Sunday after Independence Day – 2020
Sermon by the Revd. Fr. Gavin Dunbar
Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed….
American independence began with an act of free speech –- the Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4th, 1776 – and its appeal to the authority of the Creator, over against the authority of any particular human government. So it is no surprise that the First Amendment to the Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, is to uphold both freedom of religion from state interference, and freedom of speech:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.