Oceandan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2013
- Messages
- 1,482
- Reaction score
- 699
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Undisclosed
I have no idea if this thread is in the right place, but oh well.
Anybody who has stuck around for more than 30 seconds of a discussion of Constitutional rights has had the term "unalienable rights" (or inalienable, if the speaker is confused) thrown at them. These words are nowhere to be found in the Constitution, of course, but the Declaration of Independence -- a document which is an integral piece of our history and which reflects the mindset of many of the framers, but which has no legal standing under the Constitution.
Nevertheless, it got me thinking: If we assume that those words had been included in the Constitution, then they would have legal standing -- but what would they mean? Well, "Creator" suggests that these rights come from a divine source of some kind. Many of the religions known to the framers came complete with holy books that we are told were divinely inspired. I haven't read most of them, but I'm familiar enough with the Bible to say with confidence that god never sat down with his children and laid out a list of our human rights. People keep telling me this is a Christian nation, after all, so I figured it was a good place to start.
Could someone, anyone, point to a canonized or otherwise divinely inspired religious text that would've factored into the thinking of the framers which lays out these rights for us?
Interesting questions.
Pardon my redundancy but put your self in the frame of mind of the framers. What were they attempting to escape or rectify. Escaping King George's demand for a single denomination was one aspect. I believe they were brilliant in making no mention of a religious denomination in the instruments that birthed our nation.
When you think of it, "they are endowed by their creator", allows for most any belief system. My creator may be different from your creator. The words chosen were not "we are endowed by Thee Creator, right? I believe this was part and parcel of their seeking to have "separation of Church and state". Again, though realize they didn't say "separation of Church from state.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are Biblical principles, although I'm not a theologist who can direct you to specific chapter/verse. It's undeniable many of the framers had a belief in God.
Again, I would submit they were masterful in refraining from quoting specific texts, since the crux of their thought process was "for all".
Anywho, my two cents. Very interesting manner in which you are processing information. I commend you.
Last edited: