Is the Declaration of Independence Biblical?

Everyone is created in the image of God, but fallen in sin. That is enough. To start speculating now on not everyone being "created" equal, maening "elect" or "non-elect", that smacks of speculating on who the elect are (which everyone denies; what difference would it make who is "different" if we are called to share the gspel with all, regardless?), and suggests that people are "created" better than others (which people constantly hurl at the Arminians, but being created by God "better" than others is certainly more unbiblical than someone making a better choice "from within their selves" as is charged), and questions whether they were ever really a lost sinner.
The idea of any individual or group being better than others is hostile to the Gospel revelation, and it's amazing how this was missed in our history by the very ones saying "all men were created equal"). And no, since free-will teaching was around a lot longer than the Constitution, I don't see how Calvinists can keep trying to trace it to that, or the "American spirit of independance".

 

Bovine offspring... LOL.

I do believe that the American notion of "democracy" has played a huge role in our theological landscape. An excellent work on the topic is 'The Democratization of Christianity' by Nathan O. Hatch. There are also several other works that touch upon this theme, but I believe Hatch's work is the most comprehensive.

Question: Is it "fair" that we have the freedoms in the USA that we do? We didn't earn them, spill our blood for them, etc. We don't seem to complain when the "gettings good." We sure don't like original sin for the most part. "That's not fair." Or election. "That's not fair." Which, for the umpteenth time, is why St. Paul answers the objections he does in Romans 9 (including the accusation(s), "Then that would make God unfair / unjust").

Is it fair that Christians don't get punished for their sins?

 

But where in the Bible does it ever say that God created all men equal?

You may be confusing the idea of all people being egual, and all people being the same.

Also, the phrase "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Indepencence may be taken out of context here. The entire phrase is: 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. This is saying that all people are equally endowed by God rights that cannot be taken from them; that these rights, which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, are not given by God to one person and withheld from the other.

 

I would say this is a biblical concept, yet. Being equal, yes. Being identical, no.

[ November 21, 2002, 05:54 PM: Message edited by: Johnv ]

 

It appears the "founding fathers" didn't believe, blacks were included in "all men". Otherwise slavery would have been a non-issue.

The only thing equal about us is that we are all sinners. This equality is seperated by faith in Christ.

 

Slavery was an issue, even then, and they knew it would eventually become a greater issue (Ben Franlkin's writings in his later years were abolitionist in nature). But they knew that they could only fight one battle at a time, and decided that the primary goal was to break from England.