The Declaration of Independence, says a new video from Discovery Institute, “declares that all human beings are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. The Declaration’s words have inspired generations of Americans and millions around the globe. What many people may not realize is just how much the Declaration is based on an intelligent design view of the universe.” That in the briefest form is the message of John West’s new book, Endowed by Our Creator: The Bible, Science, and the Battle for America’s Soul.
The Declaration “inspired generations of Americans,” but I’m less certain about the current youthful generation. How urgent the book’s message is was brought home to me over the weekend in a conversation with a bright young man. I was glad he knew that the Declaration’s 250th anniversary is coming up, but less glad that he is not in synch with the document’s key premise: that our rights come to us from a Creator. He cast them instead as “iterations” — meaning, I think, products of some kind of social evolution — and reflecting an overall “vibe.” The vibe, if I understood correctly, includes iterations favoring life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I asked, “So we’re supposed to condemn slavery in the name of a vibe?” I did not press for an answer.
Certainly in the eyes of the young, the American creed, reflected in the Declaration of Independence, requires a more secure support than that. The persuasive argument of Dr. West’s book is that it has such a support, as the nation’s Founders were well aware, in a long tradition of natural theology. That is another name for scientific evidence of intelligent design. Watch: