I said in the first post that there are two points contained in the email from the ABC-TV person that set me to writing these observations.  The first was the clear expression of that view of the Bible as a collection of stories made up by many men centuries ago that rules it out as a basis for the Christian or any other faith.  This attitude, as I wrote, has led to the movements within and without the church to make up our own rules and currently to redefine marriage.  This outcome is inevitable when we have no word from God concerning how we are to live.  Remember that I don't agree with the ABC-TV person, though I thank him or her for such a clear statement of this all-too-common view of the Bible.

I have to say, though, that the reference to the Declaration of Independence as some sort of opposing authority to the Bible left me and a friend of mine scratching our head.  Here's why:  "All men are created equal" is the statement quoted.  And I fully endorse it.  But notice what is going on in that claim:  All men actually means all human beings - male and female, young and old and in between, and of any and all races and colors.  But the equality referenced is an equality of createdness, whatever that means.  And while we cannot exactly pin down what it does mean, a bit of looking around tells us what it doesn't mean.  Being created equal doesn't mean all having the same beauty, the same height, weight, eye or hair color, intelligence, drive, creativity, sense of humor, wealth, advantages, opportunities - well, you get the idea.  There's a huge list of what "created equal" doesn't mean, and that list may include exactly what the ABC-TV person thinks it does mean.  Here's what I mean.

When I remember the next line of the Declaration, the fog begins to lift:  ...and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights...  Wow!  Imagine that!  Having been created equal, we don't get to declare what our equal rights are, no matter how confused about this our friends at the UN appear to be.  It's the creator who decides, and determines, and endows those rights.  And we who view the Bible as a message from our Creator look to that same message for both rights and restrictions so endowed.  Perhaps our equality includes all equally being prohibited by that Creator certain activities that are not good for us.  Perhaps one of those prohibited activities is just what the ELCA is arguing about:  same-sex sexual activity.  It could be - I believe it definitely is - that we are all equally prohibited by God from same-sex sexual activity.  Everyone.  Equally.  Prohibited.

As I see it the Declaration of Independence is no refuge at all for those who want to live their own way and make their own rules.  It acknowledges our dependence upon the Creator and our subjection to his rules as clearly as does the Bible.  The emailer from ABC-TV does not help his case by appealing to the Declaration of Independence.  He merely underscores our dependence for both rights and restrictions on the Creator who made us.

What do you think?