Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Pastor Walter Snyder Q: Over the July 4 weekend I re-read the Declaration of Independence. I got to thinking about the origin of the phrase, "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness." I've tried to trace this back to the Bible without much success. Did God create us with these "rights"? A: As an American, I'm glad that people still refer to our founding documents. As a Christian, I'm even happier when someone refers to our founding document, the Holy Scriptures. I imagine that few have ever seriously considered your question in depth. All three---life, liberty, and happiness---sound good to us, so we may not want to examine too closely whether they are truly God-given "rights." As we examine your question, we'll see a tenuous connection between some of the "rights" and God's Word. In fact, the entire premise of the Declaration, that it might be "necessary" to gain independence from another nation and that "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" departs from Scripture. When we examine Romans 13:1, we see that God is of the opinion that He is the only Author of earthly government: "There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Thus, God's consent, not man's, is essential in the establishment of a valid government. It is abundantly clear from the Bible that mankind has the "right" and the privilege of life. Life was God's first gift to man. Jesus came to give new (and eternal) life. That we have this right is shown when God condemns and punishes those who wantonly end another's life. I think it no accident that the first great sin recorded after Eden is Cain's murder of Abel. Obviously, there must have been sins leading up to the murder; doubtless, Adam, Eve, and their children had sinned otherwise in the passing years. Yet the horror of killing is given priority in the divine history of our race. God reserves the right to take life unto Himself. He delegates it only to certain angels at certain times and to a select few individuals. Other than that, only this world's governments have been given the responsibility of taking this right away from people---and then, only as a last resort. God shows that there is no "absolute" right to life whenever He commands or allows the death of sinners. Good government only exercises capital punishment in proportion to the crime and should never use it as a threat against law-abiding people. Rather, it is to protect and defend its citizens right to life against forces of evil (Romans 13:3-4). Liberty is harder to directly justify as a right from Scripture. I've not found abundant source material as to why the founding fathers thought that the Bible supported this. If I were to guess, I think it's because so many choices are offered. For example, Joshua told Israel, "Choose this day whom you will serve. (24:15)" Liberty itself is usually announced in Messianic terms, not in the context of earthly freedom but in the ultimate freedom in Christ from sin, death, and devil. Still, however, argument from example shows that indiscriminately imprisoning or restricting others is not God-pleasing, although God may turn this to a blessing. Perhaps another reason why Jefferson chose liberty for this part of the Declaration is that Scriptural liberty is never license to do evil. Indeed, the more liberty one is given, the more he is in God's debt. A sense of responsibility is part and parcel of this liberty---something that those founding a new country needed to emphasize. Too, liberty is included as a right that government must promote and defend---a concept not alien to Romans 13. The pursuit of happiness is the most difficult to find. Various accounts have discussed why these words appear. Most likely, they're a compromise; they're not Biblical and they don't sound particularly Jeffersonian. Already the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason, expressed human rights as including "enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety." Granted, no one can guarantee happiness; even its pursuit is difficult. Scripture and life both show that happiness usually comes not when pursued as a goal but rather as other goals are pursued and attained. In the final analysis, the Declaration is a brilliant piece of social and political writing. However, it suffers when used as an illustration of Christian theology. While we celebrate the freedoms promised by Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, et al., I don't know if I could have, in good conscience urged fighting against England to obtain them. Certainly, if a government is proven to be evil and to be causing evil resistance may be necessary. I just don't know if the causes outlined in the Declaration are completely valid in light of Romans 13. After all, early Christians suffered greater harm under an intolerant and evil Roman government than anything the American colonists ever faced under England without rising in rebellion against Rome. Scripture quotations are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard Version~, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Ask the Pastor, © 2002 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others. Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."