If there is no God (an objectional supreme authority outside humanity to make rules) then all ones rights are merly subjunctive opinions in which anyone, anywhere at any time can be free to disagree with. No God no morals!
The Declaration of Independence is the document on which the Bill of Rights and the Constitution is derived from. The Declaration of Independence says mandkind is endowed by there Creator with life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Since Atheist deny the Creator doesn't that mean self-proclaimed Atheist who don't want to be hypocrits forgo all rights given to them under the Constitution. Since it is only by God the Founders recognized them as deserving of rights.
Yes, the existance of God is an opinion. But it is not an opinion to say the Founders believed that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness derived from God.
If you deny God then under American law one should freely surrender all rights given to them.
P.S. I know this is really biased
2007-05-17 05:57:55 · 18 answers · asked by scholar_wood 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The Declaration of Independence is not the basis for the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.
And the Creator mentioned in the Declaration is whoever or whatever you want it to be. The terminology is clearly Deist, and not Christian.
2007-05-17 06:01:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 10⤊ 0⤋
Your question is so moronic, it probably should just be ignored. But on the off chance you possess some small capacity for learning, I will try to enlighten you.
The Declaration was not a governing document, but a listing of violations of basic rights by King George that justified the colonies breaking free from British rule.
It's statement that "men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights" was making a larger point about natural law. Rights, said Jefferson, do not come from government, but pre-exist the state. The line about "their Creator" was nearly irreligious at the time and reflects Jefferson's Deism.
The larger point about rights was not to insist that they come from God, but that they exist outside of government. If government granted rights, government could take them away. The assertion was about natural law and a natural source of rights. The assignment of the granting of rights to God reflected the belief in a Deity shared by nearly all involved in the process and living in the colonies at that time. In any case, the way the line reads is much more poetic than an assertion of natural rights would be.
Atheists clearly have no fewer rights than believers, regardless of how the Declaration reads. Imagine if the founders have been Muslims and asserted that rights came from Allah, would you insist that Christians and Hindus have no such rights? The mentioning of a generic Creator no more dis-entitles atheists than a particular God's name would those who believe differently.
2007-05-17 11:19:53 · answer #2 · answered by debraraj 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't only biased, it's illogical.
We have rights because we agreed as a community that we have those rights. While individuals may, of course, disagree with the community about those rights, in our particular nation majority rules.
"No god no morals" is completely bogus. Morality is not dependent upon theism; it is a construct of our nature as social creatures and our ability to think critically and empathize.
The Declaration of Independence, while an important document, is NOT the Bill of Rights. Our civil liberties are not based upon what is found in the Declaration, but what is in the Constitution. To the best of my knowledge, not only is the phrase "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" not in the Constitution, neither is "God" or the "creator." We should be careful, of course, about applying what we think the Founding Fathers believed to modern life; they also believed that black people were not "people" and that women were inferior and incapable of voting or holding property. Society--and its morality--progresses.
2007-05-17 06:12:28 · answer #3 · answered by N 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your mistake is to imagine that the author language by some potential displays the inspiration of this Enlightenment mission we call u.s.. The Founding Fathers were Enlightenment intellectuals. They believed contained in the social settlement concept of the state ala Locke, Hobbes, and so on. That little bit on the starting up of the announcement about a author is fairly only a rhetorical flourish. The Founders gave a nod to the Deity, who they although became distant and uninvolved contained in the international. Social settlement concept, i.e. the theory that human beings come mutually and rationally agree on how they're to be ruled became the authentic foundation underlying the announcement of Independence and structure, as is sparkling at the same time as reading them.
2016-11-04 05:59:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no god no morals is a provably wrong statement.
There are morals among social animals. If even wasps think it fit to punish cheaters (see link) don't you think humans wouldn't have their own moral code without god? Or are you postulating that wasps just follow the laws of the great wasp godess?
What's keeping atheists to say that they have been endowed by nature or evolution with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Are then fundamentalist Christians banned from seeking those (though I think they actually might be, though not by nature).
The wise founders also said that all men are created equal and saw absolutely no problem with slavery, so makes sense, they never got anything wrong, huh?
Your argument makes no sense whatsoever.
2007-05-17 06:17:17 · answer #5 · answered by convictedidiot 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but wrong. Just because some founding fathers believed in a creator, it doesn't mean that those who believe in a creator have a right to oppress those who don't. People who don't believe in a creator have the same rights as everyone else.
Them's the facts.
People really need to stop trying to use the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, and the CONSTITUTION as an excuse to oppress people who don't share their religious beliefs! Are you people LISTENING to yourselves? It's disgraceful, and insulting to our forefathers, and an insult to all those who have died to make this a free country. You should be extremely ashamed of yourselves for using those documents to push your religious agenda.
2007-05-17 06:03:40 · answer #6 · answered by Jess H 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Number of times the word "God" appears in the Declaration of Independence : 0
Number of times the word "God" appears in the Bill of Rights : 0
"Their creator" means the one of the individual American's choice, should they so desire.
Number of myopic religious wackos you see when you look in the mirror : 1
2007-05-17 06:02:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 0⤋
simple answer is that atheists believe people have the right to these things but reject the notion that the right comes from God. If you told an atheist who had not eaten in days that it was his god given right to eat and then gave him a sandwich, I am sure he would eat it. Not because he suddenly believes in God, but because he know the sandwich will satisfy his hunger.
2007-05-17 06:05:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
We all are the body of what is.
Whether one believes in god or self, we need to be here to keep life going.
It's very simple.
Documents are interesting, and, thus keep us thinking, which in turn keep us growing.
Good work, my friend!
2007-05-17 06:08:18 · answer #9 · answered by Avsky 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You know, I was just thinking about Balaam's Talking Donkey. I think he personally told Jefferson what to put in the Bill of Rights.
2007-05-17 06:01:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋