Gleanings from the Pastor's Perspective: What happened to the Declaration of Independence?

The Pastor’s Perspective
“What happened to the Declaration of Independence?”
First Published: May 3, 2001

I just picked up a copy of Bob Cannada’s new book entitled America's Rule of Law. It is the distillation of literally years of reflection on the foundational problems relating to morality, law and government that we face as a nation. But more than that, it is a program for reform and renewal. I would encourage you to pick one up from the church bookstore and read it.

Why should you read it? Well, consider this. Mr. Cannada’s research has yielded the following: “Up until the latter part of the 19th Century, our nation and our government recognized and honored the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence. This is demonstrated by the fact that during the 1860s it is clear that the principles of the Declaration were referred to and relied upon specifically the language ‘all men are created equal.’ Our government recognized and honored the fact that (1) all men are created, and (2) all men are created equal. There are no classes of people in America and all people are endowed with the same inalienable rights by their Creator .

But, “during the latter part of that century (1870 -1900), several different [incompatible] ‘theories’ entered into American society, including (1) the theory of evolution (there is no Creator), and (2) the concept of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that the ‘law’ is what the Supreme Court states it to be and that morals, ethics, and principles are not to be considered and have no part in determining the ‘law.’

So, “for the last 100 years, our government has been proceeding down the road of recognizing and honoring those ‘theories’ and other similar theories and ignoring the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Our government has now reached the point where it no longer recognizes or honors any moral truths or principles.” In other words, we are ipso facto committed to relativism in government.

Now, “the point has been reached where our ‘freedoms,’ including our ‘freedom of religion,’ are in serious jeopardy. We cannot expect a government that denies the existence of moral truths and principles to protect or secure our ‘freedoms,’ including our ‘freedom of religion,’ since our freedoms are [in fact] based upon the existence of transcendent moral truths and principles.”

The situation, in other words, is dire. What can we do? Cannada says this: “It is my hope and prayer that this book will alert you and others to the present situation and point the way to return the government to its foundation consisting of the principles of the Declaration of Independence.” Take up and read!

Your friend,


Ligon Duncan