Appendix to Artist's Statement

[1]: refer below↓


[2]: It has been argued that the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other important documents were not at all based on Christian doctrine of beliefs because of the faithlessness and unbelief of several of the founding fathers. However, in addition to the fact that the documents in question contain proof of their Biblical basis (I’ll come back to that); the documents were written to encompass the consensus of the colonists’ beliefs. Almost all the colonists were Christian and although they were divided three ways in regard to the American Revolution (Patriot, Tory, and Pacific), all the ideological concepts that served as motivating factors for the revolution were theologically based. As a result, throughout the Declaration of Independence (which served as the fundamental document in which all American ideals and post-revolutionary documents are based) we can see examples of acknowledgement of the existence, providence, and importance of God. In a sense, America was proof of how Biblical concepts are very rational and sensible. The precepts of America are both reasonable and logical in an agnostic sense as they are also undoubtedly true according to God’s principles as laid out in the Bible. Both of these forces combined were able to create a declaration that embodies current and colonial American beliefs (75% of America remains Christian today) and rational explanation of Revolutionary action (for those like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, etc. that were not religious). However, it remains true that the Christian element, predominant among colonial patriots, was more of a driving force than that of the non-religious colonial population. Moreover, the appeal to God throughout the Declaration probably depicted the feelings of the revolutionaries as they went to fight for their Creator-endowed rights and entitled independence according to the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.”

Following are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence:

[1] “When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare…”

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”


[3]: Luke 10:25-28:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Also, Matthew 22:34-40:

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”


[4]: “E Pluribus Unum” or “Out of Many, One” is the de facto motto of the U.S. and is on America’s Great Seal, currency, official documents, and government buildings, and can be interpreted to mean that out of many different and diverse peoples, cultures, races, and religions has come one nation and people.