The Wahabis are toast

if the mentality of young Saudi women is being shaped by Oprah.

More on the situation in Saudi Arabia from the Chicago Tribune. What is striking is the inexorable power of Western (originally Christian) ideas, at the very same time when the West itself has been quickly losing its identity. "The West plays a very important role because it gives hope to people... Even among those who hate the West..."

Comments

[Santi]

Democracy was not originally a Christian idea. Neither is the concept of human rights, though there is a controversy on this (Suarez and Locke both worked at around the same time). Of course, we can say that the immanent seminal Logos is at work in all that is Good, True, and Beautiful. But, historically speaking...

[Anonymous]

Human rights - not a christian idea? 'Where two are three are gathered so am I.' Never before the man that stated those words did society give an infinte value to each and every human being. It derives from the Christian idea that in each and every person is Christ.
Read Santi! You drop great names, but did you actually read them?

Cheers!

[Santi]

Mr Anonymous,

We don't disagree at all. Everything true comes from God, GS 22, and all that. But the explicit concept of "human rights" was not articulated until modern times by philosophers who weren't explicitly CHristian (unless you count Locke). Or at least that's what I've been told. ;) But I agree, we would never have had the concept of human rights without the Incarnation--I never disputed that! (I'm catholic too)

I'll try to read some books over break but right now I'm too busy trying to pass my classes!

[Santi]

actually, you know whats interesting is that we use the word "rights" at all. i've met a couple of profs who claim that the idea of "rights" is a modern invention that is the fruit of the enlightenment and that in the end it is not a sound concept. of course, they also at the same time affirm the inviolability of human life.

i wonder which was the first pope to use the word "rights"? robert kraynak was one of the two profs, he must have written a book about his ideas on "rights", perhaps someone will read it to me. ;)