Quote:
Quote by: suijurisfreeman  Has anyone here read Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (Origins, Philosophy, & Theology) by Allen Jayne?
Why did he use the phrase 'nature's god'?
Was the 'creator' referred to in this document the God of Christianity? |
There was considerable debate about independence carried on in the 1760s and 1770s. The ideas were expressed in phamphlets that had wide distribution throughout the colonies. They were greatly influenced by writers of the Enlightenment such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Beccaria, Montesquieu, Delolme, and others, even to the extent that long passages were quoted in the American pamphlets. The ideas thus developed were about the nature of government and the relationship of that government to citizens. Some of these ideas were extremely critical of the clergy and the established churches. There was much talk about natural rights. The phrase about which you ask is a statement of such natural rights, "...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them..." It is nature that is most important because that is the source of the rights.
The ideas were typically Deist in nature. Deists sometimes used the word "God", as in "Nature's God", but more often spoke of the Deity, Providence, the Creator, and other terms. While Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams probably did not intend a reference to the Christian God, "Creator" was broad enough that the Chirstians could take it to mean their understanding and offer no objection. However, my bet is that they understood exactly what Jefferson meant. They too were quite familiar with the writers of the Enlightment.