but an invitation for those being governed to make the wise and correct decision. Our founding Fathers recognized this as God’s ordained governmental model and used it as the backdrop of American democracy, a nation governed “by the people, for the people".
Another example of how the Bible influenced the values of our country is found in the “Castle Doctrine.” The Castle Doctrine is a legal principle that allows individuals to use reasonable force—which may include deadly force—to defend themselves against an intruder in their home. Whereas in a public space the law often requires a person to attempt to retreat before deadly force is legally permitted, in the Castle Doctrine there is no legal duty to retreat if your own home is being broken into. The basis for this law is found in the book Exodus:
“If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guiltiness on his account” (Exodus 22:2 NASB).
Founding Father James Wilson, one of the original justices of the US Supreme Court and a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, wrote:
“Every man’s house is his castle … and if anyone be robbed in it, it shall be esteemed his own default and negligence.”
Put bluntly, you not only have the right, but you also have the responsibility to defend your own home, or castle. This is one of the many core beliefs that America holds dear because it was rooted in scripture. Because self-defense is a Biblical right given to every person, it is therefore an inalienable right, also stated as a God-given right.
It is essential to recognize that if a right is inalienable then it must be a right established by God. Inalienable rights are not determined by popular vote or even by governments. When we claim that there are inalienable rights, we are making a truth claim that there is a Creator God who has established objective morality. This goes against many modern philosophical politics and anti-Christian religious movements that teach all truth is relative, a self-defeating statement. We could not have inalienable rights if truth was relative or subjective. We could not even communicate with each other if words did not have a set meaning. This is an important point because the main attack on the Bible is always centered around interpretation. Many in our culture believe that the teachings of the Bible are relative and their meaning and the authors’ message cannot be discerned. Yet these same individuals want you to apply a different standard of objectivity when it comes to their writings attacking the scripture. Here we see the basis of the argument that even language itself and our ability to communicate effectively is evidence for a Creator who has established objective morality and meaning in the universe. The only way to have inalienable rights or self-evident truths is to have a Creator. This belief is why the Declaration of Independence announces that certain human rights were “endowed by their Creator.”
Other examples of God-given rights founded in Scripture include:
- Freedom of religion
- Freedom of speech
- Justice in the court system
- Right to keep and bear arms
- Right to self-defense
The Bible as the word of God is a threat to those who wish to control, manipulate, oppress and brutalize others. In every government that has ruled by oppression and tyranny, the Bible is prohibited. In Nazi Germany, Hitler sought to rewrite the Bible. Scripture reveals that God views all humans with value, not just those of a specific race, gender or economic status. In modern application, God also values unborn humans. The idea of objective human rights and value was and is contrary to Nazi beliefs. Thus, to create a nation where the atrocities of the holocaust could be carried out one would have to create a Biblically illiterate culture. Why? Because the word of God threatens to undermine the sinful nature and reveals God’s intended purpose for government.
The Nazi party recognized God’s word as such a powerful threat against their movement that they completely rewrote the New Testament with alternative scriptures, including a rewritten version of the Ten Commandments that included "Honor Thy Führer and Master". Any pastor that did not adopt and preach from the altered scriptures was imprisoned, tortured, and/or killed. In communist Russa, Joseph Stalin and Vladimer Lenon opposed God’s word and sought to eliminate the Bible from Russia. In his treatise titled “Relationship of the Workers’ Party to Religion,” Lenin said:
“‘Religion is opium for the people’—this statement by Marx is the cornerstone of all the world concept of Marxism in the matter of religion. Marxism views all of today’s religions and churches, each and every religious organization, always to be organs of the [enemy] bourgeois reactionary forces.”
Ironically, Marx who taught that the Bible and religion were oppressive, was simply seeking to control people with the evils of socialism and communism. While the Russian government never issued an outright, total ban on reading or owning a Bible, the government made it almost impossible to acquire one legally with a ban on publication and importation. Many Christian leaders gave their lives to import Bibles into Russia at the height of communist power. During the 1900’s, any attempt to import Bibles across the border resulted in confiscation, imprisonment, torture, or death. Why? Because the Bible is objectively true and the laws for governing established by God, which should be the model of governing by all nations, are found in the scriptures.
If an outside observer were to study the history of governments, it would not take long for them to recognize that dictators hate the Bible and that democracies thrive under its teachings. So, what makes the Bible so dangerous that entire governments have sought to suppress or eliminate it from the grasp of the people? Simple; the Bible is the word of God and it gives instructions on what we are to value and how we are to live. The sixty-six books in scripture teach us how we are to behave as children of God towards both those we care for and those whom we perceive as potential enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Protect all human life, born and unborn. Defend those unable to defend themselves. Forgive others. Properly administer justice and ensure a fair trial. And many more.
I often remind people that even if they don’t believe that Jesus is God, they should still follow his teachings because they reveal the correct and best way to live. One of the best examples of this is the hallmark teaching that many of our founding Father’s embraced, The Golden Rule, as taught by Jesus,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12 NIV).
John Adams believed that if the nation could follow Jesus’ teachings in the Golden Rule, that it “would produce a society and culture that would be a blessing to all citizens.”
Said another way, John Adams believed that the Golden Rule was the key to self-governing personally and as a nation. This simple rule of life has shaped more decisions in our government than any other statement or ideal. This single sentence was the cornerstone of anti-slavery in America and is still a threat to any evil form of government in existence. This one rule expresses that our lives are able to be transformed to resemble the beauty and glory of our heavenly Father. We do not need to live imprisoned by our human nature, rather, we can live in a more perfect union of the people, for the people, by the people, under God. To make America great, we don’t need a republican or democrat presidential candidate. We need to take the Bible and its influence on our history as a nation seriously and go back to the foundation of what made America “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. Within the beautiful pages of scripture, we discover the objective morality that all human life has value, which would end all racism. We find ethics on marriage, divorce, child raising, and friendship that build loving and lasting communities. Within the pages of the Bible, we see examples of courage to defend human freedom. We also discover failures of past rulers and governments from which we could learn invaluable lessons. Most importantly, we discover that we are all equally sinful and in need of a Savior, which is good news for those willing to recognize their failures and discover the peace of salvation by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
America, it’s time to take the Bible seriously again. The Bible provides for us the foundations for believing in the value of human life and establishes the framework for freedom and justice.
Happy birthday, and wishing you another 250 years of freedom, or until Jesus returns.
Yours truly,
Pastor Aaron
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