Separation of church and state. No government religion. I can hear even many fellow conservatives now berating me for dragging religion into the public square, for claiming that American liberty is dependent on Easter.
Unlike those today, our Founders were not of the same mind as today’s U.S. citizens. They knew that liberty was not some elusive, ever changing definition. They were absolutely confident of the fact that unalienable rights are something every human being is endowed with and that the exercise of those rights is what we call liberty.
But wait, Jay…didn’t Thomas Jefferson set up the Maginot Line when it comes to the state and religion? Wasn’t his letter to the Danbury Baptists the cornerstone of what we should believe about American principles, the 1st Amendment and religion?
As with many points about our Founders, our core American principles and our history…those that believe this are woefully ignorant.
First, let’s get something straight right now. While atheists and those who do not hold our core American principles like to cite Jefferson’s agnosticism, they conveniently ignore that not only did he write the Declaration of Independence, where our core principles of unalienable rights coming from our Creator are enshrined…but he also stated: “The God who gave us life gave us liberty…Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure, when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction…that these liberties are the gift of God?”
It seems that Thomas Jefferson is quite clear about unalienable rights and their source. And the rest of our Founders were in almost unanimous agreement on this point.
So, with that now behind us, let’s get to the point of Easter and how all of our core principles, our blessings, our liberty…go right to that Cross and the empty tomb.
I know many out there will be saying “okay great…we get our rights from God. But which god?” While many of our Founders were agnostic, please do not make the mistake in thinking that any of them were referring to any other god except the God of the Bible. That was their reference point. The Bible was indispensable in providing the cornerstone on which American liberty was placed.
This article isn’t a Sunday morning service, it isn’t meant to convert or to even argue for the Christian faith and for Jesus. That is a discussion for a different time. What I am talking about here is that, without the Bible, without what Jesus did at the Cross and on that Sunday after His death, American liberty has no chance. The principles that define American liberty are just hollow words without that empty tomb.
You see, you can spend a whole day digging into the words of our Founders and they are littered with references to the Creator, to “Providence,” to the individual hand that guided them and us.
What happened on Easter, on the third day after Jesus’ death, solidified that each and every human being is endowed with certain, unalienable rights. Because of what Jesus did that day, whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, each of us are still heirs to the rights that He cast into cement that day.
All of us, ESPECIALLY atheists and those that do not follow Jesus, should be forever grateful that our Founders linked our core principles, our Constitution, our entire nation to the Cross and the empty tomb. Without it, there really would be no hope for American liberty.
Author: Jay Shepard
Jay Shepard is the Executive Editor of Committed Conservative.
Jay is currently a security analyst and business owner. Jay served 21 years in the U.S. Army, mostly in the infantry. Jay also served as an Army inspector general for four years.
Jay has a Bachelors of Science in Political Science from James Madison University, and a Masters of Public Administration (concentration National Security) from Troy University.
Jay has run several successful state-wide political campaigns, and has been an outspoken advocate for the Constitution, the core American principles, the Convention of States, and military policies.
Jay’s passion is everything to do with the founding of our country, and with baseball. Jay has coached over 30 years at the youth to prep levels.
