Freedom is defined in Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary as “a state of exemption from the power or control of another.” It is the power and …
Freedom
Freedom is defined in Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary as “a state of exemption from the power or control of another.” It is the power and privilege to carry out our choices whether thoughts, such as love or hate, or actions, such as walking or running. Freedom can be broken into personal, civil, political, and religious freedom. Freedom is the right of every man, woman, and child. However, freedom may be forfeited or taken away (1) by physical laws, including the physical limitations with which we are born, (2) by our own action, and (3) by the action of others, including governments. A loss of freedom reduces the extent to which we can act upon our choices, but it does not deprive us of our God-given free agency.
The war over freedom, which has been ground zero for many of the worlds revolutions and wars, originated from a spiritual battle that began in Heaven (the War in Heaven) and continues on the earth today. It’s a spiritual battle that has reached a culmination foretold in the Bible – a day when good would be called evil and evil good; a day of wars, pestilence, earthquakes, and famine; a day when the love of God grows cold, and a day of widespread apathy and hypocrisy. Since his expulsion from heaven, Satan and those that were cast out with him (now demons on Earth) have sought to destroy and oppose everything that God is trying to build, essentially counter-resistance to all things good.
Neither the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution of the United States use the word “freedom,” rather describing our rights in the terms “Blessings of Liberty” and “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Liberty is often confused as having the same meaning as freedom, yet there is a difference. Liberty is described in Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary as “freedom from restraint pertaining to the body, will, or mind“. Liberty comes from using our agency to choose and the freedom to do the right actions, those which are just before God. It’s really impossible to separate liberty from obedience to the laws of God, whereas freedom pertains to the ability to think or act as we will, good or bad, and to reap the consequences.
This is actually a translation of a Latin phrase that Thomas Jefferson used: Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. It has also been translated as, "I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude." Paris Jan. 30. 1787. Dear Sir My last to you was of the 16th of Dec. since which I have received yours of Nov. 25. and Dec. 4. which afforded me, as your letters always do, a treat on matters public, individual and economical. I am impatient to learn your sentiments on the late troubles in the Eastern states. So far as I ...
By the summer of 1783, the newly formed United States had won the War of Independence, but the survival of the nation remained far from certain. A final peace treaty with Great Britain had yet to be signed, the state governments remained hesitant to yield to Congress’ authority, and the army restlessly waited to be mustered out of service. A few months prior, several officers had threatened to mutiny due to Congress’ seeming unwillingness to provide them with adequate funds. Amidst this atmosphere of uncertainty, George Washington decided to offer his parting advice for the success of the new nation before retiring from ...
George Washington to the General, Field, & other Officers Assembled at the New Building pursuant to the General Order of the 11th Instant March. Head Quarters Newburgh 15th of March 1783 Gentlemen, By an anonymous summons, an attempt has been made to convene you together—how inconsistent with the rules of propriety! how unmilitary! and how subversive of all order and discipline—let the good sense of the Army decide. In the moment of this summons, another anonymous production was sent into circulation; addressed more to the feelings & passions, than to the reason & judgment of the Army. The Author ...
Francis Marion, the inspiration for Benjamin Martin's character in the movie The Patriot, was much more than a knife-between-the-teeth warrior; he's a man who had obviously thought deeply about the local political economy. In one passage, Marion observes that the white population of his state “form but two classes, the rich and the poor.” The poor, he continues, might not be slaves, but monetarily speaking, they are little better off, since they are excluded from the then-thriving plantation economy. As such, Marion adds, the poor are more interested in drinking than learning: “They know nothing of the comparative blessings ...
There are many different versions of the phrasing of what Continental Navy Captain John Paul Jones yelled at Royal Navy Captain Richard Pearson during the battle with H.M.S. Serapis, but no matter what Jones said, the circumstance and spirit of his famous retort is probably more meaningful. Make no mistake; John Paul Jones was an absolute nautical bad ass, as his early life and career indicates. He was born John Paul in 1747 in Kirkbean, Scotland, the son of an estate gardener. Instead of following his father into hedges, young John Paul went to sea as an apprentice mariner ...
