In five years’ time in 2015, we will be celebrating the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta by King John. We have recently started the build up to that celebration and perhaps the time set aside for preparations (five years) is an indication of just how important this document has been in the history of our nation.
In fact, Magna Carta is not a single document but is a composite of a number of documents that were signed over an extended part of the 13th century – the first being signed in 1215. What is more, in the strictest sense, they were not signed but were sealed by the king to indicate their authenticity and authority.
This body of documents, collectively referred to as Magna Carta, has played a pivotal role in the British constitution for hundreds of years. It has also been highly influential in many other countries around the world in setting the standard for the rights of citizens in a free society.
Back in the 13th century the rights and principles embodied in Magna Carta represented a truly revolutionary and remarkable step. This was a time when for all practical purposes, the king’s authority was absolute. No ordinary citizens could consider property, liberty or even life itself to be their own, but all was subject to the whim and fancy of the monarch.
Magna Carta, therefore was a major step forward toward what we now consider to be a civilised society in which human rights are by and large recognised and protected.
As important as Magna Carta is, it only goes so far. It spells out the rights of citizens but says little about how those rights can be realised. With much talk in our own day about Human Rights, it seems there is great tension between those who are claiming their rights and other who are trying to withhold them.
It seems that the only way people can gain their rights is by relying on a barrage of legislation. Even then, there is no end to the schemes and methods for circumventing the legislation.
The bible adopts a very different approach. Instead of majoring on the rights of individuals, it concentrates instead on their responsibilities – responsibilities to God, responsibilities to society, responsibilities to the environment and especially responsibilities to each other.
If only people recognised and owned these moral responsibilities, nobody would need to fight for their rights. In fact if King John and those who followed him had recognised and properly exercised their responsibilities as head of the nation, Magna Carta may never have existed – it would never have been needed.
The same is true today. Most, if not all, of the legislation to do with human rights would not be necessary if people recognised and took seriously their responsibilities for each other’s welfare.
What is more, it need not be complicated. Ultimately, according to the bible, our responsibilities can be summed up very succinctly in what Jesus described as the most important commandment:
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Mat 22:37-39)
Getting people to acknowledge and live up to their responsibilities is not achievable with legislation. It can only come about with a change of heart within each individual and to achieve that requires a power from outside of ourselves. But it can be done – read our item on How Can I be Saved?
