God given equality, rights, and personal happiness?

[Neighbor]

1 hour ago, TheBlade said:

Ever read the letters they wrote as they were first coming to the new world (America)? The covenant they wanted to make with God? So beautiful anyway did you look into "liberty" and all created "equal" etc?  First you have to go back in time to just who were these people and where were they coming from? How was the "Church" back then blah blah blah. It was not like it is today nor was it like when the 12/120/3000 walked this earth. that thought, idea, dream was not of man but God. 

Men making covenant with God? ???

[Neighbor]

2 hours ago, The_Patriot21 said:

Anyone who thinks these are not in the Bible, does not believe in heaven, or even in Christ.

Now before you come down on me, let me ask you, do you believe Christ offers salvation from death? Is that not life, true life?

Does this salvation also give you freedom from sin?

Does it not give you a place in heaven? Do you not think heaven is going to be a happy place? Or do you plan to be miserable there?

If you believe in the above then you believe in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness as well. Just unlike most of the world we just realize we can't obtain true life, liberty, nor happiness while here on earth.

Those are the very thing Christ offers us in salvation. The founding fathers were in essence trying to at least partially model that. Now, was their definition God's definition? No they were trying to offer us those things here on earth, because they can't offer us heaven, but it was indeed their model.

1, My salvation through the sacrifice made willingly  by Yeshua does not give me liberty to sin all the more so that grace may abound the more. I am definitely not free to pursue "happiness" in any manner I desire.

2, Do I think Heaven will be a happy place? Some do not of course, but I do believe I will be assigned that which honors Father Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and that I will be most privileged in that assignment for all eternity forward,even though I merit it not by any of my own doing.

I have no idea what that may be,  having solely complete dependence  upon the faith of Jesus that it will be honoring of God. Hopefully being an eternal blessing to God ad a  blessing to me personally.

My question though remains; is there declaration within the Bible of what the preamble declares or not? And if so, where in the Bible is it to be found?

[Neighbor]

Where do I go to present to God my right  for happiness? 

[TheBlade]

12 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

Men making covenant with God? ???

HAHA thinking.. who doesn't like saying HI NEIGHBOR! Wait.. didn't Tim Allen have show where the guy always said "Hi Neighbor" lol. 

Not here to debate that. What I personally believe is erevalent.  Some said it like this "America's earliest settlers made a covenant with God to serve and proclaim Him throughout the earth.  These days, however, Americans appear to have forgotten this covenant and that can have dire consequences.

[Sower]

3 hours ago, Neighbor said:

Men making covenant with God? ???

Can be found in older less revised politicized censored American history books, Neighbor....

Quote from CBN News;
"Covenants are viewed as the most sacred and binding of deals – an oath that's never to be broken. America's earliest settlers made a covenant with God to serve and proclaim Him throughout the earth.  These days, however, Americans appear to have forgotten this covenant and that can have dire consequences.

Christian leader Dutch Sheets explained to CBN News how God's relationship with us is set by a sacred covenant.

This author of Giants Will Fall said, "It's even what He based our salvation on: 'I'm coming to bring a new covenant through Jesus. The shedding of His blood ratifies this covenant.' It is a binding together that in Him is unbreakable."  

America Began in Covenant 

Early English settlers also wanted their new land to share such a binding covenant with God. Christian historian Eddie Hyatt, the author of The Great Prayer Awakening of 1857-58, said those who came to Jamestown starting in 1607 put it in their Virginia Compact.

"To propagate, to expand the gospel, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to take the gospel to people who were 'lying in darkness and had no knowledge of the one true God.' They said that was the reason they had come," Hyatt stated.

The Pilgrims arriving in Massachusetts stated the same in 1620. Jerry Newcombe, the author of The Book That Made America, paraphrased what they wrote down: "'Having undertaken a voyage for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.'"

Newcombe explained of the Pilgrims and Puritans who followed, "They came for God as opposed to coming for gold."

Hyatt says John Winthrop, leading 700 Puritans to Massachusetts in 1631, said it like this: "'Others may come to the New World for wealth and furs.' He said, 'We have another goal, another end. We have entered into an explicit covenant with God to be His people in this New World.'  And they wanted to be that city on a hill. They wanted to be a model of Christianity for the rest of the world to see."

David Barton of Wallbuilders said as these early settlers wrote out their covenants, "They were very cognizant of the fact that we answer to God. We need to get God at the center of what we do. If we do, He'll bless us.  If we don't, we're in trouble."

These Covenants Became Models for the US Constitution

These early covenants pledged the signers to each other and to obeying the laws they'd form with God's guidance.

As Newcombe put it, "This was something that would bind each man and each person to the whole community as an agreement under God."

According to historian William Federer, such compacts became the model for the US Constitution, whose authors were also very much guided by their Christian faith.

The writer of the online AmericanMinute.com stated, "George Washington at the beginning of the Constitutional Convention, he said 'the event is in the hand of God.'"

How Has America's Constitution Lasted So Long?

"They saw the Constitution as being a very religiously-based document," said Barton. "It was also a very covenantal-based document. We made a covenant. The Constitution is a covenant of these states."

He went on, "The average length of a constitution in the history of the world was 17 years. So how have we gone 230 when everybody else was going 17?   And so political science professors looked to see where the Founders got their ideas."

Barton pointed out they studied 3,154 direct quotes from these Founders' political writings and discovered how much God's Word figured in them.

He summed up, "The number one source was the Bible: 34 percent of all those quotes in those political documents, etc., came out of the Bible."

Sheets explains in his book Giants Will Fall  that the makeup of the government was shaped by biblical passages like , writing, "Our nation's form of government was actually taken from scripture.  'The Lord is our Judge {Judicial Branch}…Lawgiver {Legislative Branch}…and King {Executive Branch}.'"

The Founders put God first and foremost in the Declaration of Independence.  

Federer stated, "It says right in there 'appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world.' In this founding document, we appealed to God. We invited Him to be a part of this American experiment."

[The_Patriot21]

3 hours ago, Neighbor said:

1, My salvation through the sacrifice made willingly  by Yeshua does not give me liberty to sin all the more so that grace may abound the more. I am definitely not free to pursue "happiness" in any manner I desire.

2, Do I think Heaven will be a happy place? Some do not of course, but I do believe I will be assigned that which honors Father Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and that I will be most privileged in that assignment for all eternity forward,even though I merit it not by any of my own doing.

I have no idea what that may be,  having solely complete dependence  upon the faith of Jesus that it will be honoring of God. Hopefully being an eternal blessing to God ad a  blessing to me personally.

My question though remains; is there declaration within the Bible of what the preamble declares or not? And if so, where in the Bible is it to be found?

I didn't say it gave you the freedom to sin as you saw fit, I said it gave you freedom from sin. There's a key difference there. 

It's like someone hands you a guitar. You can flip it over and beat on the back and make noise with it. You certainly have the freedom to do that.

But if you flip it around the right way and learn how to play it, the way it was designed to be played, you can do a LOT more with it then if you just did what you wanted to originally. 

By accepting the limitations of the guitar you can do a lot more with it.

If we continue in our life of sin, which we certainly have the right to do, sure we may have a short amount of happiness on this earth, but we will never experience true freedom unless we choose to follow Jesus and willingly place ourselves under His limitations, we will never experience true freedom that comes from following His plan.

[teddyv]

1 hour ago, Sower said:

Can be found in older less revised politicized censored American history books, Neighbor....

Quote from CBN News;
"Covenants are viewed as the most sacred and binding of deals – an oath that's never to be broken. America's earliest settlers made a covenant with God to serve and proclaim Him throughout the earth.  These days, however, Americans appear to have forgotten this covenant and that can have dire consequences.

Christian leader Dutch Sheets explained to CBN News how God's relationship with us is set by a sacred covenant.

This author of Giants Will Fall said, "It's even what He based our salvation on: 'I'm coming to bring a new covenant through Jesus. The shedding of His blood ratifies this covenant.' It is a binding together that in Him is unbreakable."  

America Began in Covenant 

Early English settlers also wanted their new land to share such a binding covenant with God. Christian historian Eddie Hyatt, the author of The Great Prayer Awakening of 1857-58, said those who came to Jamestown starting in 1607 put it in their Virginia Compact.

"To propagate, to expand the gospel, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to take the gospel to people who were 'lying in darkness and had no knowledge of the one true God.' They said that was the reason they had come," Hyatt stated.

The Pilgrims arriving in Massachusetts stated the same in 1620. Jerry Newcombe, the author of The Book That Made America, paraphrased what they wrote down: "'Having undertaken a voyage for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith.'"

Newcombe explained of the Pilgrims and Puritans who followed, "They came for God as opposed to coming for gold."

Hyatt says John Winthrop, leading 700 Puritans to Massachusetts in 1631, said it like this: "'Others may come to the New World for wealth and furs.' He said, 'We have another goal, another end. We have entered into an explicit covenant with God to be His people in this New World.'  And they wanted to be that city on a hill. They wanted to be a model of Christianity for the rest of the world to see."

David Barton of Wallbuilders said as these early settlers wrote out their covenants, "They were very cognizant of the fact that we answer to God. We need to get God at the center of what we do. If we do, He'll bless us.  If we don't, we're in trouble."

These Covenants Became Models for the US Constitution

These early covenants pledged the signers to each other and to obeying the laws they'd form with God's guidance.

As Newcombe put it, "This was something that would bind each man and each person to the whole community as an agreement under God."

According to historian William Federer, such compacts became the model for the US Constitution, whose authors were also very much guided by their Christian faith.

The writer of the online AmericanMinute.com stated, "George Washington at the beginning of the Constitutional Convention, he said 'the event is in the hand of God.'"

How Has America's Constitution Lasted So Long?

"They saw the Constitution as being a very religiously-based document," said Barton. "It was also a very covenantal-based document. We made a covenant. The Constitution is a covenant of these states."

He went on, "The average length of a constitution in the history of the world was 17 years. So how have we gone 230 when everybody else was going 17?   And so political science professors looked to see where the Founders got their ideas."

Barton pointed out they studied 3,154 direct quotes from these Founders' political writings and discovered how much God's Word figured in them.

He summed up, "The number one source was the Bible: 34 percent of all those quotes in those political documents, etc., came out of the Bible."

Sheets explains in his book Giants Will Fall  that the makeup of the government was shaped by biblical passages like , writing, "Our nation's form of government was actually taken from scripture.  'The Lord is our Judge {Judicial Branch}…Lawgiver {Legislative Branch}…and King {Executive Branch}.'"

The Founders put God first and foremost in the Declaration of Independence.  

Federer stated, "It says right in there 'appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world.' In this founding document, we appealed to God. We invited Him to be a part of this American experiment."

Wow, Dutch Sheets. One of those NAR folks. Steer clear.

[Marathoner]

2 hours ago, teddyv said:

Wow, Dutch Sheets. One of those NAR folks. Steer clear.

The NAR is a driving force behind Christian Nationalism. 

[Marathoner]

7 hours ago, Neighbor said:

My question though remains; is there declaration within the Bible of what the preamble declares or not? And if so, where in the Bible is it to be found?

Here's an answer to your question: no. It's nowhere to be found. 

[AnOrangeCat]

16 hours ago, Neighbor said:

Is there truth to this preamble? Has God given  certain "rights" to all men?  

What of life itself? And liberty, does God grant  liberty?  If it is so, just where is it found in the Bible that happiness, liberty and life are all  rights granted to all?

I'm skeptical of it. I think these are things God wants for us. Loving our neighbor as ourselves moves us closer to liberty, equality, and happiness for sure. James mentions a "law of liberty" and "the law that gives freedom" (exact wording may vary according to translation). OT law improved upon Hammurabi's law in ways that raised the standard more toward equality. But a "right"? Especially an "unalienable" right as declared in the preamble?

Just looking at life for starters seems to rule it out. Unalienable means it's something that can't be taken away. We know God keeps His promises. He brought down the great flood because people had become so wicked. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. He hit Egypt with plagues. There are plenty more examples, and He's just in all of them. Jesus told us to fear God, who could destroy us in Hell.

Liberty? The Israelites found themselves in slavery on multiple occasions as a disciplinary action. Hebrews 12:6-7 tells us that when God disciplines us it's a sign of His love. Paul also reminds us that while we have liberty, not all things are profitable to us.

Pursuit of happiness? Jonah would have been happier if God hadn't spared Nineveh. Jeremiah? He seemed called to sorrow. Jesus gave up the pursuit of happiness in Gethsemane when He prayed for the cup to pass from Him but concluded His prayer with submission to God's will over His own.

Overall I think the preamble expresses fine ideas and is something to strive for, but calling those things unalienable rights is a stretch. There's a lot in the Bible that expresses God desires these things for us within specific contexts. Pursuit of happiness for some could include freedom to do whatever they want sexually with whoever they want, which is flat out contrary to Biblical commands and thus outside of that context.