Like it or not, Mr. Liberal Progressive, our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values and no matter how that term burns your skin and incites you to scour the annals of history for the most minute hope that one Founding Father was an atheist, it's a fact.
This article from Family Security Matters contains an awesome list of 14 Judeo-Christian values that the author feels form the basis for America - I think it's spot on.
I'm not going to excerpt the entire article...just the 14 values so we can all soak them in, be reminded of them today when so many in this country wish to deny them.
American Judeo-Christian Values and the Declaration of Independence
What follows is a list of what this American considers to be our Judeo-Christian Values, the values established by our Founding Fathers, and the basis for which is to be found in the Bible, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. I am indebted to Dennis Prager who has listed Judeo-Christian Values and elaborated on this subject long before I took it up; and those who know his work will recognize many of his thoughts.
1. Our sense of right and wrong and our sense of wisdom come from the use of reason and common sense, but also and importantly from the Bible, which by faith was considered by our Founding Fathers to be God's inspired text; and not just from the mind or heart of man. This faith lead to the mottos: "In God We Trust" & "One Nation Under God." Our Founding Fathers were believers in the God of the Bible, even if some were not Orthodox Christians, and they put that faith into the Declaration of Independence, into our laws, into our national monuments, and into our culture.
2. Truth is Sacred; there can be no liberty or justice, and little happiness without it. Jesus connected truth and liberty when He said “the truth shall make you free.” In Deuteronomy God is described this way: “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice.”
3. Human life is the first gift of God, and it is of infinite value since man is made in the image of God. Judeo-Christian Values have lead to a culture of life in America, not a culture of death. Americans with Judeo-Christian Values will defend innocent God-given life.
4. Our Liberty is a gift from God and stated so in the Declaration of Independence. It is also stated in the New Testament Christian Bible: "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty." Our Founding Fathers understood that peace can only occur under liberty; peace under tyranny is an oxymoron. The tyrant or terrorist is, by definition, at war with liberty-loving people; and we either accept the struggle for Liberty, or we accept the tyranny. Just war in medieval times was connected to the defense of life and privilege for kings and tyrants; American just war refers to the defense of life and liberty of a free people – individuals who wish to be free from tyranny and terror. Americans with Judeo-Christian Values will defend their God-given Liberty.
5. Human creativity is also a gift from God and is not to be unjustly suppressed by totalitarian, tyrannical or excessively taxing government. The work ethic is an important part of Judeo-Christian Values since honorable work is a reflection of God-given human creativity. Human reason is also a part of God-given human creativity, and it has led to scientific knowledge and technological progress. Reason and science are important aspects of Judeo-Christian Values. Human creativity is central to the pursuit of happiness, but does not guarantee it; totalitarian systems such as Communism or Islamic Sharia Law guarantee utopian happiness, but don’t deliver it, as they suppress human creativity.
6. “Establish justice.” This is commanded repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible, and this is how it has been done in America: Honor Life, Liberty and Creativity. Honoring the life of others is rooted in the “golden rule”: “whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.” Liberty in practical terms means: Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, no established or state-supported church, right to own property and to privacy at home, right to bear arms and act in self-defense, uninterrupted elections, and the division of powers into three branches, and among the states. It is unjust when special group rights trump the pre-existing individual God-given rights of Life, Liberty and Creativity. Our Founding Fathers enumerated these essential individual rights for all people, and our Civil War enforced it for the American slaves when they were denied their God-given Liberty.
7. “Hate Evil”. This is commanded three times in the Hebrew Bible; this is from the book of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.”Americans with Judeo-Christian Values, as opposed to European leaders, still believe in the death penalty for pre-meditated murder, and America is still the nemesis of terrorists and tyrants – see the seal of the state of Virginia.
8. “Love your neighbor” - commanded in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. “Love your enemy”- commanded in the New Testament Christian Bible. Generations of Americans, starting with our Founding Fathers, have had to square the values of “Hate Evil” with “Love your enemy.” This has been done by hating the evil within the enemies of God-given Life and Liberty, but not hating the evil-doer him/herself.
9. Giving is a Judeo-Christian value and duty.
10. Self-discipline, self-respect, respect for elders and for others, individual responsibility, loyalty and gratitude are Judeo-Christian Values, and also valued in other cultures.
11. Courage is a Judeo-Christian Value, and it is also valued in other cultures. Courage can be defined as the willingness to place one’s self into harm’s way; and, if necessary, to die in defense of God-given Life and Liberty. I can think of no better example of warrior courage than young David as he stood with his sling before Goliath. There is no greater example of pacifist courage than Jesus, as He gave His life in defense of eternal Life and Liberty. Without sacrifice the protesting pacifist is a coward; Jesus was not a coward. The warrior and the true pacifist are linked by self-sacrifice: self-sacrifice in defense of Sacred Life and Liberty.
12. In the Judeo-Christian Value System there is a natural and common-sense balance between compassion and courageous confrontation of evil. This can be seen metaphorically as a natural balance between femininity and masculinity; both good and necessary.
13.From Many, One: e pluribus unum. Ethnicity and race don't matter, but values do matter. We Americans should consider ourselves blessed to live under God-given Liberty in the same melting pot; and we are privileged to pursue happiness through creative work and play, unencumbered by excessive government. Those things of lesser importance should melt into what is very important and which should unite us: our value of Life, Liberty and Creativity – those individual human rights identified by the Declaration of Independence as the gifts of God.
14. The natural resources of the Earth, including the animals, along with the rest of creation should be honored and well cared for, but also used and enjoyed; and never worshiped.
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