Pastoral note, from Garrett

This week marks our country’s 250th birthday. To mark the occasion I read a new book by Walter Isaacson about the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. The book is entitled The Greatest Sentence Ever Written. 

You probably remember the sentence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Isaacson delves into the history of the drafting of this sentence. I always assumed that the document was not edited much following Thomas Jefferson’s initial draft. However, the five person committee (yes, already you can see the influence of Baptists upon our country) debated the role of God and the place of reason throughout the document as they made a case for the founding of a new type of country. Not one based on blood and soil, but upon freedom, responsibility, and equality. 

Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be sacred…” Benjamin Franklin (also on the committee) crossed out “sacred” and wrote “self-evident.” The rights of this new nation would be based on that which is self-evident and not upon religious creed. 

Jefferson’s first draft said, “All men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights…” But the phrase “from that equal creation” was crossed out by a different pen and replaced with “endowed by their Creator” with rights. Isaacson suggests it was John Adams who revised that sentence. Adams had a more traditional faith than Jefferson or Franklin.

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin’s faith could best be described as “deist.” Deists believe in the “watchmaker God,” who created the world and then let it run on its own without intervention. Like a watchmaker who expertly crafts the watch and then lets it run. Jefferson famously created his own version of the bible by literally cutting out the miracles. John Adams was a Unitarian, who criticized the divinity of Jesus in a letter to Jefferson. So, while his religious views were maybe more “traditional” there would be many Christians today who might wonder if Adams’ views were Christian at all. 

The founders were heavily influenced by the philosophy of the day. Especially, John Lock, who articulated the idea that we are all born as a “tabula rasa” or blank slate. And this is really the idea behind the equality written into the Declaration and at the heart of the American identity. Lock argued that everything we know is learned through our senses and experiences. This means that no one is born with natural superiority. And if no one is superior then we all deserve the same rights. All equal. 

Franklin’s good friend David Hume (a renowned philosopher) wrote about this, and his thoughts flesh out what Franklin meant by these truths being “self-evident.” Hume said there are 2 types of truths. One is ‘synthetic’ truth that is contingent upon evidence and observation. The other is analytic truth which is true by reason and definition. An Analytic truth would be a statement like “All bachelors are unmarried.” You don’t have to have evidence, it just is true because it’s self-evident. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men were created equal because we are all created as blank slates in the beginning. Therefore, ‘we the people,’ banded together, to demand our rights be protected and that we have agency in the stewardship of our common life. 

The blank slate vision of this country provides an interesting foundation for understanding the traditional Baptist belief in the separation of church and state. Baptists arose about the same time as John Lock and his blank slate theory. Baptists wanted a church of committed disciples who CHOSE to follow Christ. They didn’t want a church where people where there because the king told them they had to be. 

Our country’s founding documents don’t mention the separation of church and state. That’s a phrase that derives from Jefferson’s letters to the Danbury Virginia Baptist Association. 

But for Baptists and for the founders, equality before God and our individual accountability to God were self-evident. The state does not need to be involved in my faith journey, because that’s up to me and God. This blank slate nation was not founded to be a Christian nation because it was founded as a place where Christian faith could flourish independently of the state’s interference. 

I’ve always believed that’s the reason faith communities have flourished in the United States (even with the decline over the past few decades) while European churches are museums. The tabula rasa provides the place where God creates ex nihilo (out of nothing) within us.  

This has freed the church to be, as Martin Luther King said, “The conscience of the state.” Think of all the wonderful gifts churches or THE CHURCH has given to our country. Yes, some of you are thinking of some of the bad stuff. But there are good Christ-followers in every community doing incredible works of grace. Our artwork on the worship guide for Sunday morning (July 5) will try to reflect upon that gift. We created a collage that highlights ways churches have contributed to the flourishing of the United States and local communities. 

My hope for Christians in America is that the gifts we offer to our country can be self-evident. That we as The Church can live in ways that reflect the neighbor love of the one we call the Christ. Because that way of living really does create thriving communities and thriving countries. Instead of creating policies to demand bible reading and prayer, maybe we can live in ways that draw people in rather than turn them off. There are a lot of you out there doing just that. There are faithful people across our beloved country embodying the love of God. 

How good it is to live in a free country where we are able to do that. Thank God for the blank slate. Of course, this is a good time to remember the many sacrifices that have been made for that to be possible. And also, what are we called to do to advance freedom and democracy?   

Isaacson ends his short book (this message might be longer than his book!) by saying that Benjamin Franklin, “Not only helped craft the sentence that defines our common ground. He lived it.” He organized police, fire, street-sweeping teams, a public library, hospital, and school. He ran a newspaper dedicated to publishing wide ranging perspectives. He donated to every church in Philadelphia and raised funds for a new hall that would provide a pulpit to visiting speakers of various faiths. When he died 20,000 mourners watched his funeral procession led by clergy of every faith walking arm in arm. 

Equal indeed. Happy 250th. Happy Independence Day! 

THIS WEEK…
I hope you have a great and safe time on the 4th. Remember that the ER is full of people every July 4th who “generally” knew that fireworks can be dangerous. The church office will be closed on July 2 in observance of Independence Day. We will have our normal schedule on Sunday, July 5. 

Thursday night (July 2), the San Antonio Youth Chorale will have a homecoming concert at 7 p.m. at San Fernando Cathedral. They are in Santa Fe this week on their annual choir tour. They sang at Second Baptist Lubbock on Sunday morning before arriving in Santa Fe that evening. 

Grace and peace, 

Garrett Vickrey
Senior Pastor