Tag Archives: Declaration of Independence

History and Hope: Renewing the American Promise Part Two: Toward Justice for All

The American Experiment in virtue-based liberty is never done…we are always aspiring to live up to the noble values of our Founders and Framers. In Part One, we looked at our nation’s foundations, find much to thank God for…and much requiring repentance and realignment with truth. In this essay, we explore events from the 19th century to the present as signs of blessing and judgment, with the hope that we can live more helpful and hopeful lives.

The decades before the Civil War (1861-1865) saw a nation divided over slavery, with the Compromises of 1820 and 1850 failing to appease of the passions of both abolitionists and advocates of slavery. The British and French preceded the USA in the abolition of slavery, even as Americans boasted about having a freer nation!

Tragedy and blessing: The Civil War officially started as a war for Confederate independence (Southern view) and a war to preserve the Union (Northern view). By late 1862 with the Emancipation Proclamation and early 1865, with the passing of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, President Lincoln and many others understood the war to be God’s providential judgement on three centuries of slavery. More soldiers were killed and wounded in this war that all other wars combined. The 14th and 15th Amendments, passed in 1868 and 1870, enshrined citizenship and voting rights for all people.

Tragedy: beginning in 1876 and lasting until 1964, segregation and second-class citizenship for African Americans and other minorities became normalized. African-Americans were the most impacted, while other minorities felt the sting if prejudice through restrictive immigration and outright bans from whole arenas of society.

Blessing: Full equality and voting rights for women were promoted by Abigail Adams and others in the 1780s and 1790s but fell on deaf ears until the late 19th century. Suffragette movements (often led by married women of solid Christian faith) gained ground in particular states before 1900. Finally in 1920, full voting rights were enshrined in the 19th Amendment. It would take several more decades and court decisions to allow full equality for employment and property rights.

Blessing and tragedy: Many Americans boast that we are a “land of immigrants” and that the Statue of Liberty welcomes all (legally). And there is much to celebrate as we think of the millions coming through Ellis Island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We are indeed a wonderful “salad bowl” (Historian Carl Degler) of diverse ethnicities and traditions. While we celebrate Ellis Island in New York and appreciate the opportunities afforded to so many, we must also lament the oppression of Angel Island in California and the severe restrictions placed on Asian (especially Chines) immigrants from the 1870s to the 1940s. The open doors of previous decades shut harshly after World War I.

We closed our doors to Jewish immigration and capitulated to severe antisemitism from the 1920s to the1940s, only changing course after seeing the full evidence of the Holocaust.

Blessing: After World War II, the momentum for civil and voting rights for all was unstoppable, though only in 1965 were full rights established. The movement led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was one of our last moments of unified advocacy with people from all backgrounds ready to help cash, “the promissory note” of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.

The past six decades are their own unique narrative, with bright moments of divine life and tragic moments subverting the values and visions of the Founders. May we delight in the providential progress of our history and humbly continue the journey toward justice so all can flourish.

America: An Experiment in Virtue-Based Liberty

As we celebrate our nation’s 246th birthday, it is a good time for reflection on our historical and contemporary strengths and weaknesses, and rededicate ourselves to best ideals of the founders and framers.

Trigger warnings: If you regard America as the source of most of the evil in the world, you will be provoked by the essay. If you regard America as a divinely-chosen nation, you will be unhappy. OK, time for reflection.

American history has a few saints and many sinners. The founding of colonies such as Plymouth, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Pennsylvania with freedom of religion baked into their identities are a highlight of our history. The intolerance found in 17th and 18th century Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Virginia is tragic for liberty.

Slavery came crashing to our shores in 1619 and affected all American colonies, even where it was not widely practiced. The de facto and de jure oppression of million due to race violated everything later enumerated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This is why African Americans rightly speak of three American founding moments: the “promissory note” of 1776, the Emancipation of Juneteenth, 1865 with the passage of 14th and 15th Amendments, and the Civil Rights and Voting Acts of 1965. We are still overcoming the systemic evils of slavery and Jim Crow, but progress has been made.

Religious and social awakenings have helped the cause of justice throughout our history. Abolitionist movements, educational and labor reform, 70 years of work by the Suffragettes, and many more private and public initiatives have cleared the way for millions to enjoy a better life. We must celebrate these moments of progress and well as lament the evils they sought to overcome.

We have opened and shut our gates to immigrants during our 246 years. Like all Empires (yes, we are an empire, with the conquest of a continent and acquisition of oversee territories), a dominant tribe begins opening citizenship to others. For the USA, White Protestants have haltingly welcomed women and men from all cultures. From the despised Irish to the isolated Chinese, to a huge Central and Eastern European influx in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with the variegated hospitality to Hispanic/Latino neighbors. At times we fulfilled the words of the Statue of Liberty and welcomed the “huddled masses.” At other times, xenophobia overtook justice and Fortress America with all its toxic narrowness took over. Such evil kept thousands of Jews from finding refuge during the Shoah. Other times it was non-European groups that were systemically kept out. Ironically, the current non-policies for immigration allow foreign money to buy influence and open our doors to whoever can pay, while denying many hard-working folks opportunities and pathways to citizenship.

America is a land of economic opportunity, and, in the last half-century, a generous benefactor to those who struggle. We are still the land of promise for millions, while we struggle to reform bad welfare policies and poor educational systems that keep too many citizens from flourishing. Once again, a mixture of greatness and deep flaws.

Finally, our treatment of the Indigenous Peoples from the 17th century to the present was uniformly unjust, with only a few exceptions led by missionaries and visionaries. Exploitation was unnecessary – we could still have fashioned our free land without breaking every treaty, forcible conquest and exile, and maltreatment of cultures quite divergent from the European imports. Only repentance, economic repair, and humility can begin repairing this history. Yes, the Indigenous were not all virtuous, and one can argue that there were moments of violence perpetrated on colonists and settlers that were evil. But the proportionality is clear, and the Christian and Enlightened ideals of the (mostly) White conquerors were subverted by greed and racism.

Finally, our history has been punctuated with marvelous religious and social awakenings that further the cause of liberty, and enshrining freedom of conscience/religion in the First Amendment has made all religious communities stronger and self-sufficient. We remain one of the few nations in the world where anyone can peaceably start a religious community without permission from the government (unless you desire tax-exemption). Right now, we can assemble and practice our faiths with no interference from the state. Yes, there are complications and exceptions, but this remains the most enduring legacy of our American Experiment.

So, let’s raise a toast, and fall to our knees. Let’s celebrate opportunity and lament injustice. Let’s labor so all can flourish, and humbly ask for divine help. Happy Birthday, USA!

Observations on 1517

During this 500th anniversary of The Reformation, we ought to be grateful for all 5 Reformations: Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Anabaptist and Roman Catholic.

All imperfect, yet the best of each has strengthened the global church and spread virtue-based liberty around the world. Even CNN agrees that free inquiry, democracy and limited government are legacies of this tumultuous era. Charles Carroll, Roman Catholic signer of the American Declaration of Independence, fought for religious and political liberty for six decades. Separation of church and state and voluntary religious adherence we owe to Anabaptist and later Baptist friends.

Luther inspired grace-filled humility and love. Reformed (and always reforming) streams inspire God-honoring service in all spheres. Our Anglican friends help us see unity in great diversity and bequeathed the blessings of the Wesleys and early Methodism. All 4 of the Protestant streams contributed to the multi-denominational Evangelical ethos that arose in the early 1700s and continues to develop today. And Christians of all traditions admire and learn from the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.

I am a Pentecostal – and we freely appropriate insights from all the evangelical streams, while aspiring to model NT faith.

And friends, we must not forget that this is a Western Christian moment. Our Eastern Orthodox friends and adherents of the ancient Churches of the East number millions of devotees and have felt the impact of these movements as well.

May God help us appreciate our shared creeds and values while respecting our diverse expressions and fostering mutual love and respect. Too often in the past our differences meant intolerance and violence…we have mostly left this behind, thanks be to God.
My celebration is mingled with cries for humility and healing.

Celebrating Our American History and Hope

The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 2, 1776 and signed by John Hancock on July 4, with most of the other signatories penning their names on August 2. In celebration and for reflection, I offer the following insights that flow from this Declaration and the later Constitution and Bill of Rights. These are our founding documents.

We are still catching up to the promises of the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence and Constitution declare that human rights are God-given natural rights. Governments exist to protect our rights, NOT bestow them!

“Let’s freedom ring…”
Today, I am appreciating the words and works of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. When asked about freeing the Blacks, he said that his cause was about freeing ALL people…and saving the soul of White America from the scourge of racism.

As we rightly celebrate our nation’s birth, let’s ask the Almighty for full liberation from hatred, injustice and prejudice. People of every class, gender or race or religion are made in God’s image and endowed with inalienable rights.

“Proclaim liberty throughout the land…”
May God help us relearn civil conversation, principled debate and good-faith progress toward justice in all our political circles.