Which Values are Those?

Typically following a State of the Union address I will listen or watch the address real time and then go back and re-read the speech from the transcript available on the government website.  This year was no different; I listened to President Obama deliver his speech and then revisited the address yesterday afternoon late.  As usual the same set of comments that caught my attention during the real-time delivery jumped out from the written transcript.  It's something different every time and this year it occurred toward the end of the address and centered around the topic of "American values."  Following is the quote from the transcript and a link for the transcript in its entirety:

State of the Union Transcript

"Abroad, America's greatest source of strength has always been our ideals.  The same is true at home.  We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we're all created equal; that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it; if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else."

I was fascinated by this paragraph, especially the part about how we find unity in our diversity.  I have posted on this before and how this has always been the ultimate search; namely how to find unity in diversity.  We have universities across this nation looking for knowledge to unite diverse ideas; on our coinage we have the phrase E Pluribus Unum (out of the many, one; or from the many come one); even in ancient Greek the search was for the fifth essence that would unite the other four.  The unity does not exist within the diversity, there is an outside source that provides the unity within the diversity; that unity in diversity comes from a unity in a diversity in the first cause embodied in the community of the Trinity.

As the Declaration of Independence is the preamble to the Constitution then we do see that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with those inalienable rights.  But inalienable means it is contingent only on the Creator, no man gives them and no man or institution may molest them.  Why then the if-then statements that followed:  "if you abide by the law you will be protected by it, if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else."  Whether or not you abide by the laws of the land, life remains inalienable; even if you don't adhere to the values common to the many, liberty remains inalienable.  This is the beauty of the Biblical-Christian or Judeo-Christian worldview on which this country was founded, and on which the Declaration and Constitution were established.  We are created by the Creator with that Imago Dei in the image of God and it transcends actions or behaviors, that is the reason why all are treated equally, not because they agree with us.

"In the end, it's our ideals, our values that built America -- values that allowed us to forge a nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe, values that drive our citizens still.  Every day, Americans meet their responsibilities to their families and their employers.  Time and again, they lend a hand to their neighbors and give back to their country.  They take pride in their labor, and are generous in spirit.  These aren't Republican values or Democratic values that they're living by; business values or labor values.  There American values."

And there it was jumping out at me; American values.  And the question arose in my mind, "The American values that the country began with, or contemporary American values?"  Are they in fact the same?  This State of the Union ended as all speeches tend to, with the familiar line: "Thank you.  God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America."  The God of the Bible is eluded to throughout the speech although not explicitly stated.  I'll leave the question open for dialouge and leave with just a few quotes from those signers of the Constitution who established the framework for this nation.  Perhaps we could think seriously for more than a few seconds about their words and if in fact the American values posited and promulgated by the founders of this nation continue to be interwoven with life in contemporary American culture.

"It pleased God to write his law upon the heart of man at first.  And the great lines of duty, however obscured by their original apostasy, are still so visible to afford an opportunity of judging what conduct and practice is or is not agreeable to its dictates.  Such authority hath natural conscience still in man that it renders those...inexcusable in the sight of God (Rom. 1:20-2:14)...The pollution of the heart brings a corrupt bias on the judgment, in the man's own case...whereas in determining the character of others, this bias is less sensibly felt."         John Witherspoon, New Jersey

"...the establishment proposed by this Bill is not requisite for the support of the Christian Religion.  To say that it is, is a contradiction to the Christian Religion itself; for every page of it disavows a dependence on the powers of this world: it is a contradiction to fact; for it is known that this Religion both existed and flourished, not only without the support of human laws, but in spite of every opposition from them...

...It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage, and such only, as he believes to be acceptable to him. The duty is precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society.  Before any man can be considered a member of Civil Society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governer of the Universe.  And if a member of Civil Society, who enters into any subordinate Association; must always do it with a reservation of his duty to the general authority; much more must every man who becomes a member of any particular Civil Society, do it with a saving of his allegience to the Universal Sovereign.  We maintain therefore that in matters of Religion, no man's right is abridged by the institution of Civil Society, and that Religion is wholly exempt from its cognizance."           James Madison, Virginia

"The depravity which mankind inherited from their first parents, introduced wickedness into the world.  That wickedness rendered human government necessary to restrain the violence and injustice resulting from it.  To facilitate the establishment and administration of government, the human race became, in the course of Providence, divided into seperate and distinct nations.  Every nation instituted a government, with authority and power to protect it against domestic and foreign aggressions.

It is true that one of the postitive ordinances of Moses, to which you allude, did ordain retaliation or, in other words, a tooth for a tooth.  But we are to recollect that it was ordained, not as a rule to regulate the conduct of private individuals toward each other, but as a legal penalty or punishment for certain offences.  Retaliation is also manifest in the punishment prescribed for murder-life for life.  Legal punishments are adjusted and inflicted by the law and magistrate, and not by unauthorized individuals.  These and other positive laws or ordinances established by Divine direction, must of necessity be consistent with the moral law.  It certainly was not the design of the law or ordinance in question, to encourage a spirit of personal or private revenge."         John Jay, New York

"One great Advantage of the Christian Religion is that it brings the great Principle of the Law of Nature and Nations, Love your Neighbor as yourself, and do to others as you would that others should do to you, to the Knowledge, Belief and Veneration of the whole People.

...religion and virtue are the only foundations, not only of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all governments and in all the combinations of human society.

There is no such thing [as morality] without a supposition of God.  There is no right or wrong in the universe without the supposition of a moral government and an intellectual and moral governer.

No other Institution for Education, no kind of political Discipline, could diffuse this kind of necessary Information, so universally among all Ranks and Descriptions of Citizens.  The Duties and Rights of the Man and the Citizen are thus taught from early Infancy to every Creature.  The Sanctions of a future Life are thus added to the Observance of civil and political, as well as domestic and private Duties.  Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude, are thus taught to be the means and Conditions of future as well as present Happiness."        John Adams,  Massachusetts