Jean Leon Gerome Ferris / 1900 / John Adams

Overview: The goal for this three-part series of articles is to mine from the most quoted portion of the Declaration of Independence what I’m calling bedrock principles of liberty. In parts 2 and 3 we will highlight and discuss ten such principles or truths. All of them align with biblical teachings! Some are obvious, but we have become too accustomed to the words and have grown increasingly unaware of their true meaning. In other cases, various ideals are implied rather than explicit, so one has to read between the lines.

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris / 1900 / Thomas Jefferson

Because leftists often use the same words but with very different meanings, people frequently are duped by their emotional and passionate rhetoric. Going back to the Declaration of Independence and unearthing the intent of the Founders is an important step in effectively refuting the claims of the left and upholding the torch of authentic freedom.

In part 1 we examine some of the historical events that led up to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia during the first few days of July, 1776.

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris / 1900 / Benjamin Franklin

In part 2 we highlight and discuss the importance of four principles of liberty embedded in the Declaration of Independence.

In part 3 we mine and examine the remaining six principles on our list. In part 3 we also issue a warning and a challenge. American liberty will not be preserved if the USA continues down the path it now is traveling. Christians and all liberty-loving Americans must rediscover and uphold the principles so powerfully and eloquently affirmed in America’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence. I hope you’ll be among them.

• A five-session Bible study series based on this series is available. The series titled Principles of Liberty: Ten Biblical Truths Embedded in the Declaration of Independence. You can access it here.
• Here is the Word Foundations blogpost that introduced the curriculum in 2020. Here and here are Word Foundations blogposts from 2021 and 2022, respectively, highlighting the curriculum.
• Here is information about using the curriculum. This brief article contains a list of the ten principles the series covers.

Related article — Recapture the Spirit of ’76 — The signers of the Declaration of Independence give us a model for securing and maintaining liberty, not just in the principles they upheld, but also in how they upheld them. We need to recapture the Spirit of ’76!

Related article — Recapture the Founders’ Wisdom — August 2, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, reminds us not only of the sacrifice and courage of the signers, but also of their wisdom. Join me as we hunt for and examine principles of timeless wisdom as expressed by numerous signers of America’s birth certificate. Note that we don’t need only to rediscover and appreciate their wisdom; we also need to reapply it today!

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris / 1900 / Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson Work Together on The Declaration of Independence

Copyright © 2019 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.

top photo credit: Assembly Room, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / Wade Dunn, Jr. — This is the place where, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted; and where, eleven years later, the US Constitution was debated and officially sent to the states for ratification.