Lately I have been wondering: what exactly are "rights"? What are my rights, as a citizen of the United States? What are my rights as a human being? Why do these things seem to be different?
As the gay marriage debate is reaching a frenzy and I hear calls for equality and giving people their "rights", it's caused me to wonder what rights actually are. During the health care debate, there was much talk about how quality health care is a "right". Just yesterday I was vaguely listening to an NPR segment when someone announced that a good education is a "right".
Of course, you can hearken back to the Declaration of Independence, which declares that, as Americans, we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Bill of Rights gives us protection over freedom of speech, bearing arms, not harboring foreign troops, due process, trial by jury, civil trial by jury, no excess and cruel punishment, protection of rights not enumerated in the Constitution, power of the states and people.
I'm not really seeing much here in our modern speak about rights. In modern times, we tend to equate rights with things that will make us prosperous and happy. So, if I have a right to quality health care, does that mean that I have the right to fly to the Mayo Clinic or Johns Hopkins to do my prenatal care (and have my insurance pay for it)? If my children have a right to a quality education, does that mean that that I should be able to have the government subsidize their tuition in order to send them to the British School? If I should be able to marry whomever I want, can I marry my sister if we're both of age and consenting?
I think that it's a slippery slope when you start to talk about rights, personally. It becomes something so personal and defensive that it's almost impossible to have any kind of meaningful conversation about it.
As a Christian, what are my rights? What does the Bible say about my rights? Does the Bible even talk about this concept? The definition of a "right" from dictionary.com is as follows:
that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.
a moral, ethical, or legal principle considered as an underlying cause of truth, justice, morality, or ethics.
According to these definitions, I don't think the Bible does talk about rights. The verses about us being dust and worms come to mind and God certainly has His own justice, which will be revealed at the end. But does the Bible speak of rights? I'd be interested to hear if there are opinions out there on that.
