Is America A Christian Nation, Part XIII, the Declaration Continued

In the previous installment of Is America A Christian Nation, within the expressions of the Declaration of Independence, we identified the source of all American sovereign authority.  And that source is God.  That authority flows from God, to men, and from men to a government of their choosing.  That's what the Declaration says.  But knowing that "God" the Creator, is the source of all American authority really does not fully answer the question at hand, which is to determine whether, in all respects, America is a Christian Nation.  After all, the followers of Islam believe in God, or Allah..  Other religions have their gods as well.

Another possibility is that the Declaration refers to a deist god, one who created the world and universe, set it in motion, and then took a long coffee break, allowing men and nations to settle their own issues toward a conclusion, the nature of which God chooses not to affect.  Could it be that Founders were deists?

The point I make here is that, the analysis we pursued in the very previous installment, while it demonstrates conclusively that American sovereign authority comes from God,  that analysis did not necessarily demonstrate or prove that God, the Creator referred in the Declaration of Independence, is God of the New Testament. Hey, as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day!  I have to leave a few things to talk about each next time!  That's what keeps you coming back!

So let's talk about all that. 

To gain a foothold on whether, indeed, the Declaration of Independence is a Christian document, written by Christians, referring only to God of the Bible and New Testament, let's look at that document's last stanza, which proclaims:

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

So where is Jesus in all of that??  Good question, friends.  Nothing within these expressions says anything about Jesus, Christ, the Holy Trinity, the New Testament, or gives any indication at all that the 'Supreme Judge of the world' is in fact God of the Bible and New Testament.  So I guess I'm stuck here, right?...WRONG!  We just have to dig a little deeper to discern the truth.

Because the Declaration of Independence does not specifically refer to the Bible, or Christ, or the Trinity, or the New Testament, to draw any conclusion beyond that which is stated plainly, we will have to go back to the authority given the representatives of the 'good People of these Colonies.' We will have to discern just what any of them were authorized to do, given their charge of authority by those they represented, while engaged at the proceedings during which those men ended up signing the Declaration of Independence.

During the time in question, a period which spans July 4, 1776, each of the American British Colonies, which would become declared 'free and independent states' on that date, had codified a legal requirement, either by charter, or by charter and newly constructed state constitution, that individuals who represented the people of those colonies/states, were Christian, men who either swore an oath that they were Christian, or who otherwise professed faith in Jesus Christ.   And indeed, when the various state constitutions were completed, each state constitution either established a specific Christian denomination as its state religion, or specified that those who represented the people professed to be Christian, believing in Jesus Christ and the Gospel of the New Testament.  Here is a good reference for anyone to verify what I write here http://undergod.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=69.

So unless the men who convened in Philadelphia were not only Christian, each professing a belief in God of the New Testament as a condition of their appointment in the first place, they would not have been authorized to represent the people of the colonies/states they represented.  And if they were not authorized to represent the 'good People of the Colonies,' then the Declaration of Independence was an unauthorized agreement and the good People never declared independence!  So either the Declaration of Independence is a Christian declaration, or it is NO declaration at all! There are no other viable choices here.  Not only were the men who represented each American-British Colonist PROFESSED Christians, they were also LEGALLY Christians. So those who contend that America is not a Christian nation, in so doing also contend that America does not exist, thereby nullifying their very contention.  I describe this result in the same way I describe division by zero.  One cannot even speak of something that does not exist.  It is a meaningless waste of time.  The men who represented the 'good People of the Colonies,' as a LEGAL REQUIREMENT of that position, professed faith in Jesus Christ.  That was the law.  So as a matter of law, any reference to God in the Declaration is also a reference to God of the Bible including the New Testament.

So if we rightfully conclude that the United States of America of today, did in fact begin on July 4, 1776, as in previous installments in this series we have demonstrated beyond any substantial objection, then the Declaration of Independence must be a Christian declaration, announced and endorsed by Christians, men who represented a Christian nation, as defined as a nation whose sovereignty is authorized by the scriptures of the New Testament, which scriptures contend that all authority in Heaven and earth is given to Jesus Christ.  And because the Declaration of Independence speaks in terms of universal, natural laws, that document professes that any real authority for men and nations, which includes the United States of America, must derive from Jesus Christ as well.  All other semblance of authority is therefore either false, despotic, brought either by force, or by pure agreement among men.

In the next installment in our series Is America A Christian Nation, we will investigate further this notion of Christian God in the American founding documents.  And we will delve into America's first constitution of sorts, the Articles of Confederation, looking for any discrepancy, any reason whatsoever to question the conclusions drawn so far, and discover whether that document either disputes, or ratifies the conclusion that the Declaration of Independence is a Christian document.  So come back soon and find out.

Thanks again for your support and readership!

Hank