The Christian "Right?"

The common political discourse today in America demands the rights of every citizen. The lines begin to blur when we start elevating other's rights above some. Should law abiding citizens be allowed to carry guns? Should criminals? Let it be said now that I am thinking out loud in this blog and am open to correction.

What are our rights, then? Some might look to the Bill of Rights, and that is a good and proper thing for an American to do. We should know our heritage. It is important to remember, though, that America was not founded on strict Christian principles. Yes, there were many Christians who led the War for Independence against Britain, and there were many good Christians who signed the Declaration of Independence and even drafted the Bill of Rights. But, just because Christian men were involved in creating these documents, it does not follow that these documents are uniquely Christian. Many of our founding fathers were Deists - they believed in an immutable Creator, but unlike the Trinitarian Christian God Jehovah, this creator does not take much of an interest in our personal lives. The Deist god is the great Unmoved Mover that Aristotle taught.

Before my Christian friends get mad at me I'm going to explain myself. America is a wonderful nation and I'm thankful to have been born and raised here. But, the founding of America is the result of Christians and Deists working together. This is why there are many great Christian principles found in our founding documents, and also why there is a lot of Enlightenment influence as well.

So, back to my main point - what are our rights? As Christians, we should always consult what the Bible has to say about our rights. Strangely enough, from my studies in the the Good Book, we see that God does not give people rights the way we have defined rights in America. The Bible does not speak in this language. Our things, money, and time all belong to God. We do not have rights; instead, we have responsibilities to God and to each other.

How does this play out? Do I have a biblical right to own, keep, and bear arms?  I do not think so. Instead, I have a God given responsibility to defend my family. Therefore, in order to fulfill this responsibility, I should own a weapon. Here's a hot topic right now - marriage equality. I do not have the right to marry whomever I am in love with. No, but to the woman God has called for me, He has given me a responsibility to marry, love, and defend her. God has called us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to the responsibility to love our neighbor as ourself. If Christians started thinking in these categories, imagine what would happen.