I am attempting to help others understand that the communistic atheist butchers of the 20th century, and the theologically oriented butchers of the middle ages didn't share a faith... but they shared one common trait which allowed them to brutalize their fellow men in unspeakable ways. They shared a fundamental disregard for the rights of their fellow men.
I had to reply to this one. If you look at the cultural and geopgraphical millieu that produced the philosophical emphasis on an individual actually having intrinsic value, you would find that Northern Europe was the location for this idea's origin. The primary philosophical underpinnings of Northern Europe in the 1500 and 1600's, when the Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Reason were in their infancy was the teachings of the Reformed Church.
If you examine the root message of the Gospel, this makes sense. The message there was that each person is so important to G-d that He gave himself up to save us, one lost sheep at a time. We are called to follow His example, care for each and ourselves the way that G-d in the flesh did (and does).
Just as this milleau produced scientific advancement (in studying the wonder of G-d's creation), so too did it produce political and economic freedom for all, on a scale unseen anywhere else at anytime.
I would go so far as to say that Biblically Fundamental Christianity is inseperable from respect for every individual as a beloved creation and child of G-d. That includes people that do not believe what is contained in G-d's word.
I'm not sure if I understand you correctly.
Are you suggesting that "Biblically Fundamental Christianity" is a set of ideas which is requisite to respect for individuals?
If so, I would disagree. I would recognize a true understanding and adherence to the teachings of Jesus as compatible with the concept of individual rights, and in fact I would recognize the existence of rights and respect for them as the ONLY conclusions which could be drawn from his teachings. (in spite of the fact that all too many people claiming those teachings as a central influence in their lives, profoundly miss this point)
But I want to make it clear that I do not recognize the teachings of Jesus as the ONLY means by which this understanding may be derived. I hold no beliefs in any supreme being whatsoever, and yet I recognize rights as an objective moral truth, derived by reason.
Was this your quote, OWK? I think you have a good point here. Perhaps I would add to it the desire for power.