The Church stands in a state of intentional and unintentional confusion partly because of the intertwining of Civil Rights and Human Rights; thus, we have skewed, self-indulgent, and exploitive doctrines being preached and taught under the auspices of "Thus sayth the Lord." In Ezekiel 22:28-31 God judges Israel's leaders for their abuses. The passage also describes the people's oppression of the impoverished and foreigners, and their denial of humane treatment for all humans.
While one may have some convictions/disagreements with the slew of genres incorporated under civil rights (rights imposed or given by law and legislation), to refuse any individual their human rights (rights one has because they're human, whether or not they have been put into the form of law in the country where one resides) is sin. Civil rights/laws can change at any time depending on who's in power of a government at that time, but human rights are as unchangeable as the immutable God who gave them. Christians may not agree on every genre of civil rights or agenda, but in our disagreement, we must be careful not to put our knees on the neck of the human rights of others.
Civil rights are given and protected by the government; human rights are given, protected, and respected by God. Thus, human rights supersede civil rights. Everyone should be treated humanely. Even if one disagrees with the law-given rights of others, one should not impose sanctions on their human rights. You may say: Ray seems like a thin line between the two. My reply would be, yes, it is, but it's a line that one should not cross. It is a line that stays within one's conviction yet is crossed when the opportunity to show compassion is presented. Maybe, just maybe, that's the line that Jesus drew in the sand when the Pharisees brought the adulterous woman before him to be judged by the law.
Be well and stay blessed,
Ray Mingo
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