Tag: Human Rights

The Default Position for Society

Representation of the Declaration of the Right...
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The judgement ruling against the Johns raises a number of issues, freedom of speech, human rights, discrimination, multiculturalism, diversity and so on it goes. I suppose Christians would see at least some of these things as opposed to their faith – and by and large they are, or at least are becoming so.

The Default Position of Society

But, is this merely a return to the default position of society. That is, Anti-God, and more specifically Anti the Christian God of the Bible. As sad, or as difficult as Christians are finding this – it’s normal. Maybe we have been suckered into the belief that the United Kingdom is or ever has been a Christian country. It is not, it never has been and more than that it never will be. The Bible does not teach this and so for a long time (who can say how long) we have been deluded into thinking it is so. We have for many years been living as it were on borrowed spiritual capital. Maybe the ruling against the Johns is a wake up call that we badly need to hear.

Appealing to Caesar

Using our ‘Inalienable Rights’ as citizens is something that we can do. This is a ‘right’ we still have under the law. Paul had this right as a Roman Citizen and look where it got him – imprisonment and probably death! Having the right to appeal to Caesar doesn’t make any problems of perceived or real persecution go away. It’s important, I think, that if we are going to have this ‘right’ then we of necessity must extend it to everyone else. I have no God given right to expect it, but to have it reciprocated would actually be quite nice. This is where the Government gets itself into difficulties because trying to maintain an equal balance between the ‘rights’ of everyone is going to be impossible. In this case someone’s going to lose. The reality with this is ‘you win some you lose some’. I’m not here talking about some form of fatalism – this is living in the real world. Here’s a real world check for Christians – the world and it’s systems are opposed to the God of the Bible, the Christian God. Therefore we ought to expect these things. Borrowed capital only lasts so long and then it’s payback. We need to wake up and smell the coffee.

What to do

Obviously, losing privileges that have – possibly – been taken for granted isn’t something I particularly relish, but then who would. But it is something I need to get my head round. However, based on the rights I do have, doesn’t mean I have to keep quiet. Just because some people think I’m a complete nutjob for putting my faith in Christ doesn’t mean I have to act like it and take it lying down. Sure, I need to be humble and Christlike about it but that doesn’t mean I have to shut up. I’m not going to bomb anybody or attack them no matter how much I dislike it. Again, the Apostle Paul always had some bunch trying to slag him off or even kill him, it didn’t stop him though.

Courage from Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti

It deserves a separate post really, but Shahbaz Bhatti continued to speak out knowing full well that it could cost his life – and it did . I realise it’s way easier said than done and we do desperately need God’s grace to continue to speak out for Christ. It’s not all bleak though. Although our freedoms in the West do seem at times to be very precarious, we do still have them. We have way more freedoms than Gadafi or other dictators would allow. Christians in communist and Islamic countries will tell you that! So, as opportunity presents itself I shall endeavour to speak trusting that in the final analysis God in Christ will have the last word.

Related Articles

Harp from the Willows: Changing Times: the Christian in a secular society

Harp from the Willows: Changing Times: the Christian in a secular society.

Here’s a very good & helpful article by Mostyn Roberts based around the case of Mr & Mrs Bull the (Christian) hotel owners ‘who refused on principle to allow a homosexual ‘couple’ to share a room in their private hotel, were sued by the ‘couple’ (with help from the Equality and Human Rights Commission) and subsequently ordered to pay £3600 in damages’.

The article is well worth reading and is under the 4 heads below:

The legal background

What is our duty to God?

Rights, freedoms and duties

Wider issues

Islam, Shari’ah & Human Rights

In a previous post I indicated a further update on Human Rights – well here it is. This is still in the context of the book Freedom to Believe by Dr Patrick Sookhdeo.

Human Rights

To make the differences between a Western and an Islamic understanding of  ‘human rights’ clearer it was quite revealing in the book to compare the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Appendix 3, p. 129) with the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (Appendix 4, p. 137). My comments are going to be brief but you can follow the links, read both declarations and make up your own mind.

Article 1 of the Islamic Declaration states:

(a) All human beings form one family whose members are united by their subordination to Allah and descent from Adam. All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities, without any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, language, belief, sex, religion, political affiliation, social status or other considerations. The true religion is the guarantee for enhancing such dignity along the path to human integrity.

(b) All human beings are Allah’s subjects, and the most loved by Him are those who are most beneficial to His subjects, and no one has superiority over another except on the basis of piety and good deeds.

It seems clear to me – if I have understood it correctly – that every person on the planet is born a Muslim. I can’t quote it but I have heard this before. I’m not sure how else to take it – ‘All human beings are Allah’s subjects’. This must therefore mean that everyone that is not a Muslim is an Apostate. And we know what that means – anyone is a legitimate target for the death penalty.

Article 2c states:

(c) The preservation of human life throughout the term of time willed by Allah is a duty prescribed by Shari’ah.

The allotted time willed by Allah is contingent on The Koran and Shari’ah Law. All the way through the declaration Shari’ah is introduced as normative. In other words there are many ‘get out’ clauses that have the ring of ‘we were only obeying orders’ – that is obeying the will of Allah by killing apostates.

Just in case you miss it the last two articles, 24 & 25 say this:

ARTICLE 24: ‘All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari’ah.’

ARTICLE 25: ‘The Islamic Shari’ah is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this Declaration.’

At least the Islamic declaration is honest, nothing is hidden, yet Western governments, including my own just don’t seem to get it. I have no way of telling if every Muslim wants to see the whole world dominated by Islam. However, if not, they will be at odds not only with  the Islamic Human Rights Declaration but with The Koran. I’m left scratching my head and wondering just how Blair, Brown and now Cameron in the UK and Bush & Obama in the US can miss this – that is unless it’s intentional.

Buy or borrow the book and read for yourself.

More on the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.