B604 -Ethics; Religion and equality
Biblical teaching about equality According to Christian teaching God created everything and therefore no one is superior or inferior in God's eyes other than by their own actions.
Principle of equality:The principle of equality is that everyone should be treated fairly without suffering prejudice or discrimination. The principle of equality for everyone is enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Christians attitudes towards racism: Although Christian teaching has always opposed racism there are many examples in the past of Christians and Christian organisations being guilty of racism.
Christians attitudes towards gender and the role of women in Christian society: As Christianity teaches equality, many Christians believe that men and women should have equal rights and roles in life. Other Christians believe that men and women have different roles, but that both roles are equally valuable.
Key text: Universal Declaration of Human Rights - the principle of equality is that everyone should be treated fairly without suffering prejudice or discrimination. The principle of equality for everyone is enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This statement was signed by the General Assembly of the UN in 1948.
Key words; Dignity: people should be allowed to live a life in which they have self-respect., Discrimination: unfair treatment of one or group., Equality: treating people in the same way as others., Fair: something which is free from bias, fraud or injustice. From this meaning it could be said that 'fair' really means 'reasonable'., Freedom: the concept that everyone in the world should have freedom to live, think and speak as they want., Prejudice: the concept that some people prejudge people., Rights: the idea that people have basic requirements which should be respected, e.g. the right to education; the right to be treated with dignity.
Key texts: John 13:34 - Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment which was to love one another as he had loved them. By showing love to everyone Christians would be treating others fairly., Acts 17:23 - God made everyone, therefore it would be wrong to treat others unfairly because it would be interfering with God's creation., Galatians 3:28-29 - Paul taught that everyone was equal in Christ.
Key person: Blessed Mother Teresa (1910-97) - the founder of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, 1950.
Key texts: Leviticus 19:33-34 - people should be kind to everyone, including foreigners, because the Israelites themselves had to go to Egypt in times of famine., Luke 10:25-37 - the Parable of the Good Samaritan which teaches that true Christian love is love of everyone no matter who they are or where they come from.
Key people: Daniel François Malan (1874-1959) - Prime minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954., Martin Luther King Jr (1929-68) - a Baptist minister who led protests against racial discrimination in the USA in the 1950s and 1960s. On 4 April 1968 King was assassinated by an escaped white convict, James Earl Ray, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Key words; Apartheid: a political system in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s that separated the different peoples living there and gave privileges to those of European origin.,Samaritan: somebody who came from ancient Samaria.
Key texts; Mark 16:9-11 - at the resurrection Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene showing that women are important., Acts 1:12-14 - shows the importance of the women in the early Church., Romans 16:1-5 - Paul sends personal greetings to: Phoebe, Priscilla and Mary showing their importance., 1 Corinthians 11:3-7; 14:34-35 - Paul teaches that women should cover their heads and be silent when in Church showing that men were more important than women.
Key people: Jesus - treated women as equals against the normal practice of his time;, Mary, mother of Jesus - seen by many Christians as the ideal concept of motherhood because God chose her to be the person to give birth to Jesus., Mary Magdalene - one of the companions of Jesus, showing that he treated women equally., Paul - in his letter, Paul showed contradictory views about women.
Key words; Lay reader: a lay member of a Church, especially an Anglican Church or the Roman Catholic Church, who is authorised to read some parts of the service. A role which is open to women., Priest or minister: ordained leader of Christian worship. A role open to women in some denominations nut not in the Roman Catholic or Orthodox Churches.
Christians attitudes towards other religions: Christianity is a proselytising religion. Although Christians believe that everyone should have the right to practice their own religion, they also believe that only Christianity has the complete truth about God. They believe that it is their duty as a member of their religion to go out and convert people.
Key text: John 14:6b - 'No one comes to the Father except through me'.
Key words; Ecumenism: the breaking down of barriers between Christian denominations., Evangelism: the idea that all Christians should go out into the world to convert people into following Christ., Missionaries: people who are sent to another country by a Church to spread its faith or to do social and medical work., Proselytising: to try and convert somebody to a religious faith.
Key person: *Roger Schutz (1915-2005) - a monk who started the community at Taize at the end of WW2 (1939-45) in an attempt to promote reconciliation and break down the barriers between denominations.
Forgiveness and reconciliation: Forgiveness and reconciliation are very important aspect of Christian life and beliefs. This is demonstrated in, what is for most Christians, the central act of worship, the Eucharist.
Key texts: Matthew 6:9b-13 - the Lord's Prayer., John 20:19-23 - Jesus gives the disciples the power of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins.
Key person; Jesus - his death on the cross was an act of atonement which showed that God had forgiven people for their sins and that if they had truly repented they would be allowed into heaven by God's grace.
Key words; Forgiveness: the act of pardoning or forgiving someone for something which they have done wrong., Reconciliation: the ending of a conflict or renewing a friendly relationship between disputing people or groups., Sacrament: an outward, physical sign of an inward, invisible grace.