Share the Secret of America's Original Greatness on Independence Day

I've been thinking about this holiday and was impressed by some of the spiritual history surrounding the radically innovative concepts introduced in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, that helped codify the desires for a new kind of government.

In the U.S., it seems that we've come more to celebrate fireworks and parade floats on "the 4th," rather than the civil freedoms and the significance of what helped to cause the country to become great, to begin with.

Before there was a rebirth of a nation, there was a rebirth of souls across America. Historically, this great country was preceded by a great awakening, a spiritual awakening. This is the secret of America's original greatness.

"Nathan Hatch argues that the evangelical movement of the 1740s played a key role in the development of democratic thought, as well as the belief of the free press and the belief that information should be shared and completely unbiased and uncontrolled. These concepts ushered in the period of the American Revolution."

Today, society is increasingly plagued by PC authoritarianism and a loss of freedoms. Ironically, when society embraces moral relativism as a foundation, there is a loss of freedom and prosperity. Another article explains this with more detail: Logical Reasons why Moral Relativism is False. While many question the nuances Founding Fathers' faith, it is clear that the foundation was not moral relativism.

Thomas Jefferson composed the original draft of the Declaration, while Congress would edit it to produce the final version.

56 men signed the Declaration of Independence and acknowledged the truths presented.

U.S. human rights are based mainly on the second sentence: "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."

John Adams, 2nd U.S. President and Signer of the Declaration of Independence, plainly identified Christian principles as the basis of U.S. government inspiration and the secret of success, in this sourced quote:

"Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God ... What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be." --Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.

Patrick Henry, ratifier of the U.S. Constitution, offered that the Christian foundation of the U.S. should not be kept a secret, but should be widely proclaimed: "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 this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here." --The Trumpet Voice of Freedom: Patrick Henry of Virginia, p. iii.

Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. President, stated: "God who gave us life gave us liberty." --Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII, p. 237.

There are innumerable sourced quotes by U.S. Founding Fathers linking the best system of government and law system as one based on Christian principles, with some more samples at this link.

Before you dismiss these men as outdated and naive, consider that science alone still can offer no objective basis of morality, while essentialist Divine Command Theory, as touched on at this link, does offer a rational explanation of objective morality.

John Adams suggested that the spiritual aspects of Independence Day should not be forgotten, along with a deep sense of gratitude to God, in addition to the celebration:

"It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other..." - John Adams' letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776

An Independence Day Prayer

Four times The Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence acknowledged you, honoring you as the CREATOR, the FOUNDATION of morality, the true JUDGE of the world, and the INTERVENING FORCE in the affairs of men. May we as a nation be awakened to your truth again, oh God.

The four times and four ways that God is mentioned in the Declaration of Independence are outlined here at this link. 

The only way in which America will become great again is if people embrace basic principles of truth and ethics that are logically explainable, as opposed to promoting PC authoritarianism that only results in confusion, a loss of freedom, and economic hardship.

We've drifted extremely far as a nation off of the sound foundation of principles that helped to make the U.S. a good and great country. Because of this, our nation is in some ways, on some subjects, promoting evil instead of good. At best, society is becoming more divided and confused based on ethical illiteracy. For example, at his website, Colin Kaepernick promotes Islam, LGBT rights, and feminism with the same non-profit foundation, despite the fact that the basic Islamic approach is to oppress and often to even harm the other two groups. There is a need to more closely investigate the basis of truth and ethics.

Recently, the U.S. has become known more as a country of fake news, rather than a source of truth. But these aspects are not what America was founded upon. As Christians, though we may never see a "great awakening" in our day, we can pray for this, and we can pray that our own hearts and souls are set on fire by the Holy Spirit with a passion for God. We can pray that as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ that there is a personal spiritual awakening among individuals as we share the gospel in ways that God shows us to.

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