Rights and Christianity: Part III

"Consider finally modern notions of human rights -- the right of freedom of conscience, or to property, or to marry and form a family, or to be treated equally before the law -- as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The universalism of this declaration is based on the particular teachings of Christianity. The premise is that all human lives have equal dignity and worth, but this is not the teaching of all the world's cultures and religions. Even so, it's appropriate that a doctrine Christian in orgin should be universal in application. Christianity from the start promulgated its message as one for the whole world.

There are some atheists and even some Christians who admit that theism and Christianity have shaped the core institutions and values of America and the West. But now that we have these values, they say, why do we still need God and Christianity? Oddly enough, the answer is supplied by Nietzsche.

Nietzsche argued that since the Christian God is the foundation of Western values, the death of God must necessarily mean the erosion and ultimate collapse of those values. Remove the base and the whole building will slowly crumble. For a while, Nietzsche conceded, people would out of custom or habit continue to respect human life and treat people with equal dignity, but eventually there would be ferocious assualts on these values, and practices once unthinkable such as the killing of people deemed inferior or undesirable would once agian occur. This is precisely what we have seen in our time, and Nietzsche predicted that it will only get worse.

If we cherish the distinctive ideals of Western Civilization, and believe as I do that they have enormously benefited our civilization and our world, then whatever our religious convictions, we will not rashly try to hack at the religious roots from which they spring. On the contrary, we will not hesitate to acknowledge, not only privately but also publicly, the central role that Christianity has played and still plays in the things that matter most to us."

by Dinesh D'Souza

Although D'Souza makes some good points, I would dissagree on one major premise. It's not the intolerance of Americans that will ultimately lead to the destruction of our value system, but the over-tolorance. We have taken equality to a new level that was never intended by our forefathers. Political correctness, tolorance of gays and lesbians, the Fairness Doctrine, all of these are indications of a failing system. As Christians it is our biblical to charge to be intolerant of sin. This does not mean that we view gays and lesbians as less than or unequal to other sinners, but that we take a stand and say that homosexuality is wrong.

While the world wants to fade everything into shades of gray, we must make clear distinctions between right and wrong, truth and untruth. Christians cannot allow themselves to be diluted and wishy-washy because, ultimately, we are representations of Christ and his gospel. Constantly I have to remind myself of Pauls instructions "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." (1 Corinthians 16:13)

-Kyle-