Unalienable Rights and the Bible

When the Founding Fathers of America issued their statement of justification for cutting ties to their Mother country in order to form a new nation, they alluded to the notion of “unalienable rights.”1 Where did they derive this notion? Did it arise from political philosophy to which they had been exposed? Did they believe in the theory of evolution, concluding that humans should receive no special, moral treatment based solely on their humanness?2 Or was the source of their thinking on this subject drawn directly from the Bible? FACT: It came from the Bible. Consider the following listing of unalienable rights affirmed, defined, and delineated from Scripture:

Affirmed:

“[A]ll men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”3

Defined:

“Those sacred rights which God himself from the infinity of his benevolence has bestowed upon mankind.”4

Delineated:5

Life—God gave us life; no one is permitted to take that life, except under conditions the Creator gives by which it might be done by duly constituted authority.

Acts 17:25; 1 Timothy 6:13; Job 12:10; Isaiah 42:5; Daniel 5:23

Liberty—Freedom to make own decisions, control own actions, exercise own volition, change situations, move wherever one desires to move (under constraints of law)—the exercise of free will.[6]

Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Ezekiel 18:4ff.; 1 Corinthians 9:17; Revelation 22:17

Pursuit of Happiness—Right to pursue one’s own advantage and enjoyment (within moral limits), including selection of vocation, profession, trade, or business.

Joshua 1:15; Psalm 128:2; Ecclesiastes 2:24; 3:13; 5:18; 1 Timothy 6:17

Private Property—Acquired by one’s own lawful, moral labor.

Genesis 2:15; 3:17-19; Ecclesiastes 3:13; Isaiah 65:22; Matthew 20:13-15; Acts 5:4; 1 Corinthians 9:4-10; Ephesians 4:28

Family Relations—A scriptural marriage.

Genesis 1:27; 2:24; Matthew 19:9; 1 Corinthians 7:1-2; 9:5

Family Relations—bear/rear/educate/care for one’s own children

John 9:23; Ephesians 5:31; 6:1; Colossians 3:20; Romans 1:30; Hebrews 13:4

Right to Worship—Pursue Christianity and worship God according to own understanding of the Bible—as long as not harmful or immoral.

Deuteronomy 6:13; Matthew 4:10; 2 Kings 17:36; 1 Chronicles 16:29; Psalm 96:9; John 4:23; Revelation 22:9

Self-Preservation—The right to defend/protect self, family, and property.

Genesis 9:6; 14:14-20; Exodus 22:2-3; Nehemiah 4:13-20; Esther 8:11; 9:5; Matthew 24:42-44; John 18:36; Hebrews 11:32-34; James 2:8

Endnotes

1 For more discussion of this topic, see Dave Miller (2017), God & Government (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), pp. 13-36.

2 Kyle Butt (2008), “Dawkins Does Not Believe ‘Men’ Have Unalienable Rights,” https://apologeticspress.org/dawkins-does-not-believe-men-have-unalienable-rights-2477/.

3 “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription,” National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.

4 John Dickinson (1766), An Address to the Committee of Correspondence in Barbados. Occasioned by a Late Letter from Them to Their Agent in London (Philadelphia, PA: William Bradford), p. 4. John Dickinson (1732-1808) was a prominent Founder. He was homeschooled by a tutor and became an attorney/politician and served during the Revolution as a Militia Brigadier-General. He served as a member of the Continental Congress and a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787. He served as Governor of both Delaware and Pennsylvania and was among the wealthiest men in the British American colonies. He wrote Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, and was a signer of the Constitution. Like Dickinson, a host of the Founders alluded to and expounded on the notion of “unalienable rights.” For example, Dan Foster (1775), A Short Essay on Civil Government (Hartford, CT: Ebenezer Watson), pp. 17,24; Thomas Jefferson (1774), A Summary View of the Rights of British America (London: G. Kearsly), p. 19; William Wells (1865), The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams (Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co.), 3:325; Bird Wilson (1804), The Works of the Honourable James Wilson (Philadelphia, PA: Lorenzo Press), 1:104; 2:454.

5 This listing is not intended to be exhaustive.

6 For a discussion of slavery as depicted in the Bible, see Kyle Butt (2005), “The Bible & Slavery,” Reason & Revelation, 25[6]:41-47, June; Dave Miller (2005), “Philemon & Slavery,” Reason & Revelation, 4[6]:21-R, June; Eric Lyons (2018), “Did Paul Endorse Slavery?” Reason & Revelation, 38[1]:2-4, January.

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Wednesday, June 04, 2025