In many places and cultures throughout the world, the rise of insights into the basic rights and duties of human beings has coincided with the understanding of the humanity of persons. What is involved here is not an exclusively European or Christian idea, although at the time of the Enlightenment, human rights, not independent of Christian influence, entered into the processes of constitution-making in Europe and North America, and so attained a world-wide political significance. Today, however, it is particularly the peoples of the third-world who, through their struggle for freedom and self-determination, have impressed upon all human beings and states the urgent necessity of recognizing and realizing fundamental human rights.

The declarations of human rights, considered valid today in the United Nations, (even though they have not been ratified by all member states) are to be found in the universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and in the International Covenants on Human Rights (The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) of 1966. We have to be aware of the fact, however, that on the basis of their various political, economic, and social histories, the nations emphasize and seek to realize different aspects of human rights. For example, under the influence of the misery caused by fascist dictatorships, the North Atlantic states have formulated individual human rights over against the states and society. In their struggle against capitalism and class rule, the socialist states have given pre-eminence to social human rights. The nations of the "Third World" are demanding the right to economic, social and political self-determination. Human rights therefore cannot be viewed as abstract ideals, but must be looked at against the background of the suffering and of the present struggles of individuals, nations, and states.

The task of Christian theology is not that of trying to present once more what thousands of experts, lawyers, legislators, and diplomats in the United Nations have already accomplished. But neither can Christian theology allow itself to dispense with the discussion of, and the struggle for, the realization of human rights. on the ground of the creation of man and woman in the image of God, on the ground of the incarnation of God for the reconciliation of the world, and on the ground of the coming of the kingdom of Cod as the consummation of history, the concern that is entrusted to Christian theology is one for the humanity of persons as well as for their ongoing rights and duties. The specific task of Christian theology in these matters is grounding fundamental human rights on God's right to, ie his claim upon human beings, their human dignity, their fellowship, their rule over the earth, and their future. It is the duty of the Christian faith beyond human rights and duties to stand for the dignity of human beings in their life with God and for God.

The Church, Christian congregations, and ecumenical organizations have the clear task and duty of identifying, promoting and realizing human rights. Since they are neither private associations nor statutory authorities, yet must exist and work in the public eye, those Christian organizations can be expected to be less influenced by their self-interests, and to be better able to enter the struggle for human rights with less prejudice than other institutions. This is why one can expect from them self-criticism as well as criticism of the egoism of the nations, states, classes, and races in which they find themselves; hence one can also expect their witness to a human solidarity with all those who bear the human countenance and, more particularly, their willingness to stand up for those robbed of their fundamental rights and freedoms.

God's claim upon human beings

Christian theology, on the strength of biblical witnesses, is related to God's dealing with people in history. What is at issue here is the liberation and redemption of human beings from their sinful godlessness and their deadly inhumanity, and thus also the realization of their original destiny through having been created in the image of God.

According to the Old Testament, Christian theology reflects the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt, the covenant of the liberating God with the liberated community, and the rights and duties of the people of God which are implied in the covenant of freedom. Liberation, covenant, and the claim of God are the basic content of the biblical witness of the Old Testament and indeed they are found in this order. They have decisive directional power for Israel and Christianity in particular, and exemplary significance for all human beings and nations. The human rights to freedom, to community, to dominion, and to the future are inseparable constituents of God's claim upon human beings and the whole creation; they make up the inalienable dignity of human beings living in a covenant relation with God.

According to the New Testament, Christian theology reflects the liberation of human beings from sin, law and death through the coming, the sacrifice and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the lordship of the crucified Son of man, the vicious circle of evil, "which must bear ever greater evil", is broken through, and the freedom of the children of God begins to appear. Liberation through the vicarious death of Christ, the new covenant in his blood, and the new rights and duties of the fellowship which is composed of "slaves and freemen, Jews and gentiles, men and women" (Gal 3.28) are the basic content of the biblical witness of the New Testament. Because in his coming, his sacrifice, and his resurrection, Christ is "the visible image of the invisible God", human beings in his fellow- ship become his brothers and sisters, and set out on the way towards the realization of their human destiny as the image of God in the world. Herein lie his grace and their dignity.

By reflecting the liberation, the covenant, and the claim of God according to biblical witnesses, Christian theology also discovers the freedom, the covenant, and the rights of human beings today, and therefore brings out the pain caused by their present inward and outward enslavements, as well as the struggle for their liberation from these enslavements, towards a life of dignity, rights, and duties in fellowship with God. In a world which is not yet the kingdom of God, Christians cannot leave any area of life without witness to the divine liberation, the covenant of God, and the dignity of human beings. The biblical witness to liberation, covenant, and God's claim leads to a corresponding Christian practice and theology.

The universal presupposition of the particular history of God's dealing with Israel and with Christianity is found in the reality that the God who liberates and redeems them is the creator of all human beings and things. Thus in God's liberating and redeeming action the original destiny of human beings is both experienced and fulfilled. In the "image of God" concept, the divine claim upon human beings is expressed, Human rights to life, freedom, community, and self- determination mirror God's claim upon persons, because in all their relationships in life - human beings with each other and creatures with the creation - they are destined to reflect the image of God.

The universal purpose of Israel's and Christianity' s particular experience of God is found in the reality that the God who liberates and redeems them is the fulfiller of the history of the world, Who will bring his claim upon, his creation to realization in his kingdom. Thus his liberating and redeeming action in history reveals the true future of human beings; the "image of God" is their

real future. In all their relationships in life - human beings with each other and creatures with the creation - they therefore have a "right" to future. Human rights mirror the claim of the coming God and of his future upon human beings.

God's claim upon human beings was and is experienced in concrete events of the liberation of human beings, in their covenant with God, and in the rights and duties inherent in their freedom. Image of God, as destiny, points to God's indivisible claim upon human beings and therefore to their inalienable dignity.

Fundamental human rights

By fundamental human rights we mean those rights and duties which belong essentially to what it means to be truly human, because without their being fully acknowledged and exercised, human beings cannot fulfil their original destiny of having been created in the image of God.

The image of God is human beings in all their relationships in life

Human beings in the fullness of their life and in all life's relationships - economic social, political, and personal - are destined to live "before the face of God", to respond to the Word of God, and responsibly to carry out their task in the world implied in their being created in the image of God. They are persons before God and as such capable of acting on God's behalf and responsible to him. As a consequence of this, a person's rights and duties as a human being are inalienable and indivisible.

Economy, society, and the state have to respect this dignity and responsibility of human beings, for their role as human beings, with rights and duties, comes before any constituting of society and government. Respect for freedom of conscience is the foundation of a free society. Often in monarchical folklore and in political ideologies the king alone is called "the image of God". "The shadow of God is the prince and the shadow of the prince is the people" (Babylonian Mirror of the Princes). Only the ruler can function as mediator between the gods and the people. When the Bible calls human beings the "image of God", this constitutes a fundamental criticism of the divinization of the rulers and their ideologies of rule. Not the king, but the individual human being alone is the mediator between God and the people. Human beings do not exist for the sake of rule; rule rather exists for the sake of human beings.

From this follows the democratization in principle of every kind of rule by human beings over others. The rulers and the ruled must be recognizable in like manner, and in common as being human. This is possible only when there is an equality under the law for all citizens. A constitution (the covenant) must guarantee the fundamental human rights as basic rights of the citizens. It must bind together those who are ruling and those who are ruled. Only on the basis of equality under the law can expression be given to the common human identity of rulers and ruled alike. The human rights and duties, implied in the image of God concept, are honoured in history through the constant, open; and incessant process of democratizing the shaping of the people's political will. The control of the exercise of rule through the separation of powers, the limitation of the mandate to rule to a stipulated period of time, and the extensive self-rule and participation of the people are the historically developed means for honouring the image of God present in human beings.

If human rights are based on God's claim upon human beings and if human freedoms are rooted in liberation by God, then we also have to formulate the fundamental human duties without which those rights and freedoms cannot exist. Freedom and rights by themselves mean virtually nothing. Just as it is crucial to formulate the dignity and the rights of human persons over against the state in order to limit and control power, and to cooperate in its exercise, so it is equally important to heed the duties which correspond to these rights and which human beings must exercise for the sake of others. Among these duties we should mention in our present discussion the right to resistance and the duty to resistance against illegal, illegitimate, and inhuman regimes, in favour of the right of the neighbour.

According to the Reformed confessional writings, one is required to obey the authorities "insofar as they do not command that which is contrary to God" (Zwingli, Zurich Disputation, 1523, Summatory Articles, No 38). "Therefore all their laws shall be in harmony with the divine will..." (39). "But if they are unfaithful and transgress the laws of Christ they may be deposed in the name of God" (42). As a consequence of the divine covenant of freedom, human beings are called "to save the lives of innocents, to repress tyrannie, to defend the oppressed" (Scottish Confession, 1560, Article 14).

The rights which secure the freedom of the individual can only be observed if they are bound up with the corresponding duties of liberating those from whom these rights are withheld. Christian love honours the rights of the neighbour.

The image of God is human beings together with others

Only in human fellowship with other people is the human person truly image of God (Gen 1.28). The history of freedom in Europe and North America was one-sided in emphasizing the individual rights of the human person over against economic, social, and political organizations of rule. It is the error of liberalism to overlook the social side of freedom. and it is the failure of individualism to overlook the social consciousness that must correspond to the human personality. It is not against his or her fellow human beings. nor apart from them. but only in human fellowship with them and for. them. that the individual can correspond to his or her destiny as created in the image of God.

In fellowship before God and in covenant with others, the human being is capable of acting for God and being fully responsible to him. As a consequence of this, the social rights and duties of the human community are just inalienable and indivisible as persons' individual rights and duties. Human beings have to heed the dignity and the responsibility of community in economy. society, and state, just as the latter has to heed those of the former. It does not follow from the "democratization" of the rule of human beings over others that every human being is his or her own absolute ruler. Just as according to Gen 1.27 the image of God appears in the fellowship between husband and wife, so it is also represented in larger social contexts only through human fellowship. Thus the rights of human beings to life, freedom, and self-determination always arise together with the human community's claim upon people. In principle there is no priority of individual rights over social rights, just as conversely there is no priority of social rights over individual rights. Both stand in a genetic context of reciprocal conditioning just as historically the processes of the socialization and the individualization of people mutually condition each other.

The rights of persons can only be developed in a just society, and a just society can only be developed on the ground of the rights of the person. The freedom of the individual can only be constituted in a free society, and a free society can only be constituted on the ground of individual freedom. Human liberation is liberation for community and human community is community in freedom.

Individual societies and states, in their social rights and duties, are responsible not only to the people who live in them but also to humanity. Human rights thus also entail humanity's claim upon individual societies and people. If particular political and social communities are bound through their constitutions to the human rights of their citizens, they must also be bound, on the other hand, to the rights of humanity. Collective egoism threatens human rights just as much as individual egoism. Thus individual communities and states are only then really legitimized by human rights, when they respect not only the human rights of their own citizens, but also to the same degree those of other nations and peoples. Human right is indivisible; it is no privilege. Therefore national foreign policy can only be legitimized as the world's domestic policy. International solidarity in overcoming the horror of starvation and the threat of world military crises has, therefore, because of the rights of humanity, a precedence over loyalty to one's own people, to one's own class, race, or nation. Individual communities and states have human duties in the face of the rights of the whole of humanity to life, freedom, and community. Therefore human rights point to a universal community in which alone they can be realized.

Being created in the image of God is the basis of the right of human beings to rule over the earth and of their right to community with the non-human creation.

In Gen 1.28 ff. the creation of human beings as the image of God is followed by the blessing of God, and the human calling to be fruitful and rule over the non-human creation. Human rule over the earth is to correspond to the will and command of the creator who loves his creation. Human beings are to "till and keep" the earth (Gen. 2:15) and to rejoice in it. Only where human dominion

over the earth corresponds to the creator's lordship over the world do human beings fulfil their creation in the image of God. Plundering, exploitation, and the destruction of nature contradict their right and dignity. Therefore human dominion over the earth includes a sense of community with the earth.

Human rule is only then made legitimate when it is exercised in cooperation and community with the environment, and leads to life-giving symbioses between human society and the natural environment. The right of human beings to rule over the non-human creation must therefore be balanced by their respecting the "rights" of the non-human creation.

If the right to the earth is given to human beings, it follows that each and every human being has the basic economic right to a just share in life, nourishment, work, shelter, and personal possessions. The concentration of the basic necessities of life and the means of production in the hands of a few should be seen as a distortion and perversion of the image of God in human beings. It is unworthy of human beings and contradicts God's claim upon them. The widespread withholding of basic economic rights, the impoverishing of whole peoples and population groups, and worldwide starvation caused by political and economic imperialism in our divided and strife-torn world, are a desecration of the image of God in people and of God's claim upon each and every person. Without the realization of the fundamental economic rights of human beings to life, nourishment, work, and shelter, neither their individual nor their social rights can be realized.

If, along with the right of human beings to the earth, "rights" of the earth over against human beings are recognized, then basic ecological duties are also bound up with these basic economic rights. It is not possible to increase basic economic rights at will simply by responding to increased demands, because economic growth is determined by ecological limits. The human struggle for survival and world domination cannot be carried out at the expense of nature, since in that case "ecological death" would anyway prepare the way for the end of human life altogether. Economic human rights should therefore be brought into line with the basic cosmic conditions for the survival of humanity in its natural environment. These rights can no longer be realized through uncontrolled economic growth, but only through the growth of economic justice within the "limits of growth". Economic justice in the provision and distribution of food, natural resources, and the. industrial means of production will have to be directed towards the survival and the common life of human beings and nations.

This is the only way of attaining ecological stability in mutual survival as well as in a common life alongside the non-human creation. Today economic and ecological justice mutually condition each other and thus can only be realized together.

Being created in the image of God is the basis of the right of human beings to their future and their responsibility for those who come after them

Human beings in all their relationships in life - with each other and in community with the non-human creation - have, as the image of God, a right to self- determination and responsibility for their future. Their true future lies in the fulfilment of their being destined to the glory of their fellowship with God, with other human beings, and with the whole creation. In human history, with the kingdom of glory not yet realized, human beings correspond to this dignity for which they were created through their openness for this future and through their responsibility for the present in the face of this future. By virtue of their "citizenship in the kingdom of God", through which they gain their dignity, human beings have a right to their true future as well as corresponding duties in the shaping of life in the present..

People can only make use of their right to this future and their responsibility to the present if they attain the freedom of responsibility and the right to self-determination. Self-determination and responsibility to the present in the face of the future relate to human beings

in all their relationships in life,
in community with others, and
in community with the non-human creation.

This is an important dimension in the basic individual, social, economic, and ecological human rights and duties. There are no human rights in the present without the right to self-determination and one's own responsibility in the face of the future, for people live personally, collectively, economically, and ecologically in time and history. Their eternal and their temporal future therefore also have a "claim" upon them. The political recognition and pursuit of human rights ultimately gain their significance in this perspective of the future. Human beings become free and affirm their rights and duties as their true and eternal future gains power over them in hope, and conditions their present. Thus, in accord with this future, they will stand up for the right to a temporal future and the right to life of those who come after them. They will struggle not only for justice in the world of their own generation, but also for the support and preservation of justice in generations that will follow. There exists not only a personal and a collective egoism, but also an egoism of the generations. Thus people should not exploit their present at the expense of the future, just as there is no obligation to sacrifice their present to the future. Rather, they will work for a just balance between the chances of life and freedom in the present and in the future generations. In a time of over-population and of the "limits of growth", this temporal perspective of human rights assumes particular significance. Economic politics, population politics, health politics and, under certain circumstances, genetic politics, should be directed towards the human rights of the present and coming generations.

The justification and renewal of human beings

Human rights are only effective insofar as people are truly human and act humanly. Their inhumanity becomes manifest in the violations and abuse of human rights. This is why behind the practical question as to how human rights may be realized on earth, there is the more profound question as to where people can experience their true humanity and how they can overcome their actual inhumanity.

Ever since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, political violations of human rights have been brought to the awareness of world public opinion. This has brought to light how serious and widespread are the everyday violations of the fundamental rights of human beings through power politics and unjust authority, through hate and fratricide. The growing use of torture under dictatorships is a terrifying indication of the fact that the Declaration of Human Rights, and its public acceptance, have not in themselves created a new humanity among the nations, Nevertheless, the Declaration of Human Rights sharpens people's conscience and renders any inhumanity illegitimate.

Moreover, since the discussion on the International Covenants of 1966, it has become clear that human rights are not only violated but also abused. They are abused whenever they are used ideologically to justify private interests over against the rights of other human beings. They are abused whenever they are divided up, and it is pretended that only part of them stand for human rights in their totality. It is then that we see the birth of individual egoism, national arrogance, humanity's imperialism over against nature, and the absolutism of the present generation over against future generations. The increasing ideological abuse of human rights is one further indication that declarations and ratifications alone do not create true humanity among human beings. Nevertheless, insight into the indivisible totality of human rights sharpens the conscience and sense of responsibility of people for each other.

Christian theology uses the word "sin" to describe people's inhumanity as it is made manifest in continued violations and abuse of human rights. According to the testimony of the Bible, human beings have themselves failed to come up to their original destiny to live as God's likeness on earth, and they still fail to do so today. They wanted to "be like God" and thereby lost their true humanness (Genesis 3, Romans 5). Enmity therefore characterizes humanity's relationship to nature (Gen. 3), and with Cain's murder of his brother begins the history of a humanity that does not want to be "its brother's keeper" (Gen. 4). And so people's sin perverts their relationships with God, their creator, with their fellow humans, their neighbours; and with nature, their home. God to them becomes a judge, fellow human beings become their enemies, and they become estranged from nature. Today, fear and aggression dominate a divided and hostile humanity which is on the way totally to destroy itself and the earth. Human rights can only be realized when and insofar as the justification of unjust human beings and the renewal of their humanness take place.

The Christian faith recognizes and proclaims that God through Jesus Christ justifies unjust human beings and renews them to their true humanness. Through the incarnation of Christ, God restores to human beings who want to "be like God" their true humanity which they had abandoned. Through the death of Christ, God takes the judgment of people's sin on himself and reconciles them to himself (2 Cor 5.19) .Through the raising of Christ from the dead, God makes real his claim upon people in that He justifies them (Rom 4: 25). Through the outpouring of his Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2), God renews his likeness on earth, unites a divided humanity and liberates his creation from the shadow of evil. In the coming of his kingdom, God will ultimately glorify his right, justify human beings and transfigure creation.

God's claim upon human beings in this world of sin and inhumanity is revealed to Christians through the gospel o£ Christ (Rom 1.16-17). Because the divine right of grace is proclaimed to all people through this gospel, the God-given dignity of each and every person is proclaimed in conjunction with it. But where this human dignity is revealed, fundamental human rights are also made to come in force. Their realization is made possible and becomes therefore an undeniable commitment.

On the strength of the gospel, human rights in a hostile and inhuman world are first and foremost made real through the service of reconciliation (2 Cor 5.18ff). Faith separates the human person from inhuman sin. Love accepts the person and forgives the sin. Hope perceives the human future of the person and opens up new life. In this way, through faith, love and hope, humanity, once betrayed and lost, is restored to the people. Through the service of reconciliation, human dignity and right are restored in this inhuman world. Wherever people's dignity is recognized and their right restored, there this service of reconciliation takes place. Reconciliation is nothing less than justifying justice; it is the power of the new creation in this twisted world.

For the sake of reconciliation one can therefore forego one's own right. For the sake of the neighbour's right, one can suffer up to the point of giving one's life. Selflessness and sacrifice in the "service of reconciliation" of the world with God are always also selflessness and sacrifice in the service devoted to the true humanity of people. Christians have the divine calling to bring the right of reconciliation to bear on the world-wide struggle for privileges and power, in which they are witnesses to the future and agents of hope. For with the right to reconciliation there begins here and now a process in which the present unrecognizable world changes into a world that will be seen to be a human world loved by God. The experience of reconciliation turns enemies into friends. Working at reconciliation opens up the future of life to people who are threatened by death. Sacrifices in the service of reconciliation are the seeds of hope. Without reconciliation, the humanization of situations as they are is impossible. Without their humanization, reconciliation remains ineffective. Reconciliation and change belong together, and together they bring about humanness in this world.

It is the task of Christians in the existing world conflicts in which they live, to proclaim the Gospel of justification, to live the liberating faith, to exercise the ministry of reconciliation and to give in their congregations a demonstration of a reconciled humanity in the fellowship of men and women, Jews and gentiles, slaves and freemen (Gal 3.28). It is especially when Christians fulfil these specifically Christian tasks, that they serve the realization of humanity of all people. By proclaiming God's justifying justice they proclaim the dignity of human beings. By practising the right of grace they practise basic human rights. The Christian faith therefore does not excuse us from the struggle for the recognition and realization of human rights, but leads us into this very struggle.

The community which calls Jesus "Son of man", suffers under the ongoing inhumanity and dehumanization of human beings and in its prayers turns this suffering into a painful awareness.

Priorities and balance in the struggle for human rights

Because human beings as individuals, in community and in humanity are meant to reflect the image of God, all human rights are bound up with, and related to one another. One can neither curtail them, separate them from each other, or differentiate between them. Furthermore, all human rights are bound up with specific human duties. Rights and duties cannot be separated from each other; privileges should not grow out of rights nor empty demands out of duties.

But in human history, people and nations, responding to the needs in which they find themselves, always set priorities. When the economic need stands in the foreground, they seek first to realize basic economic rights. Where political oppression is reigning, they seek first to realize political rights. Every progress in one area of life, however, causes the structure of life to get out of balance. The one-sided, uncontrolled, and uncoordinated economic growth in some nations has pushed the political, social, and personal balance of human beings in these societies to the edge of destruction. The hegemony of the developed industrial nations has kept other nations in conditions of underdevelopment and has made them dependent. The sudden development and securing of personal freedoms and rights can weaken collective rights and duties, just as conversely the one-sided extension of collective rights can lead to the weakening of personal rights. Thus partial progress in one area of life must be constantly accompanied by the redressing of the balance of human rights in other areas. Progress without balance is destructive just as balance without progress degenerates. The real history of the recognition and realization of human rights is accomplished in the constant conflict between progress and balance, a conflict which cannot be solved within time.

Whoever honours human beings as the image of God, must acknowledge all human rights in the same degree and therefore view them in their indissoluble relationship to each other. Whoever heeds the inalienable dignity of human beings, must, in the conflict between progress and balance, look to the unity of human rights, the human rights of people in all their relationships of life, and the rights of the whole human race. It follows that in the one-sided progress in the development of human rights in one area, human rights in another area of life should never be fundamentally suspended. To bring this partial progress in harmony with human rights then becomes an irrevocable demand, because otherwise the balance of the whole structure of life cannot be won back, nor can human dignity be wholly honoured.

In the conflict of human history, people always live with a disturbed balance in their human rights. Their human dignity appears in a somewhat distorted form; therefore it is necessary, in order to realize the totality of human rights, to develop strategies which eliminate the inequalities inevitably resulting from established priorities. In countries which purchase their sudden economic progress at the expense of political rights and individual freedom, one must press for the realization of political and individual human rights. In countries which secure the personal freedom of their citizens at the expense of the social rights of the community, these collective rights and duties must be promoted. In societies which have established social rights at the expense of individual rights, individual human rights are to be promoted. In dependent and underdeveloped countries, the rights of independence and self-determination have priority. The acknowledgement of the inalienable dignity of human beings and the insight into the indivisible unity of their rights and duties can be regarded as regulative ideas and in various situations and societies can establish priorities and produce balance.

On the basis of their various histories, individuals, peoples and nations have given particular emphasis to differing aspects of human rights. They must establish their priorities in different ways in order to escape from inhuman conditions, from want, violence, and dependence; and so their concerns for human rights vary. However, the concept of the indivisibility and thus the unity of human rights, should act as a pointer to the future of a universal established community of all people and nations. The right to different concerns must be integrated into the higher right of the just balance of concerns because without such balance humanity will not survive its conflicts.

Accordingly, the following can be expected from Christianity, churches, congregations, and ecumenical organizations:

In the struggle for human rights and political priorities they will represent the unassailable dignity of human beings and thus also the indivisible unity of their human rights and duties. Both are constituted through the claim of the one God upon persons in all of their relationships of life.
In various situations of people and nations, they will press for the restoration of those particular human rights which through one-sided progress and established priorities have become neglected, weakened, or repressed.
They will overcome their own egoism in order to overcome the egoism of individual, social and human rights over against nature, and the egoism of the present generation over against the coming generations, and in order to serve the humanity of each and every person in the interest of God their creator and redeemer.
Through public proclamation and education they will sharpen the duties of the individual which are inexorably bound up with the rights of human beings with regard to their God-given dignity, to other people, to nature, and to the future.

Christianity understands itself as witness to the three-in-one God who liberates human beings from inward and outward inhumanity, who allows them to live in his covenant, and leads them to the glory of his kingdom. Christians therefore stand up for the dignity of human beings out of which emerge their rights and duties. For the sake of God they will stand up with all means at their disposal, acting as well as suffering, for the dignity of human beings and their rights as the image of God. For their service to the humanity of persons they need the right to religious freedom, the right to form a community, and the right to public speech and action.