Let’s go back to The 5000 Year Leap. “All men are created equal.” Now, that does not mean everyone gets a equally-sized chicken for every equally-sized pot, nor does it mean the “rich” should be soaked to ensure everyone is equal financially. It also doesn’t mean I’m as good a QB as Peyton Manning, or as good a writer as C.S. Lewis.
It does mean we are equal (at least theoretically so) in three areas: before God, before the law, and in our rights.
“Before God” is easy. He loves everyone unconditionally (Jesus’ death on the cross proves this). Before Him we are all dead in sin. And no one who accepts Jesus’ act on the cross is kept from heaven. God’s mercy doesn’t take into account a person’s race or sex or social/economic status.
“Before the law” is next. Clarence Carson (a Constitutional scholar) wrote, “there are no different laws for different classes.” Everyone gets a trial with a jury of their peers. Speeding tickets are handed out to the very rich and the very poor. Well--unless someone has a Courtesy Card.
“In our rights” is obvious based on the language of our founding documents. Read the Bill of Rights (as one example) to see the range of our freedoms. Skousen points to several areas, one of which points to a topic that sticks in my craw: he says our rights extend to “the taxpayer’s office, to pay no more than their fair share.” “Fair share” means a bunch of things to a bunch of different people, doesn’t it?
As Skousen finishes this section he notes the following: “there are some who insist that people do not have equal rights unless they have equal things.”
Those people couldn’t be more wrong. They’re everywhere, and they make life incredibly difficult, don’t they?
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