scattered throughout the Gospels would mean sudden death.(30)
Dorsey, the historian of civilisation, has asserted that today
millions of people feel that Christianity is the religion of the
defeated. They accept the religion but admit solemnly its defeatist
spirit. Nothing is satisfactory in life, they argue. "Desire for
satisfaction is wrong and satisfaction of wrong desires is sin" is a
slogan which makes a true and healthy life impossible. It destroys
humanity.(31) The German humanist, Gerhard Szczesny, sees
Christianity as a desert people's creed, basically incompatible in its
dualistic world-view with philosophy and science, and a brake on
their progress for two thousand years.(32)
XIV. Declaration of Human RightsThe same is the case with other religions, both in the East and the
West. It is in fact futile to seek in religion the laws of God for
standard of absolute right and wrong. Religion itself is man-made.
In these circumstances, the modern man, a frustrated, helpless and
pitiable soul, had perforce to seek objective standards outside the
field of religion. He turned for help to the United Nations
Organisation. The U.N.O., appointed a Commission to state and
define the fundamental rights of man. On the basis of the
recommendations of the Commission, the U.N.O., published, in
1948, its famous Declaration of Human Rights. This document
listed the basic fundamental human rights. The U.N.O., asked its
member states to guarantee them to all their subjects and to regard
them as sacred and inviolable. The Declaration was hailed as the
biggest achievement of the modern age. It was hoped that
governments all over the world would, in future, desist from
encroaching on these rights of man. This hope, unfortunately, has
not been fulfilled. UNESCO, an organ of the U.N.O., had circulated
a questionnaire on the draft of the proposed Declaration. The
answers to the questionnaire have been published with an
introduction by Jacques Maritain. His view is that “Rights, being
human, should have some limits imposed on them and be regarded
as liable to amendment and change” (p.15). John Lewis, the editor
of the Modern Quarterly, London, is equally outspoken in his
criticism of the Declaration. He writes that it is mere fiction that
“Human Rights” are absolute, or are inherent in human nature and
Islam: A Challenge to Religion 227