Issues And Ideas: News Commentary & Analysis With Chris DeBello June 28 2026

Join us for expert discussions and analysis on today's news, politics, the latest about the Reflecting Pool, studying and understanding the Declaration Of Independence, the role of martyrs in American history, the Faith of America's Founding Fathers and how the Bible reveals that the rights stated in the Declaration Of Independence are gifts from God.

(00:00) A look at the ongoing saga and claims being made about the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC and the way Donald Trump has made it a top priority.

(01:38) David Bobb, President & CEO of the Bill Of Rights Institute, talks about the importance and value of studying the Declaration Of Independence, the history behind the creation of the document and the ways it's misunderstood.

(12:21) Professor Gloria Browne-Marshall, Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College, discusses the meaning and goals of the July 5 Martyrs Day along with the role that martyrs have played throughout American history.

(23:41) Mark Burrell shares how Faith guided and inspired America's Founding Fathers.

(35:58) Chris DeBello examines how the Bible reveals that the rights stated in the Declaration Of Independence are true gifts from God.

(42:27) A reading of the Declaration Of Independence by Max McLean.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hello, welcome to Witch Cues and Ideas, your algae-free radio reflecting pool. I'm Chris DeBello. How many stories are we up to now about the supposed vandalism at the reflecting pool? I'm only keeping count because we may have just surpassed the number of reasons we went to war in Iran. Same thing with the people, number of people supposedly been arrested for the alleged vandalism of the reflecting pool. Start off with a couple of people, and it was three, five, six, seven. Only one actual name has ever been told former Olympian David Hearn. The other names have been kept secret until now. I found them out. Pat McGroin, John Doe, Bendover, Joe Mama, Jack Meehoff, and of course, since there's no sexism and vandalism, April May. So there you go. Speaking of names, you do know the name of the contractor. They uh did all the work on the reflecting pool, right? Green Order Services. I kid you not. Green water services got the job. The owner is a big Trump donator, and it was a no-bid setup. Now imagine if Trump paid this much attention to the economy like he's paying to the reflecting pool. Of course, the I mean, yeah, the White House does try to get him to. I mean, look at the appearance he did this past week in Pennsylvania. It said the the economy is great. Look at the Dow. Just don't look at the Trump stock. That's down over 60 percent of the baskets like seven bucks. On a related note, SpaceX stock that was expected to launch in store. Turns out that got stuck in the launch pad, too, down about 20 percent. That's just a past week. We are days away from celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of America, reasons for the establishment of America, as been told in, well, countless books, all of them holding valuable insight, by the way. But the the direct way to learning, it's always the best way, isn't it? Let me ask you a question. As we move forward here. When was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence? Okay. Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence? However, you answered those questions, the first guest joins us to offer you a path to the understanding of the value, the importance, through the history of this vital document. Thanks for being here today, David.

SPEAKER_03 2:22

Great to be with you.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

And learn more about the Bill of Rights Institute and the immense amount of historic historically accurate information that they present for your learning, both for teachers as well as individuals, Bill of Rights Institute.org, and we have a link at our homepage as well. Looking at the Declaration of Independence, David, what is, in your opinion, the most either overlooked or misunderstood element of this document?

SPEAKER_03 2:54

Well, thanks for that question. I think the most overlooked is probably the idea that once uh done, it was kind of done. That it was a one and done kind of thing that just separated us from the crown. It was good for that purpose, but didn't really have anything to do then with our go going forward plan. To me, the Declaration of Independence, and my co-author Tony Williams in the book that you just mentioned, divided over the Declaration, we're making the argument that this was one of the most significant innovations in the way that people should think about human progress. It's a huge step to go from being subjects to being citizens. The Declaration gives us the vision. The Constitution puts together a kind of mission statement, you might say. And the two go together. You add the Bill of Rights in, and you have a plan for government that fits a free people. Without the Declaration as a framing, none of that subsequent work can happen.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

I mean, I know this is a big if, but if it wasn't for the Declaration, would there have ever been a constitution?

SPEAKER_03 4:14

Exactly. You know, there's an argument that links the two of them. Uh think of it this way, right? So you get the beautiful preamble, the statement of human equality. All men are created equal. That was a statement about mankind. The purpose of government is to secure people's rights. Those rights are few. The Declaration says among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That's a really beautiful thing. Then the rest of the argument of the Declaration is hey, we have a prince, King George III, that has become a tyrant. Here's 27 reasons why the the the king has violated our God-given rights. Those 27 grievances, as they came to be called, laid out violations of legislative authority, executive authority, and judicial authority. That became our three uh first articles of the Constitution. There is a link between the two that really is clear. And it goes back to the fundamental question of what makes for good government. The idea is we're not subjects, we're citizens. I think that this was crystallized at a moment for Thomas Jefferson, who was the draftsman. He's sitting in Philadelphia knocking this thing out in a little over two weeks. And at one point he's using, you know, his uh uh uh quill pen and he writes a word. You know how if you write a word, we don't write very much anymore, but if you write it and you don't want anybody to see it, you kind of scratch it out, and you scratch a little bit more. Well, he did that. The word that he wrote down was subjects. The word he wrote over it was citizens. We didn't find out about the word subjects until they scraped the layers of ink back at the Library of Congress in 2010. That moment, I think, is everything. Subjects to citizens.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

We're fortunate too, because the boys back in the colonial days, they wrote letters, which of course was the only means of communication, and they kept notes to give us the path to their insight into what their intent was, what their purpose was, what their challenges were. And we we came to learn that maybe it's is it equally important to realize what was taken out of the Declaration as uh as well as what is in it? I'm referring to the slavery clause.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

Yeah, this was a hard-fought debate. You know, Americans uh uh of that uh period, and particularly the the men who who signed it, two-thirds of them owned uh slaves. Uh the condemnation of the king that Jefferson included in his draft was very clear. And a couple of delegates, um, South Carolina and uh uh Georgia were the were the where the two states said, look, if that condemnation of slavery is in the is in the document, we're out. And so it was a political compromise. But what the document still did, despite leaving that behind, was lay out a standard. That standard was all men are created equal. It took many years, generations, really, in fact, and that's the story that we tell in the book, of making that promissory note real. Um suffrage, abolition, the civil rights movement. We all make the appeal back to that claim about what it means to have rights. One other quick note right after the declaration was announced, um enslaved people made uh what came to be called freedom lawsuits. They said, We see this document, we see that it has a kind of uh standing in our in our new nation, this nation of citizens, and we claim our liberty based on that promise. That is the kind of legacy I think of the Declaration. It set out a standard by which we could judge our contradiction, and it was a contradiction. Slavery stood as a contradiction to the principles of mankind.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

Bill of Rights Institute.org, their website, and you are listening to issues and ideas. Turning to the book, Divided Over the Declaration. Does the fact that to this day the Declaration invites study, debate, disagreement, even conflict, does that cement just how important this document is? Is that the qualities that an important an important document needs to have for it to be considered as valuable as we consider it?

SPEAKER_03 9:02

I think that's part of it. Uh we'd like to see it even more central. You know, it used to be, and that's part of the uh the the um the focus of this book, which is to say at so many of our early stages the Declaration was the touchstone. Uh legislative debates. Uh I just mentioned the the the movement of um uh 72 years long, uh from 1848 to uh 1920, uh the achievement of uh women gaining the right to vote. That used the declaration as its touchstone. Uh the abolitionist movement, from Frederick Douglass to William Lloyd Garrison, all of the debates about uh these principles use the Declaration as the touchstone. Fast forward to even the civil rights movement, right? Uh you have the March on Washington, uh Martin Luther King's well-known speech, John Lewis's less known well uh less well-known speech, he's appealing John Lewis's to completing the revolution of 1776. Since, I'd say, in the last 50 years, though, the Declaration has been largely treated as a dead letter. That's a problem. We think it should be restored to the place of national discourse. Make it a touchstone for our debates. America's a home, we're an idea, right? We have this creed. We have to live up to the creed. But we're also, America has a way in which it's an argument. Freedom implies uh disagreement. We're going to disagree. We're a big, huge nation of 340 million people. Let's disagree better by focusing on the principles in the Declaration. That's the real argument we make in the book.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

And as you said here a few moments ago, too, a lot of people make the mistake of saying the Constitution replaced the Declaration of Independence, where in fact, as you as you described in detail, one fed the other and they are coexisting with each other. And real fast, too, as far as the Bill of Rights Institute, for someone listening right now who's motivated, I hope, to indeed fill the void of their knowledge about the Declaration of Independence, what kind of information and and activities do you have on the website, Bill of Rights Institute.org?

SPEAKER_03 11:13

6,000 free resources. Uh it's open to everybody. Uh there's lots of games, videos, uh instructional materials, information for citizens of all ages, uh, but especially kids. Uh the the the whole idea is around these ideas. How can you engage in them, become a principled, productive citizen?

SPEAKER_02 11:33

And as David described here and details with Tony Williams and divided them with the Declaration. The Declaration of Independence is not an antique to be gathering dust on the shelf. It is still a vibrant, live document with value, importance, and guidance that we need to this day. Learn more about the Bill of Rights Institute where you can find out uh from their wealth of information and education about this and other important historical documents at the Bill of Rights Institute.org. He is the president and CEO, David Bob. David, thank you so much for the education today and the motivation to want to learn more. That's always the important part of education. Thanks for being here today.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

If you're listening to us via your favorite podcast platform, make sure you follow and subscribe. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines martyr as a person who sacrificed something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of a principle. As we get ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of America My Next Guest today is with us to share how the day after is being dedicated to what it has taken to protect the foundation of America that our founders created and the sacrifices that were made to do so. Now, this is not an effort that's limited to history, by the way. It's an effort that's very much responded to in the present, as it will no doubt be in the future. Hitler explained the meaning and goals of Martyr Day, which, as I referenced, is July 5th. It's Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College, author of the book of Protest History of the United States, Professor Gloria Brown Marshall. How are you today, Professor?

SPEAKER_00 13:11

I'm doing very well. You describe that brilliantly.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

Well, thank you. And to learn more about Martyr Day, it's Martyrsday.us. Learn about the world of Professor Brown Marshall, Brown Marshall23.com. And for the educational opportunities of John Jay College, it's JJ.edu. And yes, we do have all those links at our homepage, and I hope you will make use of them. You are the force behind Martyr's Day. What was the what was the inspiration, motivation to create what is going to be unfolding on July 5th?

SPEAKER_00 13:49

It was during my tour, my book tour for my book, A Protest History of the United States, and I toured around the country for 15 months, talked to hundreds and hundreds of people, and they would ask me, what else can I do? And then I said, Well, think where you are in the moment. And then that stayed with me in the hotel room on this tour. What can I do? What else can I do? And I thought, I'm talking about these martyrs, I'm talking about protesters who have been slain. I I am trying to research them, write about them, but there's more. And that's what I said. They have been martyred in the name of social justice and civil rights and equality to push this country forward. And the same way we have Memorial Day to honor those who fight in foreign wars. I think about what has been done domestically to move this country forward, for women to gain the right to vote, for laborers to have um safe working conditions and an eight-hour work day. What took uh what did the country have to have for that freedom to go from paper to reality? And that's where Martyr's Day was born. And then we decided, oh my goodness, we can't wait. It's the 250th anniversary. But July 5th is also important because after we do all the celebration for the 4th of July about freedom, we need to think about what that freedom costs to certain regular people. Nope, not in the military, regular people going out to buy milk and bread. And how did they come to be martyred for our freedom that we live with, wake up with and embrace every day, but we don't really think about them. So I wanted to lift them up and pay tribute to those who have been martyred for our social justice.

SPEAKER_02 15:27

And one of the very important things that you do through the efforts, especially with the website martyrsday.us, you help people realize that martyrdom is not a thing of the past. The timeline and when you you have you feature 26 photos and and descriptions of martyrs on the website. When people see that, they'll realize that uh martyrdom, well, first and foremost, it isn't always to the death. It's willing to sacrifice your life if the case need uh need be. But to make a difference, I guess would be the the the thing to say, and that would make it uh make the idea of martyrdom seem more reachable for others because you can make a difference in a variety of levels.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Yes, and these people were many of them were martyrd. They didn't mean to go into battle and lose their lives. When we think about Andrew Goodman and James Cheney and Michael Schmer sh um Shermer, they went down to Mississippi to help register people to vote. They didn't intend on being killed. And and Michael um Surmer Surner, who whose family and and Andrew Goodman's whose families are in New York City in this in this area, um James Cheney was from Mississippi, and they went down, those two men, Michael and Andrew, as college students to Mississippi to register people to vote. When we think about people who go into protests, and I've been part of protests since the third grade, and I'm not thinking when I go out to protest that I'm going to lose my life in doing so. But we just had primary voting across the country. We went to our voting places and voted. These people, as as recent as is the 1960s, were slaughtered just because they went to vote. Um Vernon Damer, one of our martyrs on the website, um, was burned alive in his own home because he was paying the poll tax. Yes, there was a time where people had to pay a tax in order to vote. Um for for the poorer farmers in Mississippi, he was burned alive. And and but he had a motto if you don't vote, you don't count. And that's why these people are so important. They're teaching us American history, things that have been probably covered up. There are also people who gave their lives without getting any type of veterans' pay, without getting any type of special ceremonies at their gravesites, special cemeteries. These are regular people who were martyrs, who were killed just for doing basic things we take for granted today. And so I I think the least we can do is lift up their names as American martyrs. And this is our first American Martyrs Day coming up on July 5th.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

I think to contemporize it even further, you say the names Renee Good and Alex Prody. Those are two individuals doing what is what is every American's right to do to protest, peaceful peacefully protest, I should say. They weren't burning things or waving weapons, and they lost their lives for exercising a basic right. And if someone says anything about that being wrong, I think that's someone who is lacking a great understanding of the importance of rights in this country.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Well, think about the 250th anniversary is commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is a protest document. So we began in protest, but this country has this love-hate relationship with protests. We love the benefits that come from protests. We like that eight-hour work day, we like our safe working conditions, we like the fact that women have the right to vote, we like all of those things, but we don't want to respect the protests that were taken in order for those rights and privileges and protections to be reality. And that's the love-hate relationship that we have in this country. We protest. We want to have the benefits of protest, but we disdain the protester as a troublemaker. We malign them. We always have this propaganda against protesters, and as you pointed out, it's in our constitution that we are allowed to protest, especially protest the actions of our state, local, and federal governments. We can also protest the actions of corporations and stores who aren't treating us well. But being able to protest against our government, that is in our constitution. And so many people want constitutional rights, but they don't want people to exercise those constitutional rights. It's just against an issue that they care deeply about on the other side.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

Oh, and Professor Gloria Brown Marshall, author of the book A Protest History of the United States. In addition to all that, the founder of Martyrs Day coming up on July 5th, learn more at Martyrsday.us, and you are listening to issues and ideas. It's fantastic with the information once you put it out there for people to look at, hopefully absorb to whatever degree they're they're capable of. But what additionally do you want to see as a result of the planning and leading up to Martyrs Day? What you what what are you hoping for on July 5th?

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Well, in uh in New York City, we're having um the National Martyr's Day event at the historic Riverside Church um in Manhattan at 2 p.m. on July 5th. But there are also events that are taking place around the country, and in particular, an event that's taking place in New Jersey at South Orange Valesburg United Methodist Church, and they are going to have a reading of the names of the martyrs. They're going to have a program. People are having programs in in Maryland. The state of Maryland has proclaimed July 5th as Martyrs Day. The city of Philadelphia proclaimed July 5th as Martyrs Day, as well as districts in in Pittsburgh and and in Colorado. So my my want, my takeaway from for the listener, think about martyrs and recommit to social justice. Recommit to what this American society is about, moving forward as far as social justice, civil rights, equality. Realize the history of this country means that people had to fight to take words from the Constitution and make them a reality in day to day life. But more importantly, we want a recommitment to social justice, a recommitment to going forward in this country and realizing that our rights didn't fall out of the sky. Santa Claus didn't bring them. They weren't left under the pillow by the two ferry. People fought and died for this. And we want to pay tribute to those who fought and died, but we also Want to learn and go forward as a nation, believing in social justice as the right path for this country. It's power in it.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

And for that to come about, it's going to be People Power. That's you the people, as part of We the People, and learn more about how to organize a local Martyrs Day event wherever you are, listening on the radio, listening on the podcast, listening on the stream, whatever the case may be. The go to to find out more martyrsday.us, martyrsday.us, and we have that link over at our homepage, don't worry about that. Learn more about Professor Gloria Brown Marshall and her writing her work, Brown Brown Marshall23.com, and the education opportunities of John J. College, where she is a professor of constitutional law, J J A Y dot CUNY.edu. All those are, again, on our website homepage. Professor Gloria Brown Marshall. It's great to have a 4th of July to help us remember, but then you've added to that with July 5th and Martyr's Day to help us understand what we the role we play as individuals, as active citizens of the United States, protecting what is right and what are our rights. So thank you for the level of awareness you're you're raising, the motivation you're creating, and the success I know Martyrs Day is going to be this year and moving forward. Thanks for being here today.

SPEAKER_00 23:27

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 23:29

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook. Keep on top of all the conversations we have on there each and every day. You can find the link to do that at the homepage of our website, issues and ideasradio.com. The Declaration of Independence is a recognition of how all that is a part of our liberty and freedom comes from God. This document also really gives a job description for every American regarding their role in keeping America faithfully strong. So what happened over the recent decades? Have we as a people turned away from what was declared and directed to us in the Declaration of Independence? Has it been diminished by those that we've given elected leadership to? Roadmap to Restore America is Mark Garrill. How are you doing, Mark?

SPEAKER_04 24:19

I'm doing great, Chris. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 24:21

Well, thank you for this book that really ties in what too many people are separating. You put them together in a very fluid way. Explain the use of the word covenant in in your context.

SPEAKER_04 24:45

Yeah, so I had questions myself on this uh on the American founding originally, going back to early the 70s and the 80s. And and the question was if the revolution was all about taxation without representation, in other words, they didn't want to pay their taxes, and uh and yet Jesus said you should pay your taxes, uh for me it was how could the revolution have been biblically justifiable? So I started this this long-term journey about a 20-year quest to try and answer that question. And I decided eventually to go and look in the Bible and just start at the beginning and look for information about liberty and justice and rights and governing and what does God expect from the nations. And that's when you first start to learn a whole lot about this word covenant. There's um a bunch of covenants that are clearly expressed, and the one that pertains to this particular topic that's meant to be instructive for all of the nations is what we refer to as the Mosaic Covenant. It was a covenant brokered basically through Moses to the nation of Israel, and it was to make good on another covenant called the Abrahamic covenant that we learn about in Genesis 12 and Genesis 15. And in that covenant, God made an unconditional promise to bless uh Israel, uh to bless uh Abraham, and he promised a nation uh a great land and to bless the world through Israel, and it was unconditional. But when it came time to make good on that promise about a strong nation, he raised up Moses, and Moses essentially came down and followed a four-step process, and the four-step process was first to acknowledge God and his moral law, so he was bringing down the Ten Commandments, and basically he was saying, Hey, listen, God's telling us if we follow this as a nation, as uh as a group of people living together, he'll bless our nation, and if we don't, he'll curse us. So what do you say? Everyone said, We're in. That sounds good to us. And that's where you first see this idea of consent. Then they go on to uh appeal to God for help, they offer sacrifices, they commit to it, and they declare it by putting up a monument. This all takes place, by the way, in Exodus 19 through 24. Uh, and and those four steps is basically what you do when you start a nation. It's also what you do when you get married, which is not a coincidence. Because th there's a level of seriousness in uh in a marriage commitment. You're exchanging vows, you're acknowledging God, you're appealing to God for help, you're committing to the to the marriage, and and you're declaring it. And that's exactly what the founders did in 1776 in the first couple of paragraphs. They acknowledged God's plan for nations, they refer to the law of nature and of nature's God, which is a direct reference to the law, the moral law as known through conscience, and also as delivered through the Bible in the Ten Commandments. And then they summarize you know God's idea of rights, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. They're inalienable. Powers uh are derived through the consent of the governed, or you know, again referring directly to what happened with Israel. And so later on they they appeal to God for help in that last paragraph, they commit to it, uh offering their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, and then they declare it. They had it read aloud, and of course the the name of the document is a declaration. So I decided eventually, after you know, looking at all this information, I I got a lot of coaching from folks because I'd never written a book before. And they all said, You've got to get clear on the main story. What's the story you want to tell? And I realized it was about the covenant that started our nation and the fact that we have forgotten it. And so that's that's where the title came from.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

And you were listening to issues and ideas. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life and liberty, people have concrete ideas for happiness. People make it more of an abstract. With your study, with your research, quantify, qualify that that third word, happiness, in the Declaration of Independence. What was the what was the intent of that word?

SPEAKER_04 29:11

Yeah, and I I really appreciate you asking that question because uh I learned over the years that the founders had something much different in mind when they used that term. And in fact, I have a whole chapter on that called The Pursuit of Happiness. And what I learned in going through there first is if you look at the Bible and and you look at verses that talk about following God and you ask the question, if you follow God as best you can, right? We're all uh still sinners, but we're hopefully sinning less. And we know that if we follow the Bible for as sort of a handbook for life, that life will go better for us. And and what does that mean for us? It means we'll be happy. And in fact, if you look at there's a number of verses that say this directly, I put them in the Bible. There's one in uh Ecclesiastes, I forget the exact reference, but you can do a concordance on it. But another one is uh Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Bible, 176 verses. And essentially each section of that psalm says the person saying that I delight in your law, I meditate on your law day and night, it's my joy and delight. I mean, almost every other verse is saying that. And so what are you to conclude from 176 verses to talk about that? And the answer is that you know what, if you follow God's law, not not to gain his favor or gain approval, it's to it's to honor him and ultimately to have a happy life. And and that's exactly what the founders were referring to. And I I have a lot of quotes in there to uh to back that statement up because of course the modern definition or the modern point of view is that what the founders meant was sort of eat, drink, and be merry, do whatever makes you feel good. And that's not at all how they thought about it. They saw that the only way to truly be happy is to find favor in the mind of God. Pardon me. And I I show that right out of the uh Noah Webster dictionary in 1828, which is a very important reference, Chris, because it shows you how the founders defined words back then when they were using them. And uh and and that resource also points out that if you if you want to be happy, follow God as best you can, and your life will go well. So so, yes, a very important distinction versus what the secular world uh and unfortunately many Christians think that phrase means in our declaration.

SPEAKER_02 31:45

And we'll get to that side of the equation too. But when you mentioned Psalm 119, I I'm drawing a blank on which signer of the Declaration was it was, but one of them was actually the creator of the first one of the first hymnal books taking all the Psalms and setting it into music, including uh Psalm 119, which I think was one of the uh 60-page hymnals. I don't know hopefully I can remember the name before we're done here, but if not, I'll I'll look it up and uh and I get it to listen because I don't want to drive too crazy like I'm driving myself crazy right now. As far as our role as individuals and the uh the idea of uh of Christian uh citizenship, what are some of the elements that maybe we've lost touch with or maybe we've uh a detachment has brought has been brought about by those we've turned to for everything from education to political leadership, and and we we've been uh we've been separated from that idea.

SPEAKER_04 32:48

Yeah, and so they say all politics are local, and so let's start with a real local concept. The first thing you need to do to be a good citizen is to be a responsible individual, take responsibility for yourself, seek to live in harmony with the moral law, and again, uh just just focus on, you know, don't murder or hurt anybody, don't steal from anybody, always deal honestly with everybody, and don't covet what other people have. If you can just focus on those four things, you will be doing uh so much better than uh a vast majority of Americans living today. But then after you sort of get your own life under control, then it's your family. And and one of the interesting things that I learned in this, Chris, is that all of the principles for starting a nation and for governing a nation justly, they all apply to the family. I mentioned marriage a moment ago. Same is true for governing principles. And so one way to think about all these concepts is to think about how would I apply them in the home. In fact, I'm working on a Bible study for that. I've got a couple of churches that are interested in that as an approach to learn this because it's a more applicable angle to you know be able to learn the concepts and apply them directly to your life. And then, of course, once your family's under control, or reasonably under control, I'm not sure any of our families are always totally under control. I know mine's not. But once you get to a point where you know things are somewhat stable, then your responsibility extends to your local community. How can you get involved at uh school board, your city council? Those are the areas where you really should be engaged. And I I look at churches, and so many of them have hundreds and hundreds of people. Uh there should be at least five to ten percent of any population in a church that has the spiritual gifts to be able to, you know, administration and leadership and wisdom to be able to uh serve their fellow citizens, ultimately to help you know make sure that there's liberty and justice for everybody. And that's ultimately how you love your neighbor. You protect their rights. And when people see you governing justly, they tend to take notice and they might tend to ask you about your faith. And by the way, that was an evangelistic strategy God used in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 4. Moses told the children of Israel that if you govern justly, the other nations are going to take notice and come out and uh and check you guys out. So so it all fits together quite nicely if you follow the biblical blueprint.

SPEAKER_02 35:34

Mark Burrell, job well done as a Christian, as a fanatical history nut. You've touched both areas with the respect and the honesty that they deserve, and the way that they are going to be absorbed by everyone who reads your book is going to make a difference. Thanks for doing that and for being here today.

SPEAKER_04 35:54

Thanks for having me, Chris. Let's do it again soon.

SPEAKER_02 35:58

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. That's the opening sentence from the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, which is a few days away from celebrating its birthday, as well as the birth of the United States of America. While the Declaration of Independence is a document which served as an indictment of King George and his tyranny, it also clearly states and directly establishes that all who are present in this land have rights given to them by God. Those are, of course, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For since God is the one and only creator, that one sentence is indeed recognition of the truth we read in Colossians chapter one verses sixteen and seventeen. For by him all things were created, that were in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. It's important to see too how when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and Congress made their additions and deletions, that they place God before and over government. That is establishing that without the former there can't be the latter. Romans chapter eleven, verse thirty six establishes this as well, for of him and through him, and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. For us to receive the blessings and gifts God creates for us, we need to, of course, acknowledge God, his might, his love, just as Hebrews chapter eleven, verse six teaches. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Now let's look at these gifts that the Declaration of Independence establishes comes to us all from God. Let's start with life. As we all know, all life is precious to God. Psalm 121 verses 7 and 8 tells us that. The Lord shall preserve your coming out and your coming in, from this time forth and even forevermore. In Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10, God in his own words gives us this promise Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. While God's gift of life to us is his perfect creation, as all of his are, we are not perfect. Obviously, and if we stray from his word, we can damage and dirty this great gift that God gives to us all. All throughout the Bible we receive the instructions that we need. We read this, for example, in Galatians chapter five, verse twenty five. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. There's this in sight we find in first Peter chapter three, verses ten and eleven. For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it. Now let's move on to liberty. Liberty is a gift from God which brings us closer to God. This is revealed to us in Second Corinthians chapter three verse seventeen. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and with the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. Just as Jefferson wrote that the colony sought freedom from tyranny, the gift of freedom offers that to all of us. As Paul writes in Galatians chapter five, verse one, stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. How we respond to liberty is one of our important decisions. Again, God's Word gives us the truthful guidance that we need. Let's turn to James chapter one verse twenty five. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. Further instruction comes to us in first Peter chapter two verses fifteen and sixteen. For this is the will of God that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of God. Finally we have the pursuit of happiness. Some find happiness with their children, others find happiness with hobbies, travelling, learning, sports, movies, things like that. Now those are certainly some ways to find happiness. As God's word makes abundantly clear though, all will find happiness with God. He gives us a gift of happiness because he wants us to be happy. When you read the words of Jesus, in John chapter fifteen, verses nine through eleven, there is absolutely no question about this. As the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. The words from Jesus actually magnify what Solomon observes and shares in Ecclesiastes chapter three verses ten through thirteen. I have seen the God given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also he has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor. It is the gift of God. As we approach the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of America, as the last sentence declares what was to be done moving forward with America, let's all promise to do the same as we move forward as God's children in America. 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.

SPEAKER_01 42:26

In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous declaration of the 13 United States of America. 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 a 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 be separated. We hold these truth, 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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the government. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and to institute new governments. Lay its foundation of such an organizing itself such as the most likely to affect 60 and 50. According to the U.S. While evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies. And such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained. And when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time after such desolutions to cause others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise, the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states. For that purpose, obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us in times of peace standing armies without the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws, giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation, for quartering large bodies of armed troops among us, for protecting them by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states, for cutting off our trade with all parts of the world, for imposing taxes on us without our consent, for depriving us in many cases of the benefits of trial by jury, for transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses, for abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies, for taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments, for suspending our own legislatures and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting an attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must therefore acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends. 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 the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved, and that as free and independent states they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. 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.