Universal Human Rights

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that it is necessary to have a universal declaration of human rights to which all countries must refer because the Bible is not enough to enforce these rights. The paper relates that even if the Bible did teach about universal human rights, it would not be a persuasive document for many of the world's countries because there are very few purely religious states. Furthermore, the majority of the world's people are not Christian. In addition, the Bible itself is very murky on several human rights issues. Next, in order to establish why the Bible cannot substitute for a universal declaration of human rights, the paper provides an explanation of what such a universal declaration would actually mean. The paper explains that the tenets that would comprise the universal declaration of human rights are not necessarily espoused by the Bible.

From the Paper:

"In addition, many human rights activists believe that the death penalty is a de facto violation of human rights, regardless of the guilt or innocence of the person to be executed and the nature of the crime committed by that person. However, the Bible clearly endorses the application of the death penalty. Moreover, the Bible endorses the use of the death penalty in areas where most of the modern world has determined its use to be inappropriate. Amaziah executed his father's assassins, and the Bible described him as doing "what was right in the eyes of the LORD.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adherents.com. "Major Religions Ranked by Size." Adherents.com. 2007. Adherents.com 28Sept. 2007 <http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html>.
• Carlson, Doug. "ENDA: Ending an Important Employer Right." The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. 2007. The Southern Baptist Commission. 28 Sept. 2007 <http://erlc.com/article/enda-ending-an-important-employer-right>.
• The Carter Center. "Urging Abolition of the Death Penalty." The Carter Center: PeacePrograms. 2007. The Carter Center. 28 Sept. 2007 <http://www.cartercenter.org/peace/human_rights/index.html>.
• Christian Solidarity Worldwide. "Who We Are." Christian Solidarity Worldwide. 2007. Christian Solidarity Worldwide. 28 Sept. 2007<http://www.csw.org.uk/AboutCSW/whoweare.htm>
• Colson, Chuck. "Two Visions." Breakpoint Commentaries: Foreign Policy. 2007. Prison Fellowship. 28 Sept. 2007 <http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=7118>.

More papers on Universal Human Rights:

• Term Paper # 140371 : "Conflicts in Universal Human Rights"
• Analytical Essay # 3863 : "The United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights"
• Term Paper # 108113 : "Human Rights as Relative or Universal"

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