To me, it's simple that black and equal races are equal. But recently, black people have had a lower status than white people and also suffered from discrimination as everybody knows, and I'm wondering, because Christianity has been around for more than 2000 years, and these issues were among white Christians, so I'm wondering maybe what we think today, wasn't simply understood to people in past, therefore I'm looking for proofs/verses from the **New** Testament that support or oppose the idea that black and white people are equal in their rights etc.

Are there people of higher worth and lower worth? Is everyone deserving of equal respect? There was some confusion in the comments since my question is short, I think the answers given are of good quality. To address the comments, I want to know if people are considered equal to Christians. In contemporary society maybe the answer is an obvious yes and thats where the confusion is coming from? But it was not long ago that people had slaves and many of those slaveowners called themselves Christian, no? So I am asking in a very real and basic sense is it a Christian belief that all mankind are equal? Or maybe some people should be slaves? I don’t know what Christians believe is why I am asking.

How does one reconcile the idea in modern democracy that every person will be judged purely based on their own actions, with the doctrine of the belief in the state of sin in which humanity exists since the fall of Man? This is especially relevant with respect to people who lived before the advent of Christianity, where there are no external factors such as the belief in a sacrifical crucifixion to "restore the balance", so to speak (unless a kind of retroactive effect of this on these people is believed in, violating causality). It is clear that the two principles are logically incompatible with each other, as evidenced by the dogma of [total depravity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_depravity) telling us, even in its [highly softened Roman Catholic form](http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct06.html) , that man cannot "be justified before God by his own works, …without the grace of God through Jesus Christ". On the other hand, the [Universal Declaration of Human Rights](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights) , arguably the foundational document of modern democracy, in Article 11, states that > 1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. > > 2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed. If it is in fact the case that they cannot be reconciled within the same logically consistent system, in what ways and domains is the subsequent [doublethink](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink) applied?

Now it is really getting interesting - this is the third question in a row (after this one and this one ). So please make sure you read those two to understand this one in context. Caleb wrote: > human rights is another issue! That is another example of something > that is not wrong for God but very much wrong for humans. I do believe > in human rights (by virtue of being created in God's image AND being > his property that man should not dare to trespass and abuse) but that > might be the topic for another question in itself. Continuing: > However I would still assert that Christianity is not in conflict with > undeniable human rights. In fact they are absolute in so far as they > are granted by an absolute God. **My question is:** How is God allowed to breach these undeniable human rights for example by extensive torturing people? *Again: Please make sure you read the other questions and especially [this](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/2258/are-love-and-hate-in-a-harmonious-balance-within-god/2263#2263) and [this](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/2265/how-can-things-considered-bad-when-done-by-humans-become-good-when-god-does-them/2267#2267) answer and the comments to make sure that you understand the context of this question! Thank you!*

### Why am I here In Swedish Lutheran church today (which I belong to), it seems to be "obvious" that *All humans are worth equal*. I'm not questioning the statement itself, I am just interested in the origins of it - when did the Church started to state this? ### What does the UN say? The [United Nations universal declarations of human rights](http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/#atop) state: > All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. This sounds like "all humans are worth equal" to me. ### What does the bible say? Genesis 1:27 > So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Nahum 1:14 > The Lord has given commandment about you: “No more shall your name be perpetuated; from the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the metal image. I will make your grave, for you are vile.” I haven't been able to find any place in the bible where it says that All humans are worth equal. Being created in the image of God does not automatically lead to *All* humans being worth *equal*. The text from Nahum more seems to say the contrary (there are some other texts just like it). ### Question I have heard "All humans are worth equal" being spoken about as a *Christian idea*. I'm not interested in the origin itself of the concept of all Humans being worth equal, I want to know **When was this idea incorporated into Christianity?**

What is the opinion of Catholic theology on transhumanism , especially on the possibility to create autonomous artificial intelligence that would be granted the same or similar rights as humans?

Christianity generally believes in the exclusivity of believers in Jesus the Christ. **John 14:6 NIV** > Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes > to the Father except through me. What is the biblical basis for a majority Christian society allowing religious freedom, as opposed to establishing a Christian theocracy?

Are there any Christian Churches or communities that teach same-sex marriage is a right? On what biblical basis do they base their teaching? A couple of examples will do for an answer.