Christianity: An Anti-American Faith?
by Tyler Zach
Today in class I was reminded that the American dream is "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", as described in Wikipedia, is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" of man.
Let’s look a little closer. What are unalienable rights?
The term unalienable rights refers to a set of human rights that are in some sense fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. They are by definition, rights retained by the people.
Perhaps if we gave God the chance to rearrange this popular phrase it would read “Death, slavery, and the pursuit of satisfaction in God”.
Each contrasting word creates a paradigm shift that we as Americans should meditate on.
Instead of desiring a good [temporal] life, we should desire death – a daily dying to ourselves, a full surrender of our will and hearts. Only then do we have the opportunity to be given [eternal] life through Christ.
Slavery seems like a bad word. But, Paul exhorts us to become slaves to Christ, to righteousness. This goes against our idea of freedom. We want to be free in every decision from picking out wedding colors, to buying a house, to picking out our dream job, etc. To live in such a way that we submit ourselves fully to one person is very counter-cultural.
Lastly, the pursuit of happiness is not such a bad thing – except that happiness can’t be found outside of God. Some things may be good, some things excellent, but nothing compares to the surpassing greatness of God. Satisfaction in Him above all things should be our pursuit. Pursing anything else other than God will lead to a life of vanity.
Could the very idea of this popular phrase as an unalienable right serve as rebellion towards God? It was mentioned that an unalienable right is retained by the people and cannot be surrendered. The very thought of desiring life outside of God, being free from all control, and for pursing happiness apart from God is really at the root... rebellion.
Does this kind of sounds familiar?
If you are thinking Adam and Eve, you are correct! The first sinful act of eating the forbidden fruit involved all of the above.
I guess my realization today is that our "Christian" nation has some repenting to do.
Note: This blog series is a collection of musings from my Old Testament seminary class with Dr. Richard Pratt, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary
Today in class I was reminded that the American dream is "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", as described in Wikipedia, is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" of man.
Let’s look a little closer. What are unalienable rights?
The term unalienable rights refers to a set of human rights that are in some sense fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. They are by definition, rights retained by the people.
Perhaps if we gave God the chance to rearrange this popular phrase it would read “Death, slavery, and the pursuit of satisfaction in God”.
Each contrasting word creates a paradigm shift that we as Americans should meditate on.
Instead of desiring a good [temporal] life, we should desire death – a daily dying to ourselves, a full surrender of our will and hearts. Only then do we have the opportunity to be given [eternal] life through Christ.
Slavery seems like a bad word. But, Paul exhorts us to become slaves to Christ, to righteousness. This goes against our idea of freedom. We want to be free in every decision from picking out wedding colors, to buying a house, to picking out our dream job, etc. To live in such a way that we submit ourselves fully to one person is very counter-cultural.
Lastly, the pursuit of happiness is not such a bad thing – except that happiness can’t be found outside of God. Some things may be good, some things excellent, but nothing compares to the surpassing greatness of God. Satisfaction in Him above all things should be our pursuit. Pursing anything else other than God will lead to a life of vanity.
Could the very idea of this popular phrase as an unalienable right serve as rebellion towards God? It was mentioned that an unalienable right is retained by the people and cannot be surrendered. The very thought of desiring life outside of God, being free from all control, and for pursing happiness apart from God is really at the root... rebellion.
Does this kind of sounds familiar?
If you are thinking Adam and Eve, you are correct! The first sinful act of eating the forbidden fruit involved all of the above.
I guess my realization today is that our "Christian" nation has some repenting to do.
Note: This blog series is a collection of musings from my Old Testament seminary class with Dr. Richard Pratt, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary
posted by Tyler Zach at 8:05 PM
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