America at 250: Rights Bestowed by God: Life

Genesis 2:4b-9; Psalm 139:13-18

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? - Micah 6:8b

Almost 4000 years ago, an ancient creation myth known as the Epic of Enuma Elish from ancient Babylon tells us the story of a cosmic battle between Marduk, Tiamat,and Kingu. Marduk is the victor, and out of Tiamat’s carcass he fashions the heavens and the Earth, and from Kingu’s blood humans spring forth to serve as slaves of the gods.

To speak against the culture of the times, the sons and daughters of Sarah and Abraham told a different story: in the image of God he created them.

In Babylon, humans were meant to be slaves to the gods; practically, this meant being tied in life and in death to the King. And sadly, despite the great truth that Genesis declared, for generations upon generations, supposed Christian kings exercised their authority more in the manner of the ancient Babylonian kings rather than the truth as told in scripture. This carried forward for over 1000 years.

“The royal throne is not the throne of a man, but the throne of God himself. Royal authority is sacred. To attack the person of the king is sacrilege.”— Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and court theologian to Louis XIV

“Kings are justly called gods, for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power on earth; and the state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth. Kings are the authors and makers of the laws, and not the laws of the kings… for kings are not only God’s lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God himself they are called gods.”— James I of England before Parliament, 1610

In the medieval world, peoples’ life belonged not to themselves but to the king or queen.

Into this maelstrom, what has been called the greatest sentence in the English language, written by Jefferson, taking notes from John Locke, we read: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (people) 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.”

Even as I read this quote, I get chills from the depths of hope and promise that are contained in it. It is a message for all times and all places. Yet even as I read it, I also know that there are similar sentences that have been written throughout history, across time and place and people and continents. And yet humankind has always struggled against it. And just as this is (arguably) the greatest sentence in the history of the English language, it also contains the greatest tragic irony. Jefferson had hundreds of slaves that he never set free. John Calvin was right—there is no part of the human creature that is not tainted by sin, even the best part of ourselves, as Jefferson disclosed.

Thus, two hundred years later, Dr. King thundered forth regarding this grand sentence written by Jefferson:

“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds”. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.”

In the midst of this illustrious speech, Dr. King showed that he believed in the American dream and America’s power to live into it.

For the next three weeks, we shall be exploring these three divine rights—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We will examine them from a biblical perspective to clearly see what they mean within our Christian context.

And we begin today with the right to life. A country of knowledge tells us that her life belongs to us, not to the state and not to the church. From a faith perspective, we would use different language than right to life; it is more properly understood as the gift of life, which belongs not to us but to God.

And indeed, it is a marvelous gift.

Unlike other creatures, we learn in the second chapter of Genesis that when God forms the human out of clay, God gives life by breathing into this creature. In Hebrew, the word for breath and the word for spirit—ruach—are the same. And so among all the living creatures of the earth, God uniquely breathes into us the divine spirit.

Next, the Bible teaches us that there is something awesome and wonderful about the way in which God creates us.

Psalm 139 describes us thusly: “For you formed my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Marvelous are your works, and I know this very well.”

The psalmist recognizes that he is wonderful. God’s works are marvelous, and he is one of those works. And this means our gift of life should be met with a profound sense of self-worth. I am something amazing and unique and wonderful. You are something amazing, unique, and wonderful.

We should be able to accept this about ourselves. It is not a source of pride in ourselves. It is a source of pride in the God who made us.

And as with any gift — it calls for a response.

Some strains within Christianity insist that that requirement is faith, and that if you do not have it, God is going to discard you into hell. Another strain tells us that we have to earn this honor of eternal life from God through doing good deeds, being morally upright, and giving to the church. And if we accumulate enough of these good points, then God will accept us, for we will be deemed worthy.

This is all too often the subconscious approach that hard-driven people—like many of us—tell ourselves.

We must earn our way; we must prove our worth.

But the Presbyterian tradition teaches that our response neither adds nor subtracts to our worth.

And therefore, all that is left is thanksgiving — a life filled with gratitude.

We seek to be obedient not so that God will like us more, but because we want to please this God whose love is so generous.

Our purpose given by God is as lofty as our creation. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10,“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”

We are blessed to live in a country that recognizes our life is our own, because this gives us a chance to freely offer it—not out of compulsion to the state, not out of compulsion to the church. We are free to devote our life to God in Jesus Christ for good works.

And I believe that in our times, those good works now have a special dimension.

In an age of brutality from the harsh conditions of life and the harsh rule of the church and the king, Dante Alighieri wrote in The Divine Comedy: “Consider your origin. You are not made to live as brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.”

These words remind us that we are not mere animals driven by instinct and the need for food and satisfying personal pleasures. God has endowed us with a higher plane of knowledge, and we should strive to rise above the baser instincts, not to be pulled down into the muck.

It is incumbent upon people of faith to elevate the discourse in our society—to show them a different way of treating others;To use knowledge not as a hammer that destroys but as a tool that builds.

To recognize not only does every person have the right to life in this country, but from the faith perspective they have a right to something more because of the God who created them.

Dignity.

Dignity is owed to every human being always, no exceptions, for when we fail to treat others with dignity, we degrade all humanity; we demean the God who created them, and we become the evil we seek to overcome.

The best teacher is Jesus Himself. There are people in this world who do despicable things. People who commit crimes and find themselves in prison. There are vexatious people who drive you mad.

None of these people can change their created nature, and none of them can erase the dignity they are owed as children of God.

Paul does a most excellent job of explaining Jesus’ call in his letter to the Romans:

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” Instead, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The right to life a radical change from ancient times and medieval times. But you and I know something deeper, each person is a dignity not because of their actions but because of the God who made them. Amen.