[Esaias]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeBukaroo

Before going further with this branch of the discussion, will you please clearly define:

Equality
Equal Rights
Equity

Equality
EQUAL'ITY, noun [Latin oequalitas.] An agreement of things in dimensions, quantity or quality; likeness; similarity in regard to two things compared. We speak of the equality of two or more tracts of land, of two bodies in length, breadth or thickness, of virtues or vices.

1. The same degree of dignity or claims; as the equality of men in the scale of being; the equality of nobles of the same rank; an equality of rights.

2. Evenness; uniformity; sameness in state or continued course; as an equality of temper or constitution.

3. Evenness; plainness; uniformity; as an equality of surface.

Equal
E'QUAL, adjective [Latin oegualis, from oequus, equal even, oeguo, to equal perhaps Gr. similar.]

1. Having the same magnitude or dimensions; being of the same bulk or extent; as an equal quantity of land; a house of equal size; two persons of equal bulk; an equal line or angle.

2. Having the same value; as two commodities of equal price or worth.

3. Having the same qualities or condition; as two men of equal rank or excellence; two bodies of equal hardness or softness.

4. Having the same degree; as two motions of equal velocity.

5. Even; uniform; not variable; as an equal temper or mind.

Ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal Ezekiel 16:1.

6. Being in just proportion; as, my commendation is not equal to his merit.

7. Impartial; neutral; not biased.

Equal and unconcerned, I look on all.

8. Indifferent; of the same interest or concern. He may receive them or not, it is equal to me.

9. Just; equitable; giving the same or similar rights or advantages. The terms and conditions of the contract are equal

10. Being on the same terms; enjoying the same or similar benefits.

They made the married, orphans, widows, yea and the aged also, equal in spoils with themselves.

11. Adequate; having competent power, ability or means. The ship is not equal to her antagonist. The army was not equal to the contest. We are not equal to the undertaking.

E'QUAL, noun One not inferior or superior to another; having the same or a similar age, rank, station, office, talents, strength, etc.

Those who were once his equals, envy and defame him.

It was thou, a man my equal my guide. Psalms 55:13. Galatians 1:14

E'QUAL, verb transitive To make equal; to make one thing of the same quantity, dimensions or quality as another.

1. To rise to the same state, rank or estimation with another; to become equal to. Few officers can expect to equal Washington in fame.

2. To be equal to.

One whose all not equals Edward's moiety.

3. To make equivalent to; to recompense fully; to answer in full proportion.

He answer'd all her cares, and equal'd all her love.

4. To be of like excellence or beauty.

The gold and the crystal cannot equal it. Job 28:17.

RIGHT, noun

5. Just claim; legal title; ownership; the legal power of exclusive possession and enjoyment. In hereditary monarchies, a right to the throne vests in the heir on the decease of the king. A deed vests the right of possession in the purchaser of land. right and possession are very different things. We often have occasion to demand and sue for rights not in possession.

6. Just claim by courtesy, customs, or the principles of civility and decorum. Every man has a right to civil treatment. The magistrate has a right to respect.

7. Just claim by sovereignty; prerogative. God, as the author of all things, has a right to govern and dispose of them at his pleasure.

8. That which justly belongs to one.

Born free, he sought his right

9. Property; interest.

A subject in his prince may claim a right

10. Just claim; immunity; privilege. All men have a right to the secure enjoyment of life, personal safety, liberty and property. We deem the right of trial by jury invaluable, particularly in the case of crimes. Rights are natural, civil, political, religious, personal, and public.

11. Authority; legal power. We have no right to disturb others in the enjoyment of their religious opinions.

Equity
EQ'UITY, noun [Latin oequitas, from oequus, equal, even, level.]

1. Justice; right. In practice, equity is the impartial distribution of justice, or the doing that to another which the laws of God and man, and of reason, give him a right to claim. It is the treating of a person according to justice and reason.

The Lord shall judge the people with equity Psalms 98:9.

With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity Isaiah 11:4.

2. Justice; impartiality; a just regard to right or claim; as, we must, in equity allow this claim.

3. In law, an equitable claim. 'I consider the wife's equity to be too well settled to be shaken.'

4. In jurisprudence, the correction or qualification of law, when too severe or defective; or the extension of the words of the law to cases not expressed, yet coming within the reason of the law. Hence a court of equity or chancery, is a court which corrects the operation of the literal text of the law, and supplies its defects, by reasonable construction, and by rules of proceeding and deciding, which are not admissible in a court of law. equity then is the law of reason, exercised by the chancellor or judge, giving remedy in cases to which the courts of law are not competent.

My point in this thread, as evidenced by the opening post, is to ascertain what people mean when they say they believe in "equality", or in "equal rights". I have posted several definitions and usages of the terms and concepts on page 1, and have commented how they seem to be somewhat at variance with Biblical principles.

So, those who believe in "equal rights", or who have declared that "all humans have equal value", are invited to define what they mean by those terms, and then to demonstrate that the ideas they believe in are in fact Biblical (taught by Scripture as true).

What has happened so far has been several attempts to define the terms by other posters, but (as I think I have shown already) those terms seem to be rather amorphous and loosely defined, if defined at all. In other words, I am convinced that most Americans claim to believe in "equality" and "equal rights" and the "equal valuation of humans" but are rather unable to accurately define or explain what any of those things mean. And thus, it seems that these slogans of egalitarianism are just that - slogans, that we have been trained and taught to affirm "just because", without any critical examination of what exactly we are being taught.