Members ... Posted February 11, 2017 Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 (edited) "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." If the Declaration of Independence is merely acknowledging and asserting what is a natural fact of life, how can we say that a person needs to be a legal citizen of the United States in order to receive those rights? According to the above quote, rights are given to all men by God, not government. Edited February 11, 2017 by Brother Stafford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members weary warrior Posted February 11, 2017 Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 Just now, Brother Stafford said: "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." If the Declaration of Independence is merely acknowledging and asserting what is a natural fact of life, how can we say that a person needs to be a legal citizen of the United States in order to receive those rights? According to the above quote, rights are given to all men by God, not government. Yet I've never found in scripture where God himself said he ever gave man any such unalienable rights. If fact, I find just the opposite. So if God does not give these rights to man (maybe he does, and I've just not seen it yet) then the government does. And if the government gives them, I guess the government can give them to whom they choose. They can also take them away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ... Posted February 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 (edited) Whether the Bible says that God give us those rights is not my point. My point is that the government (via the Declaration) claims that our rights come from God, not from government, yet restricts those same rights they claim come from God. I am wondering how they harmonize the two ideas. Edited February 11, 2017 by Brother Stafford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members weary warrior Posted February 11, 2017 Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 Sorry. Since your post was titled "From whom do we get our rights" I thought that was your point, so it's the question I answered. Since when is the government ever in the business of harmonizing what they wanted for themselves and what they are willing to grant to others? they invoked the name of God in order to justify their rebellion with England for the lack of rights being provided by that government, then in the same document that they were declaring their own new government based on said "God-given rights to all me", they turned around and denied the "unalienable rights" of all slaves. They've never tried to harmonize the two thoughts. Not from the very beginning. ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ... Posted February 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 So I'm not alone here in being frustrated with this dichotomy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members weary warrior Posted February 11, 2017 Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 27 minutes ago, Brother Stafford said: So I'm not alone here in being frustrated with this dichotomy? I would say that you are not alone in recognizing the dichotomy, but to be honest that dichotomy doesn't really frustrate me. Frustration comes from disappointed expectations, and I have had no particular expectations of honest, moral decisions from the government for many years. I always feel a little surprised and grateful when they do something right, and justified in my pessimism when they don't. I'm a lot of fun at parties. :) ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ... Posted February 11, 2017 Author Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 4 minutes ago, weary warrior said: I'm a lot of fun at parties. :) I have a feeling that we would have some great conversations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1611mac Posted February 11, 2017 Members Share Posted February 11, 2017 7 hours ago, Brother Stafford said: So I'm not alone here in being frustrated with this dichotomy? No one actually thinks any longer so nothing makes sense. Everyone simply "feels." And that is why the "freezing polar bears" are so "loved" in today's sad culture. Babies can be kllled minutes before birth and the world says that it's OK... but steal some Eagle eggs and see what happens! Sadly, this "feeling" over "truth and intellect" carries over into our so-called churches today.... One phrase I make sure I avoid when soul winning: "How do you feel?" ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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