Genesis Compared To The Big Bang Theory And Evolution

Thesis Paper for Anthropology 165
By: Leonard Lenny Vasbinder
Originally published Dec. 2014

Many scientists and members of society think that the Big Bang Theory contradicts God and Creationism.  The Big Bang Theory does not contradict God, the Creator, but rather requires a Creator.  Evolution in nature requires, first and foremost, the creation of organisms and species where some can eventually adapt and evolve.

Genesis 1 states that God created the heavens and the earth on the first day.  He later created light and darkness and after a day and night and then a sunrise, it was called God’s first day (The Bible – New International Version, Genesis 1.1-5).   But each of God’s days, as described in the Bible, are compared, in evolutionary terms, to billions of man’s years.  It wasn’t until God’s fourth day that we have a hint of a man’s day when He created the sun and the moon and the stars (The Bible - New International Version, Genesis 1.14-19).  God created all of the oceans, land masses, plants, and animals on His 3rd, 4th and 5th days and then created man on His 6th day (The Bible – New International Version, Genesis 1.9-27).  Once again, each of God’s days is compared, in evolutionary terms, to billions of man’s years as man did not exist until God’s 6th day.

The Big Bang Theory asserts that this cataclysmic event, that created the universe and earth, took place around 13.77 billion years ago, give or take 0.059 billion years.  “The universe began with an unimaginably enormous density and temperature. This immense primordial energy was the cauldron from which all life arose. Elementary particles were created and destroyed by the ultimate particle accelerator in the first moments of the universe (“Universe 101 – The Big Bang Theory”).

Wollack also said:

"There was matter and there was antimatter. When they met, they annihilated each other and created light. Somehow, it seems that there was a tiny fraction more matter than antimatter, so when nature took its course, the universe was left with some matter, no antimatter, and a tremendous amount of light… Carbon and oxygen were not created in the Big Bang, but rather much later in stars. All of the carbon and oxygen in all living things are made in the nuclear fusion reactors that we call stars. The early stars are massive and short-lived. They consume their hydrogen, helium and lithium and produce heavier elements. When these stars die with a bang, they spread the elements of life, carbon and oxygen, throughout the universe (Universe 101 – Our Universe)."

The above quote is from some of the latest scientific writings about The Big Bang Theory and Wollack still says “Somehow, it seems”, which is scientifically ambiguous and “When these stars die with a bang, they spread the elements of life” but still cannot explain how these “elements of life, carbon, and oxygen” end up forming a living species.  This is where only a Creator can perform this miracle of science.

Pope Francis recently said, “God is not a divine being or a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life,” Francis continued. “The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it. … Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve” (Clark).

The alleged conflicts between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 has created doubt among scientists, who believe in evolution and random selections of mutated DNA over time and that these mutations are connected to those of an increasingly complex ecosystem.  Since evolution does not put human beings above any other living beings, at some point, human beings will probably become extinct.  The article further contrasts the distinction between science and religion.  The article concludes that science is constantly changing and earlier science is proved false quite often.  God cannot be scientifically proven to be true or false since He requires our faith, and that we can choose to have faith or not (Bothwell).

This article discusses and compares the Bible and the Holy Quran regarding the creation of the universe in comparison of the scientific theories of the Big Bang and other related events.  According to the Big Bang Theory, the universe came into existence from the breaking up of an extremely condensed and solid matter, and before this, no matter existed.  This article states that in the Big Bang Theory, the universe came into existence out of nothingness, but that it happened under an organized and ordered process, and that it did not happen at random.  The article concludes that Allah (or God) brought the universe out of nothing and brought it to life.  It was not an accidental “Big Bang” (Salihuddin).

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274) in the Middle Ages did extensive research and wrote about his beliefs about creation and the beginning of the world.  Comparing Multiverse models, like those proposed by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow in The Grand Design, may challenge certain views of a Grand Designer, but not of a Creator.  This article discusses the rather new Large Hedron Collider (nuclear particle accelerator).  Renowned physicist, Michio Kaku remarked that the new experiments would be “a huge step toward unraveling Genesis 1, Verse 1 – what happened in the beginning.  This is a Genesis machine” (Carroll).  The article concludes that when it came to Genesis, St. Thomas Aquinas observed that what is essential is the ‘fact of creation’, not the ‘matter or mode’ of the formation of the world (Carroll). Attempts in the natural sciences to explain these facets of nature do not challenge the ‘fact of creation’.  The genius of St. Thomas Aquinas was to distinguish between creation, understood philosophically and scientifically, and creation understood theologically (Carroll).

According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS):

"Science is a particular way of knowing about the world. In science, explanations are limited to those based on observations and experiments that can be substantiated by other scientists.

Progress in science consists of the development of better explanations for the causes of natural phenomena. Scientists never can be sure that a given explanation is complete and final. Some of the hypotheses advanced by scientists turn out to be incorrect when tested by further observations or experiments. Yet, many scientific explanations have been so thoroughly tested and confirmed that they are held with great confidence.

Truth in science, however, is never final, and what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow. Science has been greatly successful at explaining natural processes, and this has led not only to increased understanding of the universe but also to major improvements in technology and public health and welfare."

The National Academy of Sciences also says:

Science is not the only way of acquiring knowledge about ourselves and the world around us. Humans gain understanding in many other ways, such as through literature, the arts, philosophical reflection, and religious experience. Scientific knowledge may enrich aesthetic and moral perceptions, but these subjects extend beyond science's realm, which is to obtain a better understanding of the natural world.

Scientists, like many others, are touched with awe at the order and complexity of nature. Indeed, many scientists are deeply religious. But science and religion occupy two separate realms of human experience. Demanding that they be combined detracts from the glory of each.

Many religious persons, including many scientists, hold that God created the universe and the various processes driving physical and biological evolution and that these processes then resulted in the creation of galaxies, our solar system, and life on Earth. This belief, which sometimes is termed 'theistic evolution,' is not in disagreement with scientific explanations of evolution. Indeed, it reflects the remarkable and inspiring character of the physical universe revealed by cosmology, paleontology, molecular biology, and many other scientific disciplines. (NASA/WMAP Science Team)

The above statement is in answer to this question:  “I am religious and I also find science very exciting. Is there a conflict between science and religion?”  So many of the scientific writings still do not give a conclusive explanation of how the Big Bang and “nothingness” ends up creating all the miracles of life… not even the first single-celled microbe is explained.  A typical explanation almost always includes a type of caveat such as, “Scientists never can be sure that a given explanation is complete and final. Some of the hypotheses advanced by scientists turn out to be incorrect when tested by further observations or experiments.” (NASA/WMAP Science Team)

Comprehensive Analysis of Chimpanzee and Human Chromosomes Reveals Average DNA Similarity of 70%

"For the chimp autosomes, the amount of optimally aligned DNA sequence provided similarities between 66 and 76%, depending on the chromosome. In general, the smaller and more gene-dense the chromosomes, the higher the DNA similarity—although there were several notable exceptions defying this trend. Only 69% of the chimpanzee X chromosome was similar to human and only 43% of the Y chromosome. Genome-wide, only 70% of the chimpanzee DNA was similar to human under the most optimal sequence-slice conditions. While, chimpanzees and humans share many localized protein-coding regions of high similarity, the overall extreme discontinuity between the two genomes defies evolutionary timescales and dogmatic presuppositions about a common ancestor. (Wood, T. C.)"

The above peer-reviewed article asserts that the previously stated 98% + comparable DNA between chimpanzees and humans is no longer an accurate assertion.  More comprehensive DNA analysis shows a similarity of around 66% to 76%.  This kind of continually changing science is one of the many reasons that the evolution of primates into man is not believed by so many people.

In conclusion, it can only be from God (the Creator) that all of the above miracles and scientific facts and conclusions could have happened since nothing capable of living would have survived a cataclysmic event such as a “Big Bang” type explosion.

Notes

http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/evolution_contradict_genesis.html
http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/

Works Cited

The Bible – New International Version, Genesis 1, BibleGateway.com.  Web.  October 2014
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201&version=NIV
https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/

Wollack, Edward J., NASA/WMAP Science Team. “Universe 101 – Big Bang Theory – How Old is the Universe”.  GSFC.NASA.gov.  NASA, Web.  21 Dec. 2012  http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html

Wollack, Edward J., NASA/WMAP Science Team. “Universe 101 – Our Universe – How Did  The Universe Start and Evolve”.  GSFC.NASA.gov.  NASA, Web.  24 Jan. 2014  http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_life.html

Clark, Heather.  “Pope Contradicts Genesis Account of Creation, Argues ‘God and Evolution’ Are Compatible”.  Christiannews.net.   Christian News Network.  27 Oct 2014. Web.  27 Oct. 2014  http://christiannews.net/2014/10/27/pope-refutes-genesis-account-of-creation-argues-god-and-evolution-are-compatible/

Bothwell, Laura E. “Genesis Meets The Big Bang And Evolution, Absent Design”.  Crosscurrents, Spring 2007.  Web.  23 Oct 2014

Salihuddin, Hafiz. “Creation of the Universe: A Religious and Scientific Study”.  The Dialogue, Apr-Jun 2013, Volume VIII Number 2, p208-216. Web. 23 Oct 2014

Carroll, William E.  “Aquinas and Contemporary Cosmology: Creations and Beginnings”.  Science & Christian Belief, Apr 2002, Volume 24, Issue 1, p5-18.  Web.  23 Oct 2014

NASA/WMAP Science Team, National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
Dr. Edward J. Wollack, Page Updated: Wednesday, 11-28-2012,
http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/site/faq.html

Annotated Bibliography

Bothwell, Laura E.  “Genesis Meets The Big Bang And Evolution, Absent Design.”  Crosscurrents, Spring 2007

This article looks at the alleged conflicts between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 which has created doubt among scientists, who believe in evolution and random selections of mutated DNA over time and that these mutations are connected to those of an increasingly complex ecosystem.  Since evolution does not put human beings above any other living beings, at some point, human beings will probably become extinct.  The article further contrasts the distinction between science and religion.  The article concludes that science is constantly changing and earlier science is proved false at times.  God cannot be scientifically proven to be true or false since He requires our faith, and that we can choose to have faith or not.

Salihuddin, Hafiz.  Creation of the Universe: A Religious and Scientific Study.  The Dialogue, Apr-Jun 2013, Volume VIII Number 2, p208-216
This article discusses and compares the Bible and the Holy Quran regarding the creation of the universe in comparison of the scientific theories of the Big Bang and other related events.  According to the Big Bang Theory, the universe came into existence around 13.7 million years ago from the breaking up of an extremely condensed and solid matter, and before this, no matter existed.  This article states that in the Big Bang Theory, the universe came into existence out of nothingness, but that it happened under an organized and ordered process, and that it did not happen at random.  The article concludes that Allah (or God) brought the universe out of nothing and brought it to life.  It was not an accidental “Big Bang.”

Carroll, William E.  Aquinas and Contemporary Cosmology: Creations and Beginnings.  Science & Christian Belief, Apr 2002, Volume 24, Issue 1, p5-18.
This article discusses Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274) in the Middle Ages and his beliefs about creation and the beginning of the world.  Comparing Multiverse models, like those proposed by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow (The Grand Design, published September 2010), may challenge certain views of a Grand Designer, but not of a Creator.  This article discusses the rather new Large Hedron Collider (nuclear particle accelerator).  Renowned physicist, Michio Kaku remarked that the new experiments would be ‘a huge step toward unraveling Genesis 1, Verse 1 – what happened in the beginning.  This is a Genesis machine…’  The article concludes that when it came to Genesis, St. Thomas Aquinas observed that what is essential is the ‘fact of creation’, not the ‘matter or mode’ of the formation of the world… Attempts in the natural sciences to explain these facets of nature do not challenge the ‘fact of creation’.  The genius of St. Thomas Aquinas was to distinguish between creation, understood philosophically and scientifically, and creation understood theologically.

Wood, T. C., Using creation science to demonstrate evolution? Senter’s strategy revisited.

Answers Research Journal 6 (2013):63-69.  Journal Of Evolutionary Biology, Volume 24, Issue 4, pages 914–918, April 2011
https://answersingenesis.org/answers/research-journal/v6/comprehensive-analysis-of-chimpanzee-and-human-chromosomes/

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02208.x/full

The Americans Who Risked Everything

Editorial Prologue by Leonard “Lenny” Vasbinder,
Originally published on Delgado Free Dolphin, July 2, 2017
Republished on Lenny's News & Views, July 3, 2019

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“The Americans Who Risked Everything”

I first heard and read this story around 20 years ago, first while listening to the Rush Limbaugh Show on talk radio (probably WWL 870 AM back then). I was also a subscriber to The Limbaugh Letter, a monthly newsletter that republished highlights from the shows that month and was able to read the story as well.  It always stuck with me.

The Americans Who Risked Everything (by Rush Limbaugh’s father)
Limbaugh Letter | circa Dec 2000 | Rush Limbaugh Jr. (Rush’s Dad)

The Americans Who Risked Everything

My father, Rush H. Limbaugh, Jr., delivered this oft-requested address locally a number of times, but it had never before appeared in print until it appeared in The Limbaugh Letter. My dad was renowned for his oratory skills and for his original mind; this speech is, I think, a superb demonstration of both. I will always be grateful to him for instilling in me a passion for the ideas and lives of America’s Founders, as well as a deep appreciation for the inspirational power of words which you will see evidenced here:

“Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor”

It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining and the wind was from the southeast. Up especially early, a tall bony, redheaded young Virginian found time to buy a new thermometer, for which he paid three pounds, fifteen shillings. He also bought gloves for Martha, his wife, who was ill at home.

Thomas Jefferson arrived early at the statehouse. The temperature was 72.5 degrees and the horseflies weren’t nearly so bad at that hour. It was a lovely room, very large, with gleaming white walls. The chairs were comfortable. Facing the single door were two brass fireplaces, but they would not be used today.

The moment the door was shut, and it was always kept locked, the room became an oven. The tall windows were shut, so that loud quarreling voices could not be heard by passersby. Small openings atop the windows allowed a slight stir of air, and also a large number of horseflies. Jefferson records that “the horseflies were dexterous in finding necks, and the silk of stockings was nothing to them.” All discussing was punctuated by the slap of hands on necks.

On the wall at the back, facing the president’s desk, was a panoply — consisting of a drum, swords, and banners seized from Fort Ticonderoga the previous year. Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured the place, shouting that they were taking it “in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!”

Now Congress got to work, promptly taking up an emergency measure about which there was discussion but no dissension. “Resolved: That an application be made to the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania for a supply of flints for the troops at New York.”

Then Congress transformed itself into a committee of the whole. The Declaration of Independence was read aloud once more, and debate resumed. Though Jefferson was the best writer of all of them, he had been somewhat verbose. Congress hacked the excess away. They did a good job, as a side-by-side comparison of the rough draft and the final text shows. They cut the phrase “by a self-assumed power.” “Climb” was replaced by “must read,” then “must” was eliminated, then the whole sentence, and soon the whole paragraph was cut. Jefferson groaned as they continued what he later called “their depredations.” “Inherent and inalienable rights” came out “certain unalienable rights,” and to this day no one knows who suggested the elegant change.

A total of 86 alterations were made. Almost 500 words were eliminated, leaving 1,337. At last, after three days of wrangling, the document was put to a vote.

Here in this hall Patrick Henry had once thundered: “I am no longer a Virginian, sir, but an American.” But today the loud, sometimes bitter argument stilled, and without fanfare, the vote was taken from north to south by colonies, as was the custom. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

There were no trumpets blown. No one stood on his chair and cheered. The afternoon was waning and Congress had no thought of delaying the full calendar of routine business on its hands. For several hours they worked on many other problems before adjourning for the day.

Much To Lose

What kind of men were the 56 signers who adopted the Declaration of Independence and who, by their signing, committed an act of treason against the crown? To each of you, the names Franklin, Adams, Hancock, and Jefferson are almost as familiar as household words. Most of us, however, know nothing of the other signers. Who were they? What happened to them?

I imagine that many of you are somewhat surprised at the names not there: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry. All were elsewhere.

Ben Franklin was the only really old man. Eighteen were under 40; three were in their 20s. Of the 56 almost half – 24 – were judges and lawyers. Eleven were merchants, nine were landowners and farmers, and the remaining 12 were doctors, ministers, and politicians.

With only a few exceptions, such as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, these were men of substantial property. All but two had families. The vast majority were men of education and standing in their communities. They had economic security as few men had in the 18th Century.

Each had more to lose from revolution than he had to gain by it. John Hancock, one of the richest men in America, already had a price of 500 pounds on his head. He signed in enormous letters so that his Majesty could now read his name without glasses and could now double the reward. Ben Franklin wryly noted: “Indeed we must all hang together, otherwise we shall most assuredly hang separately.”

Fat Benjamin Harrison of Virginia told tiny Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts: “With me, it will all be over in a minute, but you, you will be dancing on air an hour after I am gone.”

These men knew what they risked. The penalty for treason was death by hanging. And remember, a great British fleet was already at anchor in New York Harbor.

They were sober men. There were no dreamy-eyed intellectuals or draft card burners here. They were far from hot-eyed fanatics yammering for an explosion. They simply asked for the status quo. It was change they resisted. It was equality with the mother country they desired. It was taxation with representation they sought. They were all conservatives, yet they rebelled.

It was principle, not property, that had brought these men to Philadelphia. Two of them became presidents of the United States. Seven of them became state governors. One died in office as vice president of the United States. Several would go on to be U.S. Senators. One, the richest man in America, in 1828 founded the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. One, a delegate from Philadelphia, was the only real poet, musician, and philosopher of the signers. (It was he, Francis Hopkinson not Betsy Ross who designed the United States flag.)

Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, had introduced the resolution to adopt the Declaration of Independence in June of 1776. He was prophetic in his concluding remarks: “Why then sir, why do we longer delay? Why still deliberate? Let this happy day give birth to an American Republic. Let her arise not to devastate and to conquer but to reestablish the reign of peace and law.

“The eyes of Europe are fixed upon us. She demands of us a living example of freedom that may exhibit a contrast in the felicity of the citizen to the ever-increasing tyranny which desolates her polluted shores. She invites us to prepare an asylum where the unhappy may find solace, and the persecuted repost.

“If we are not this day wanting in our duty, the names of the American Legislatures of 1776 will be placed by posterity at the side of all of those whose memory has been and ever will be dear to virtuous men and good citizens.”

Though the resolution was formally adopted July 4, it was not until July 8 that two of the states authorized their delegates to sign, and it was not until August 2 that the signers met at Philadelphia to actually put their names to the Declaration.

William Ellery, delegate from Rhode Island, was curious to see the signers’ faces as they committed this supreme act of personal courage. He saw some men sign quickly, “but in no face was he able to discern real fear.” Stephan Hopkins, Ellery’s colleague from Rhode Island, was a man past 60. As he signed with a shaking pen, he declared: “My hand trembles, but my heart does not.”

“Most Glorious Service”

Even before the list was published, the British marked down every member of Congress suspected of having put his name to treason. All of them became the objects of vicious manhunts. Some were taken. Some, like Jefferson, had narrow escapes. All who had property or families near British strongholds suffered.

· Francis Lewis, New York delegate saw his home plundered — and his estates in what is now Harlem — completely destroyed by British Soldiers. Mrs. Lewis was captured and treated with great brutality. Though she was later exchanged for two British prisoners through the efforts of Congress, she died from the effects of her abuse.

· William Floyd, another New York delegate, was able to escape with his wife and children across Long Island Sound to Connecticut, where they lived as refugees without income for seven years. When they came home they found a devastated ruin.

· Philips Livingstone had all his great holdings in New York confiscated and his family driven out of their home. Livingstone died in 1778 still working in Congress for the cause.

· Louis Morris, the fourth New York delegate, saw all his timber, crops, and livestock taken. For seven years he was barred from his home and family.

· John Hart of Trenton, New Jersey, risked his life to return home to see his dying wife. Hessian soldiers rode after him, and he escaped in the woods. While his wife lay on her deathbed, the soldiers ruined his farm and wrecked his homestead. Hart, 65, slept in caves and woods as he was hunted across the countryside. When at long last, emaciated by hardship, he was able to sneak home, he found his wife had already been buried, and his 13 children taken away. He never saw them again. He died a broken man in 1779, without ever finding his family.

· Dr. John Witherspoon, signer, was president of the College of New Jersey, later called Princeton. The British occupied the town of Princeton, and billeted troops in the college. They trampled and burned the finest college library in the country.

· Judge Richard Stockton, another New Jersey delegate signer, had rushed back to his estate in an effort to evacuate his wife and children. The family found refuge with friends, but a Tory sympathizer betrayed them. Judge Stockton was pulled from bed in the night and brutally beaten by the arresting soldiers. Thrown into a common jail, he was deliberately starved. Congress finally arranged for Stockton’s parole, but his health was ruined. The judge was released as an invalid, when he could no longer harm the British cause. He returned home to find his estate looted and did not live to see the triumph of the Revolution. His family was forced to live off charity.

· Robert Morris, merchant prince of Philadelphia, delegate and signer, met Washington’s appeals and pleas for money year after year. He made and raised arms and provisions which made it possible for Washington to cross the Delaware at Trenton. In the process he lost 150 ships at sea, bleeding his own fortune and credit almost dry.

· George Clymer, Pennsylvania signer, escaped with his family from their home, but their property was completely destroyed by the British in the Germantown and Brandywine campaigns.

· Dr. Benjamin Rush, also from Pennsylvania, was forced to flee to Maryland. As a heroic surgeon with the army, Rush had several narrow escapes.

· John Martin, a Tory in his views previous to the debate, lived in a strongly loyalist area of Pennsylvania. When he came out for independence, most of his neighbors and even some of his relatives ostracized him. He was a sensitive and troubled man, and many believed this action killed him. When he died in 1777, his last words to his tormentors were: “Tell them that they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge it [the signing] to have been the most glorious service that I have ever rendered to my country.”

· William Ellery, Rhode Island delegate, saw his property and home burned to the ground.

· Thomas Lynch, Jr., South Carolina delegate, had his health broken from privation and exposures while serving as a company commander in the military. His doctors ordered him to seek a cure in the West Indies and on the voyage, he and his young bride were drowned at sea.

· Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, and Thomas Heyward, Jr., the other three South Carolina signers, were taken by the British in the siege of Charleston. They were carried as prisoners of war to St. Augustine, Florida, where they were singled out for indignities. They were exchanged at the end of the war, the British in the meantime having completely devastated their large landholdings and estates.

· Thomas Nelson, signer of Virginia, was at the front in command of the Virginia military forces. With British General Charles Cornwallis in Yorktown, fire from 70 heavy American guns began to destroy Yorktown piece by piece. Lord Cornwallis and his staff moved their headquarters into Nelson’s palatial home. While American cannonballs were making a shambles of the town, the house of Governor Nelson remained untouched. Nelson turned in rage to the American gunners and asked, “Why do you spare my home?” They replied, “Sir, out of respect to you.” Nelson cried, “Give me the cannon!” and fired on his magnificent home himself, smashing it to bits. But Nelson’s sacrifice was not quite over. He had raised $2 million for the Revolutionary cause by pledging his own estates. When the loans came due, a newer peacetime Congress refused to honor them, and Nelson’s property was forfeited. He was never reimbursed. He died, impoverished, a few years later at the age of 50.

Lives, Fortunes, Honor

Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word. Their honor, and the nation they sacrificed so much to create is still intact.

And, finally, there is the New Jersey signer, Abraham Clark.

He gave two sons to the officer corps in the Revolutionary Army. They were captured and sent to that infamous British prison hulk afloat in New York Harbor known as the hell ship Jersey, where 11,000 American captives were to die. The younger Clarks were treated with a special brutality because of their father. One was put in solitary and given no food. With the end almost in sight, with the war almost won, no one could have blamed Abraham Clark for acceding to the British request when they offered him his sons’ lives if he would recant and come out for the King and Parliament. The utter despair in this man’s heart, the anguish in his very soul, must reach out to each one of us down through 200 years with his answer: “No.”

The 56 signers of the Declaration Of Independence proved by their every deed that they made no idle boast when they composed the most magnificent curtain line in history. “And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

My friends, I know you have a copy of the Declaration of Independence somewhere around the house – in an old history book (newer ones may well omit it), an encyclopedia, or one of those artificially aged “parchments” we all got in school years ago. I suggest that each of you take the time this month to read through the text of the Declaration, one of the most noble and beautiful political documents in human history.

There is no more profound sentence than this: “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…”

These are far more than mere poetic words. The underlying ideas that infuse every sentence of this treatise have sustained this nation for more than two centuries. They were forged in the crucible of great sacrifice. They are living words that spring from and satisfy the deepest cries for liberty in the human spirit.

“Sacred honor” isn’t a phrase we use much these days, but every American life is touched by the bounty of this, the Founders’ legacy. It is freedom, tested by blood, and watered with tears.

– Rush Limbaugh III

You can listen to Rush tell the story here:
https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/11/21/my-fathers-speech-the-americans-who-risked-everything/