Human Rights and Christian Comfort
For this month’s Synchroblog we are joining in with the Amnesty International sponsored Bloggers Unite for Human Rights. I guess the idea is to give the Christian take on the issue. My first reaction to that idea though was to recall how uncomfortable most Christian circles I have been a part of are with the concept of human rights (not to mention Amnesty International). There are those who don’t like the topic because it focuses on human needs in the here and now, not spiritual paths to heaven. It is not about whether or not people should be tortured or starved, but that dealing with such issues distracts from evangelism. Others though who may intellectually agree with the concept of human rights don’t see them as necessarily Christian concerns. They say caring about whether or not people are treated humanely and fairly isn’t a Biblical issue it is modern cultural construct. So while we should care about such things as decent human beings, we shouldn’t bring our faith into it.
Obviously I have issues with both approaches. I don’t like extremes that dichotomize the body and soul or the sacred and the secular. I don’t like faith systems that prioritize one part of faith over another (evangelism over service, doctrine over practice… or the reverse). If my faith informs how I am to live my life and I am called to love others those things don’t matter. If feeding the hungry by making sure they have access to food is part of loving them, does it matter if it can be labeled as modern humanism or not? And no matter how fantastic evangelism is, can people really say that it’s okay to let people starve?
I think too often the ideology wars stand in the way of seeing what is actually happening to real people. Fighting for human rights isn’t about politics or philosophies ultimately. We can use such things as shields to protect us from reality. Could anyone honestly stand before someone starving because of oppression and injustice and tell them “screw you, you are too worthless for me to change my _______ (politics, theology, opinion, routine) to bother to help. I’m not responsible for you, and in fact you don’t deserve help anyway, so just deal with it.”
But of course we say such things every day.
So I think Christians coming together to say they support human rights is a significant step in the right direction. To leave behind our excuses and our theology shields and not be afraid to visibly care is a needed step in our world today.
Contributers to this Synchroblog (so far) include -
- Sonja Andrews on Human Wrongs
- Adam Gonnerman on Guantanamo Bay in the eyes of God
- Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort
- Steve Hayes on Human rights and Christian faith
- Sally Coleman on “If”
- Alan Knox on My Charade is the event of the Season.
- Mike Bursell on Human rights (and Christian responsibilities)
- Janice Fowler on “Voice Overs Needed” (or “Wake up - Speak Up”)
- Cobus van Wyngaard on Christianization and Humanization and our task in Zimbabwe
- Bryan Riley on Bloggers unite for human rights.
Julie Clawson
Topics: Synchroblog, Social Justice, Church |
May 14th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
[…] Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort. […]
May 15th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Hi! Just wanted to say ‘hi’ and say I’m a new reader of yours.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:10 am
[…] Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort […]
May 15th, 2008 at 9:05 am
“To leave behind our excuses and our theology shields and not be afraid to visibly care is a needed step in our world today”
AMEN
May 15th, 2008 at 9:30 am
[…] Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort. […]
May 15th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Hey Julie. Great stuff. It’s baffling to me how so many christians are outright against such “earthly” endeavors. I had one christian couple tell me that we should let people in Africa starve so maybe they’ll finally cry out to God and at least maybe go to heaven. It’s just disgusting. Great post.
Also, I know you are a pastor/church leader. The last couple of posts on my blog have been on 1 Timothy 2:9-15, I am sure you are familiar with it.
Anyway, I would love to hear from you on it, since you are a woman who has actually experienced being a leader in a faith community. I was curious to how you personally view this verse and maybe if you had any words for some of the moderate C’s that are having trouble grasping the E’s understanding of it. Thanks!
Tia Lynn
May 15th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
[…] Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort. […]
May 17th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Good post. Evangelicalism - and American Evangelicalism in particular - has long taken a hands-off approach to human rights, peach and justice. The mistake has been in thinking that Christianity is a matter of private piety and a way to get to heaven.
As I have come to understand it, the “Gospel” isn’t merely the preaching of a private faith, but rather the proclamation that Jesus is Lord. Specifically, the crucified and risen Jesus is Lord. He is Lord NOW. If that’s the case, then we need to be about calling the nations to repentance and faith, and the powers to account.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
[…] Julie Clawson on Human rights and Christian comfort. […]