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Should the church continue to remain silent on the question of human rights abuses or should Christians become active advocates of human rights in their country?

Should Christians merely debate human rights issues within the confines of their community or should they join hands with others to uphold the universal principles of justice for all and all for justice?

These are some of the concerns raised at the Human Rights and Asian Values Talk organised by Kairos Research Centre in Petaling Jaya last night.

Kairos Research Centre was set up in 1993 by a group of evangelical leaders who felt that the church in Malaysia urgently needs to develop a thoughtful and comprehensive answer to contemporary challenges to its life and mission.

Responding to these issues, its director Ng Kam Weng said it is unacceptable for the church to remain as a bystander in the debate and struggle for human rights.

Ng said the church will earn respect and recognition if it demonstrates sacrificial services and solidarity with fellow citizens.

He said historically the role of the church with its social philosophy of human dignity and covenant have helped contribute to the rise of freedom and human rights.

"An exemplary case may be found in the church in Korea. The church gained credibility when Christians were in the forefront in the fight for nationalism and fundamental rights of the Korean people," he told the 50-odd participants who attended the two-hour talk.

"The Korean church can even boast of its martyrs for this social cause. Is it any surprise that we witness an explosion of growth of the church in Korea?" he posed.

Hardly vocal

The church in Malaysia has hardly been vocal about violations of human, civil and political rights on its citizens although these issues continue to confront the public on a daily basis.

Most adopt the stand that Christian leaders need to prioritise their roles and focus on the spiritual development of the human being instead of playing a more politically active part in society.

Few Christian leaders would publicly declare their position especially on issues that may challenge the status quo of the ruling government.

One clear example is the recent mass arrests of citizens under the Internal Security Act — a law which allows for detention without trial. The church remained relatively silent on the matter although it is fundamentally a sin to punish someone before he or she is found guilty.

Guest speaker Dr Max Stackhouse discussed the roots of human rights ideals, their western forms and the development of parallel and contrasting ideas of rights in Asian cultures.

Response to challenges

He also provided a framework to help Christians understand where social activists were coming from and how they can formulate an appropriate response to life's daily challenges.

Stackhouse also argued that certain theological principles are indispensable to sustain the idea of human rights.

He said there is a need for a common social ethic based on public theology and open space where people can either reaffirm their inherited religion, convert from one religion to another, form a religion or become suspicious of a religion.

"The right to convert, to become persuaded that one relationship to God and thus to humanity is better than another," said Stackhouse, who is an active member of worldwide human rights organisation Amnesty International.

"[This] and the right to attempt to persuade others individually and to reorganise society as a whole on that basis are the core indicators of the flourishing of human rights," he said.

Stackhouse said once people have the right to have rights and that is to have "souls' they then have the basis of the right to free speech and press, academic freedom, the right to organise religious and advocacy groups of all sorts.

This also includes, he added, the right to transcend ascribe identities (race, sex, class, nation) and of the right to dissent from the dictates of any temporal political regime.