The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Role of the Catholic Church in its development

Article 1
All beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

This is contrary to traditional Christian teaching, which holds that not everyone is borne free and that some have more legal rights than others..
For example, under the avowedly God-given feudal system, explicitly sanctioned by the Church, most people were born into serfdom. Again, under cannon law ("God's Law") illegitimate children suffered numerous legal disabilities.

For women the position was even worse. For many centuries almost all females in Christendom were literally owned by their fathers, husbands or other male relatives (if not by slave masters). It is notable that women enjoyed much greater freedom and many more legal rights in under the Greeks and Romans in pre-Christian times, and that these rights were gradually removed by a programme of Christianisation over many centuries during the Dark Ages.

For slaves the position was worse still. The bible clearly sanctioned the idea that people could be born into slavery, and the Church sanctioned slave owning for many centuries. The children of slaves belonged in Christian law not to their parents but to their parents' owners.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
The Christian Church has traditionally discriminated against people on most of the grounds listed here.

Specifically, it has discriminated on the grounds of race and skin colour (against non-whites), sex (against women), religion (all regions outside specific Christian sects), political opinion (eg against socialists and communists), and social origin & property (practising nepotism and discriminating in favour of nobles and churchmen), and birth (eg denying rights to illegitimate children.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

These rights were unknown during 1500 years of Christian hegemony, when Popes and Bishops could kill, imprison and execute their enemies without any form of redress, and often without even the flimsiest pretence of a fair trial.
Well into recent times the Churches have promoted the death penalty, denying the right to life. Many still do.
Should you wish to read to article 30 please click below:

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

As mainstream Christians pointed out for many centuries, slavery was not merely permitted by God, it was positively enjoined by God. To oppose slavery was therefore to oppose the will of God. Churchmen themselves owned slaves. As Clergymen pointed out the manumition of Church slaves was impossible: these slaves belonged to God, and so only God could authorise their freedom.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The Church not only used torture itself, in many European countries it reintroduced torture after it had been abolished.
A famous letter from a Pope to King Edward II of England expresses outrage that the English common law did not allow torture to be used.

It’s one of the great things about the place I work is when you get thrown stuff like this
www.heretication.info...

I believe Catholicism has done more harm to Christianity than any other theology or event.

a reply to: DpatC

Article 3 Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Hopefully we will see this apply to the unborn as well.

It does say 'no distinction' so perhaps it does.

a reply to: Plotus

Lol.. if not for catholasism there is no modern day Christianity..


There is no parallel sect that has lasted along side Catholicism to have maintained Christianity up until the present day.


Without Catholicism there is no reason to think we would have ever even heard of Christianity today.

If you would like to know the critical scholarship on the New Testament. Then YouTube Bart erhman.

He is the “in the middle guy”, the guy both sides quote as a valid source for their talking points because imho he is about the only guy who isn’t trying to prove 1 thing or the other.

a reply to: JoshuaCox

Well the Coptic Christian church can claim 54 or so AD, there were others, but the Copts survive today so that isnt entirely true

The Christian Church claims initiation around 33 AD, the actual Catholic faith begins in and around 107 AD...soooo actually The Copts and the unnamed christians ala the apostles predated the Catholic church by some 50+ years


Eta : the Catholic church as we see today really caught its groove with Charlamagne around 1050 with the Holy Roman empire. Rememer there used to be 7 seats/Bishops of the Christian church prior the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic schism.

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
a reply to: Plotus

Lol.. if not for catholasism there is no modern day Christianity..


There is no parallel sect that has lasted along side Catholicism to have maintained Christianity up until the present day.


Without Catholicism there is no reason to think we would have ever even heard of Christianity today.

If you would like to know the critical scholarship on the New Testament. Then YouTube Bart erhman.

He is the “in the middle guy”, the guy both sides quote as a valid source for their talking points because imho he is about the only guy who isn’t trying to prove 1 thing or the other.

Except the Orthodox Church, the churches in North Africa
You know nothing of church history
The Catholic Church was the biggest but not the only sect of Christianity

Do you really know so little and believe you know so much?

State-based religions are bad. I think we can all agree on that one.

a reply to: DpatC

There is so much wrong with everything you posted in that

Traditional Christian teaching, like what, the tradition of who, the traditional Catholics, traditional atheists don't believe humans are any more than animals. Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, et al.
God said we are all created in His image, Genesis is very clear.
God sent His son to die for each and every one of us

In God eyes we are His own children, sons and daughters, well actually, we are all His sons, sharing equally in His favor

I am confused, you seem to mix your disdain for God with your disdain for the church, can you not separate the two

The rest of your argument is a mess, I can't be bothered

Catholicism doesn't represent God or all Christianity, Jesus did that