On July 2, 1776, 250 years ago today, the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Brittan. We celebrate instead  July 4, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

The Declaration was largely written by Thomas Jefferson. It contains the memorable lines: “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.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” 

The use of religious language in the Declaration is striking. Although Jefferson identified himself as a Christian, he did not believe in miracles, the virgin birth or the resurrection. He might better be called a Deist. It was from enlightenment Deism that he derived the idea that God gives people the rights to Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness. 

As a citizen of the United States and a Christian, I embrace this idea of unalienable rights given by God. I am astonished sometimes that many Americans have the notion that these rights come from the government which can grant or withdraw them at will. In the view of the Declaration, government derives its power from the consent of the people governed. It only has the power the people give it. This is a very different view than the one held by people like Martin Luther who saw government as instituted by God.

How do you, as a Christian, understand human rights?

Read Proverbs 31:8-9 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne