Modern Equality essays

Modern Equality essays Through the eyes of a modernist great emphasis is placed on the individual. The freedom and progress of the individual are two very important factors of this perspective and the rationale in which the individual goes about obtaining these factors. This rationale being one of tolerance to the individuals thought and opinions which may challenge tradition but acknowledging that it may be truth as long as it is made valid by facts obtained through the scientific method. This essay will explore the modern perspective of equality and the way in which we came to know it today. Immediately prior to the Protestant Reformation, the beginning point for most theologies of government was that the Christian citizen was obligated to submit to the civil ruler. Even moral corruption or incompetence alone were hardly sufficient reasons to revolt against the ruler. Government was viewed as established by divine providence. The early sixteenth century consensus held the following: "Government per se is divinely ordained by God in the Scriptures; bad rulers were sent by God to chastise the nation for their sins; rebellion causes more harm to innocents than to the guilty." (1)William Tyndale stated: "God hath made the king in every realm judge over all, and over him there is no judge. He that judgeth the king judgeth God, and he that layeth hand on the king layeth hand on God . . . If the subjects sin, they must be brought to the king's judgement. If the king sin, he must be reserved unto the judgement, wrath and vengeance of God." (2) The Reformation created a confessional landscape in which a ruler of one faith often confronted a sizeable number of his subjects who espoused another faith. At a time when toleration was seldom thought of and almost never practiced, such monarchs would typically try to impose a uniformity of belief, giving nonconformists a painful choice between conscience and crown. Medieval sources contained precedents for rebelli...