At the apex of God and truth there is freedom. When Thomas Aquinas said “Happiness is
secured through virtue; it is a good attained by man’s own will,” this was a revolutionary
thought for the 13th century. Aquinas was one of the first theologians to openly admit that
free will was part of the human condition.
The Enlightenment era thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries echoed these sentiments –
“To love truth for truth’s sake is the principal part of human perfection in this world, and the
seed-plot of all other virtues.” – John Locke
The theories of religion and freedom have always been interconnected.
The founders of America took these thoughts and forged our Declaration of Independence,
and later our Constitution. The goal was freedom for all religions and protection of our
peoples. Without freedom, law loses purpose and without law, liberty also loses its nature
and moral restraint.
Moving focus to current events, it’s easy to see why some would find the election win of
President Trump confusing. He is not a figure who leads with morality first, nor is his
leadership style well-focused on the enhancement of freedoms. The analytical look at the election shows all sorts of factors contributing to his victory, beginning with a far-left that is out of sync with many Americans.
But what about freedom?
Freedom is a fickle concept. What it means to one is not what it means to all. In many ways
it’s based on your experiences – but without truth it is a fools errand. If you base your
decisions on false narratives, you have given up on your ability to chose – and therefore you
are not free. This is why the enlightenment thinkers and the founders all focused on science.
If you understand the natural world, you become more free with regards to every decision.
And folks who have chosen to reject God and still retain a high-level of morality can argue
that they might just be the most free of any of us. This is the separation of Church and State
the founders wrote about. Rejecting your will to reason and inserting the beliefs of even God
himself is renouncing your own freedom.
At the apex of God and truth there is freedom. What I think the founders sought in their
creation of this nation was to find the true essence of self-governance. If people receive
honest information and make decisions with consideration to others, this is our true
expression of freedom.