The Declaration of Independence and Constitution state that the people give permission to the gov...
Credit: Constitutional Convention | ©Wikimedia Commons
A Democracy Cannot Survive Without Responsibility and God-Given Rights
The Declaration of Independence states that all men are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." According to the beliefs of our Founding Fathers, our rights are not granted to us by our government. Our rights come from our Creator. "Unalienable rights" means that our rights cannot be surrendered or transferred. What happens to a country built on rights granted by a creator, when they no longer believe in a creator? This country becomes vulnerable to having its rights trampled on. This country could even become vulnerable to despotism or mob rule.The Authority of Government
When the United States was formed, most of the colonists believed that their ultimate authority was God. God dictated the morality in their lives. The citizens then gave authority to the new government to manage the country. The government did not have any rights that were not lent to them by the citizens.
If someone owns a company, they can hire different people. They can hire a manager, who in turn, can hire employees. The employees can't fire the manager if he shows up drunk every day. Similarly, the manager can't fire the owner. The employees can go work somewhere else, but they have no power to make decisions where they have no authority.
In a country where God is the ultimate authority, the people are like the managers of a company. God gives us land to manage and take care of. In turn, we hire a government to do some of the necessary work that our country needs, like defense, establishing justice, and insuring domestic tranquility. In this scenario, the people have the right to fire the government. The government doesn't have the right to fire the people, even if they don't like the direction that the people are going in.
Government Without God
Comments
P. Rhyu
(Guest)
(Guest)
11/14/2009
There are a couple of things wrong with this.
First of all, the US was not founded on Christianity, contrary to belief. This is clearly established in a treaty between one of the Barbary States and the US (it's an early one) and because of the Constitution which states not to discriminate on religion. But by the lines of this article, it seems that irreligious people can be discriminated becaused their rights are not founded on anything. Such a statement leads to dangerous legal contradictions.
Second, the arguments are way, way, way, way, way....(ad infinitum) much too simplified. Most humans have something called a moral and ethical code which allows them to live an upright life without the existence of God or any other deity. Plenty of atheists are perfectly moral people.
It just isn't true that the country will decend into moral oblivion - ethics are based on a tit-for-tat basis at its most primitive - and that doesn't require God.
Great article! I agree this nation can not survive without God. I am in college and their are at least one or two atheist that I have run into. They say that they are smarter than me because I follow a religion, but at the same time they are failing their classes. We need to guide these fallen souls back to the light.
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