^
1. It references a "Creator," and thus doesn't denote the Judeo-Christian God specifically, and as Jefferson was well-known to be a deist and not Christian (to be clear on the subject, as we've had a discussion on this before, he was quoted as saying both "You say you are a Calvinist. I am not. I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know" and, on the Bible and the Book of Revelations in particular, he thought they were "merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams," so while he's not exactly anti-religion, he rejected quite a bit of the Bible, especially prophetic writings in the New Testament, and the extent to his backing Christianity at all pretty much boiled down to--for lack of a better way of putting it--a rather "Jewish" view, ie, "Jesus was a nice guy and maybe a profound thinker but not the messiah," which is pretty much a deal-breaker in terms of him being thought of as a Christian) he's likely not referring to a "Creator" in a Judeo-Christian sense but in a deist one, and
2. The Declaration of Independence is NOT our founding document. This is maybe a bit more contentious, as I suppose it depends on when you want to argue America as we know it "began" as a state and entity in a legalistic sense...
I'd argue that as the Declaration was just that, a declaration and more rhetoric and rationale for revolution than actually setting up the United States as a political entity (he does refer to them as "free and independent states," but NOT as UNITED States...that concept was still very much up in the air, whether the Thirteen Colonies would form a single new nation or a loose confederation of states or even stay together period, all of this of course dependent on their first winning a war and avoiding being hanged as traitors for their attempt to break away from the British Empire) and is NOT a document which founds the UNITED STATES of America so much as just dissolves the bond between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain while listing grievances and extolling some Enlightenment idealism to back it all up that, in fact, the Declaration is NOT our "founding document."
To put it another way--
The Declaration of Independence is more our cutting the cord than becoming a conscious entity in and of our own right; to be sure, the former has to occur before the latter can happen, but still, cutting the cord doesn't make you "you" as a person, that comes later in your foundational years of action, stimuli, learning and growing.
The Articles of Confederation could be cited as our first "founding document" in terms of our existing as a united political entity...but as it failed and was in time rejected...
I'd submit that the Constitution is our REAL founding document in a legal, political sense.
THAT'S where we become the United States of America rather than just The Thirteen Colonies Club, if you will.
And the Constitution goes out of its way to not only never mention God, but to ensure that no religious test or view is ever required to hold office.
(Which makes me wonder how Texas can legally require someone to be a Christian to run for governor...the 10th Amendment reserves power to the states, but that's power that isn't already clearly delineated to the federal government, and it'd seem as if that "no religious test" clause in the Constitution for the federal government would reserve that right to the federal government and cause it to override the state law...but I digress.)
So--
The Declaration mentions a "Creator" but NOT God...
Which is NOT a flimsy technicality given Jefferson's views on deism vs. Christianity...
The Declaration makes the colonies "independent states" but NOT a united political entity...
And it's the secular Constitution which DOES make is the United States of America an entity and create our government and society in a political and legal sense.
So I reject your comment all the way around, nudge. ;)
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new maps, new rule
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