When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he explained that our freedoms come from God. “All men are created equal,” he says, and “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” A nativity display on government property reminds us that all humans have unalienable rights- rights which cannot legitimately be taken away- because these rights come from God.

Recently, I spoke at a Tea Party in the state of Minnesota and was approached by an individual who said that he was there when I gave “The Prayer that Rocked the Capitol.” I asked him where all of his conservative buddies were that did not stand when they should have stood.

We’ve all heard the protests: “Separation of church and State! You can’t post the 10 Commandments in a courthouse! You can’t have Jesus in a Christmas play in a public school! That would violate the First Amendment!” Really? Have any of the people making such proclamations read the First Amendment, or what any of the founders said in regard to the relationship between the church and the state? Time for a dose of truth by way of a brief history lesson.

Fifty years ago, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a crowd of 250,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, he called on the people of the various states, and the government of these united States to live up to the principles espoused in the Declaration of Independence. But it was not, as many have falsely claimed, a call for “civil” rights.

Family Research Council (FRC) applauded the U.S. Supreme Court for its decision today inTown of Greece v. Galloway upholding the constitutionality of legislative prayer and affirming the long-held right of Americans to pray in the public square. Family Research Council submitted an amicus brief on behalf of 49 Members of Congress supporting Alliance Defending Freedom’s petition in this case.

Carroll County (Maryland) Commissioner Robin Frazier opened up last Thursday morning’s Board of Commissioners budget meeting with a prayer containing references to Jesus Christ. This is, of course, a perfectly normal and appropriate and legal thing to do. When Commissioner Frazier offered the prayer she was telling the truth and following the law.

President Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, March 8, 1983

Colonial preachers like Jonathan Edwards, Jonathan Mayhew, George Whitefield, and Cotton Mather greatly impacted the lives and thoughts of America’s founders. There is not a right asserted in the Declaration of Independence which had not been discussed by the New England clergy before 1763.

In 2012, Oklahoma legislators permitted a monument of the Ten Commandments to be placed at the capitol building. Now, that move is drawing a targeted backlash from a group who wants to erect a statue of Satan on the same grounds. Last week, The Satanic Temple of New York informed the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission of its plans to build a monument that will cost $20,000 near the statehouse.

Under the true, original American view of law and government, all law, and therefore all rights, originate in God. Therefore, what is not in accord with God’s Law is not law. The acknowledgement of this first principle of law and government is foundational to our lives and to our liberties.