Endowed By Their Creator...

creator does not have to be a synonym for god the natural processes of the universe could be the creator. the long line of life that precedes us may be the creator. our rights can be derived from these understandings of the concept just as well as from a more traditional theistic interpretation. Reply

Very good discussion Thanks for the article - and the viewpoints of each of you! I worry most of the world is incapable of thinking of and acting on their own ideas i n this realm. Reply

Endowed By Their Creator The philosophy behind the Declaration was pretty well-aired long before Jefferson drafted "endowed by their Creator". John Locke's statement of natural rights (a concept that goes back to ancient Greeks) was not the first to mention the Creator--the Creator was just as central to the philosophy Locke was railing against as it was to Jefferson's. The dominant political philosophy in the 17th century was the divine right of kings, and his subjects' rights were those that the liege lord deigned to grant.

The shift in philosophy had very little to do with a changing concept of G-d, but rather a changing concept of whether G-d had anointed a monarch, like King Solomon, to rule over men at his behest, or whether God had granted all rights directly to men who had the right to choose their earthly leaders..

Like opposing belligerents who each claim G-d to be on their side, both Royalists and Jeffersonians claim Divine blessing for their philosophy. Reply

Try to get U.S. history correct First, "the four words ... 'In G‑d we Trust.'" did not become the official national motto or get put "on the dollar" (or any paper money, although they were on coins earlier) until the 1950's, a time when the U.S. was using false allegations of Communism to persecute Jews (not exclusively, but at a higher rate than gentiles were accused).

Second, the author of the Declaration of Independence owned slaves and the Revolution was partly intended to allow the conquest of the Native American Indians (who the British wanted to protect).

Actually, the Torah allows slavery and requires killing of those who inhabit the land where the "city on a hill" will be built (Canaanites), and the author of this article says that those who do not share his beliefs about G-d are Communists. So he is correct about one thing: Historical U.S. beliefs and Jewish beliefs have been much alike, although I am not proud of that part of the history of either my religion or my country. Reply

so true. great article as usual. Reply

No Endowment, No Freedom Even the "liberty" is a gift. And a gift has a Giver. And to go with a further analogy, as Inge's......Without G*d one is like a kite without a string!

A string may seem to be tying one down and restricting movement, but, 'ironically', it is that very string that gives the kite, direction and the ability to reach the heights of the heavens. Reply

Really? "...and the other revolutions crying the same cry of "all men are created equal" (e.g., communism)..."

I was surprised reading such words in the article. You see, communists never believed that all men are created equal because they don't believe in creation! Rather they believe that humans have evolved from apes. So they never had any such cries.
I would suggest you correct that point in your article, otherwise it makes the communists look not so terrible--and they are. Reply

Democracy It is more than those four words "In God We Trust" that has made America as a city on a hill. Truly do the Mullahs of Iran trust in their "God", as did the human -sacrificing Aztec city on a hill.
The difference is that the God referred to by the founding fathers of the USA is one and the same as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob! That God, the one and only, has given us Free Will. As opposed to the total surrender demanded by "Allah", our true God wants us to wrestle with him, to find the extent of our strength; beyond which point we discover the beginning of His. Point by point an outline of the ineffable is constructed. We worship by discovering Him and not by surrendering.
But, as for the government; it is the limitation on its scope that is defined by The Constitution. It is the Constitution that limits the arena in which majority rule can operate to the Civil Arena. Reply

Re: Endowed By Their Creator I can't find in the Torah any sense of counting down to Sinai before the time that God tells Moses to tell Israel to wash, cleanse themselves and prepare for three days. Moses knew he was returning to Sinai with the Israelites as God had required of him; but where is there a sense of impatient striving for the Torah demonstrated in Torah, prior to arriving at Sinai?
Second point: it is continually frustrating to encounter the anachronistic use of the phrase The Jewish People to refer to B'nai Israel. After the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel, the assumption is made that enough of a remnant of Ephraim and the associated tribes escaped south to the Kingdom of Judah that the term Jewish People subsumes all of the descendants of Jacob (Israel). I disagree. But, to speak of the Israelites as "The Jewish People" in the time of Exodus, through 2nd Kings or 2nd Chronicles is a reverse supersessionism.
Third: The replacement of "o" in "God" is unnecessary:not his name! Reply

Being left behind ... Don't worry if you constantly feel that you are being "left behind". Perhaps it is the will of the G'd? Who can say for 100% that this or that is the the true intention of the G'd?

Those that were left in Egypt knew that all the anger will come onto them. But the prayer helped them survive. And from those who survived ... who are they but the invicible Jews?

Those who made an exit from Egypt after the "Big Run" ... are they worth any less than those who went with Moses?

So hide your gold and don't worry. Perhaps YOUR gold is the one that saves the Jewish nation at the end? Reply

thank you. it is absolutely true. without G-d you are just like a leaf in the wind; with G-d you find freedom. Reply