smellincoffee Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 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. No disrespected intended toward the memory of Jefferson, but I actually realized last night, for the first time, that this statement is utterly false. Life, whether it be eternal or not, is not guaranteed us by the Judeo-Christian "Creator". If your great-great-great (and so on) grandfather happened to be Isaac, then sure. But if not -- well, those are the breaks. Liberty? Not really. God claims to have given us free well, but the point is moot given the consequences for USING that free will -- the whole eternal damnation thing. You can also toss the pursuit of happiness out the window, because for some of us "happiness" and "God" are mutually exclusive terms. So where's Jefferson coming from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celsus Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Jefferson was not a Christian, he was a Deist. When he spoke of "Creator" he was referencing "Nature's God", which came from the "Rights of Man" philosophy of the 18th century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellincoffee Posted September 15, 2006 Author Share Posted September 15, 2006 While I was aware of Deism (and its popularity among the American founding fathers), for some reason its connection to Jefferson temporarily slipped my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NobleSavage Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 No Christian would ever use a term like "Nature's God". Christians say "Lord", "Jesus" or "Heavenly Father". Also, read Romans 13:1-2. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. The Christian god believed in the divine right of kings as well as the institution of slavery. The concept of a Creator that made us free is a deistic one, not a Christian concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 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. So where's Jefferson coming from? I think it's a tricky thing to try and guess what someone's intent in saying a thing is. I can only offer my speculation, my interpretation. I think that to get caught up in phrase "their Creator" would be to miss the point of this sentence. One could just as easily substitute for it "the Unknown" and retain the intent of this utterance in my opinion. I think that the focus of Jefferson here was unalienable rights. In my assessment he was trying to convey the self-evident fact that there are things possesed by people which cannot be taken away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WakingUp Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 I wonder why Jefferson had slaves, since he believed in all men being given these rights by their Creator? WakingUp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trashy Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I *SO* thought this thread was going to be about something else.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NobleSavage Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I wonder why Jefferson had slaves, since he believed in all men being given these rights by their Creator? Yeah, well, he thought slavery was an abomination and resolved to set his free. Tragically, he never got around to it. His moral failing? Most certainly. Unfortunate for posterity? Most certainly. Nevertheless, his words contain important ideals for the nation to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renfield Posted September 16, 2006 Share Posted September 16, 2006 I *SO* thought this thread was going to be about something else.......... I can't stop laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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