Human Rights?

The true head of the Roman Catholic Church (unless you ask a sedavacantist RC) recently stated (source):

"It was in Europe that the notion of human rights was first formulated. The fundamental human right, the presupposition of every other right, is the right to life itself."

This is interesting on several levels.

1) It is interesting because it affirms the RCC's continued opposition to intentional abortions.

2) It is even more interesting because it implicitly acknowledges that human rights are not a Biblical or Christian concept. After all, the Middle East where the Old Testament and much of the New Testament were written, where the apostles were trained, and where Jesus taught, is not in Europe.

3) The Bible emphasizes human responsibilities, not human rights. Murder is wrong, because man is responsible to preserve life, and is forbidden from taking human life - not because men have a "right" to live. Abortion is wrong because it is the intentional taking of a human life: abortions shed human blood.

4) It is yet more interesting when we reflect on the number of people who were deprived of life by virtue of the edicts, decrees, agents, and associates of previous popes.

5) Finally, it is interesting to see that it is this admittedly innovative concept of "human rights" that places the modern RCC in conflict with the government's use of capital punishment to execute judgment on deserving wrong-doers.

None of the above should be taken to suggest that the concept of "human rights" is not a useful concept, or that it was not used to good effect to limit the power of governments in the past.

God gives and God takes away, blessed be the name of God!

-Turretinfan