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07/04/2002 Entry: "Putting my head above the parapet... #2"
So, how should the tension between collective responsibility/personal freedom be resolved? I want to suggest that the way we approach says a good deal about how we think about God - and vice versa. I say this because it is fundamental to Christian belief that human beings are made in the image of God. If we see God as aloof and self-sufficient this will be the model on which we base our own self-image. Our emphasis will be on individual freedom, self-reliance and a minimum of collective responsibility. If, on the other hand, we acknowledge a God who is a Trinity - a dynamic relationship of self-giving love, then our self-image will tend to be more inclined to recognise that human beings are created to be in community with one another and that it is only in relationship with others that our humanity is fully expressed.This is grossly over-simplified, and yet how necessary it is that we recover (discover?) the understanding that human individuality is not adequately expressed by a bogus assertion of "rights" but rather by the willing and whole-hearted participation in a community of others.
Replies:
I believe we can switch the adjectives around and say that we need to recover an understanding of "individual responsibility". This also comes out of the creation doctrine, as we are created morally responsibile human beings, that being part of creation "in the image of God".
No individual rights can be protected in any community until individual responsibilities are defined and adhered to.
Posted by Craig @ 07/04/2002 03:30 AM CST
