Self-Evident Truth

Groups like the Freedom From Religion, atheists, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the ACLU claim that religious beliefs have no place in government. They believe our Fourth Amendment right to religious liberty supports their position that this means they should not be ‘subjected’ to religion. For the sake of argument, I would like to evaluate how the Ten Commandments are an integral part of the formation and laws of these United States, beginning with the first of the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20 (VOICE)

2 I am the Eternal your God. I led you out of Egypt and liberated you from lives of slavery and oppression. 3 You are not to serve any other gods before Me.

God is indeed acknowledged in the beginning of our Declaration of Independence:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

It follows, “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,”

This text declares that there is a creator (Nature’s God), who is the One with the authority to endow us with certain rights. It is an acknowledgement that the state does not have the authority to grant the rights. It only states that our government honors these rights. It does not order how to or which God to worship. Moreover, it does not require worship.

There are those who would like to redact all references to the faith embodied within our nations laws. It is clear, however, that those involved in the establishment of our government acknowledge this first commandment.

Father God, our Creator and Savior, thank you for creating us with free will. Just as our laws are meant for the benefit of our society. Help us to remember that You have given us Your commands for our benefit. Have mercy on us and give us the desire to return to Your Holy standards.