One of my favorite scenes in the HBO special is this one from John Adams.

This speech is a great example of seeing how the Biblical worldview traces human rights directly from our Creator to the creation. Our rights do not come from our DNA, our king, our leaders, our group, or our skin pigment. They come from our loving and all knowing Creator. Since they are not given my mortals or kings, they cannot be taken away by any man or group.

Newsweek had an article this week critiquing the founders fathers of our country. I can imagine one of two reactions. One group will be shocked. Appalled that we tarnish the image of our founders. They will write op-eds and wave their American flags in anger. The other group will be thrilled. They will be as giddy as school girls to “prove” that our founding fathers were horrible faithless broken politicians.

The Bible allows us to pursue truth. A follower of Christ is always looking for the truth since “only the truth can set us free.” So what is the truth? The Bible says that we are all sinful. So a student of the Scriptures is not shocked to find out that sinful people are… Well, sinful. However, a pursuer of truth, is also shocked at revisionist history. How a group of faith based Presbyterian leaders with seminary degrees could be Godless, secular theorists is beyond comprehension… So far beyond that one might suspect it is not true. The truth is far from Newsweek’s allegations.

Our founders were not perfect, but they did instill the principles of liberty, rule of law, conscience, and morality from a Biblical worldview. The facts are overwhelming and undeniable. Take Governor Bradford for example

Bradford called a town meeting and threw out the socialism model. After all, if a community of devout religious people couldn’t make it work, what hope was there for it ever being successful? He implemented the basics of capitalism by having families work their own property to provide for themselves. No longer expecting one to work to provide for another, the entitlement program was ended. He tried to apply these three principles from God to his society: Property rights, incentive, and personal freedom.
After a season of implementing the new model using God’s principles, something amazing happened. Families members who were “too tired” or “too sick” to work suddenly came alive. Husbands and wives, children and cousins worked together on their own farms. Each person and family had incentive to work hard and provide for themselves and those they cared about most.
The result was a bumper crop. There was so much bounty and so much provision that they had plenty for themselves and others. Thus, they celebrated the first Thanksgiving to thank God for His provision and His wisdom which made a town’s economy work. Later, Bradford wrote in his journal about this experiment and warned future generations that socialism doesn’t work. Collectivism may sound utopian, but the results leave you “feeling like a turkey” rather than eating one.

The biblical principles of Property Rights, Incentive, and Freedom, are foundational to the success of any society. They are also the bedrock of the free market system. These concepts were outlined by God and given to Moses as a blueprint for a free society. As the Hebrew slaves headed out to begin a new nation, God gave them the framework for freedom. It began with property rights. Property Rights are referred to in twenty percent of the Ten Commandments. We are warned not to “envying someone else’s house or horse” because someone else owns it, and therefore, we don’t have the right to take it or even envy it.
Another commandment addresses the legal side of this issue: “Do not steal someone else’s donkey or field.” Why shouldn’t we take something that’s not ours? We shouldn’t steal it because someone else has property rights to that asset. Property rights are the foundation for freedom in any society. For the Hebrews this meant that no longer would the king or Pharaoh own the land. No longer would the strongest and most powerful militia determine who-owns-what by the nature of survival of the “wickedest.”

For more information, check out www.godonomics.com

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