Lesson 2: Human Dignity in the Modern World

Students use Canva to create two contrasting photo collages:

• One featuring examples in our society of people being treated as inherently valuable
• One featuring examples in our society of where human value is undermined

Discuss whether or not the class feels that modern Australia is better or worse at valuing humans, than in the past.

• Reference Article: Why human rights should guide responses to the global pandemic

Display a quote about the Covid-19 pandemic, where Sandra Liebenberg states that “the goal of all response measures [to the pandemic] should be to create an environment in which all can live in dignity without excessive inequalities on grounds of race, gender, and socio-economic status.” The class discusses the following:

1. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
2. Thinking of what you know of your country’s response to COVID-19, make a list of examples of how you think this has been done well, and another list of how it has been done poorly.

Facilitate a ‘Human Barometer’ activity where students indicate their perspective on the following statements:

• “Protecting human rights is the biggest responsibility our government has.”
• “Human rights are under attack”
• “Human rights are likely to suffer as society loses touch with what the Bible teaches about human worth”

• Clip: On the future of human rights (1:56)
• Clip: On forgetting why humans are precious (2:15)
• Clip: On the foundation of morality (2:50)

The class watches the clips and students answer the following questions for each clip before discussing as a class.

1. Summarise this person’s concerns about losing a Christian understanding of human dignity.
2. To what extent do you agree with what they are saying?
3. What do you think are the problems or flaws with their perspective? How might a non-Christian respond?

• Article: Christos Tsiolkas and the Christian revolution (13 min)
• Article: Christianity is still the foundation of our most treasured convictions (4 min)
• Article: How do we make human rights a reality (6 min)

Students read the articles then complete a table comparing the two articles:

Row 1: Which ideas in this article were you already aware of, or at least somewhat familiar with?

Row 2: What was new for you, or something that you hadn’t thought about before?

Row 3: What questions or problems did the article raise for you

• Podcast Extract: Surprised by Peter Singer (13 min)
• Full podcast: Surprised by Peter Singer (33:56)

Students read the extract from the CPX podcast episode where Sarah Irving-Stonebraker shares her story of coming to faith.

Students then draft an email to Sarah which includes one thing that stood out from her story and a question that they would like to ask her.

Students read James 3:9-10 and 1 John 3:16-18, and answer the following questions:

1. What do these passages say about how we should and shouldn’t treat other people?
2. What reason is given in each of these passages for how we should treat others?
3. Which of these passages do you find the most compelling? Why?

Hold a ‘mini-debate’ as a class on the question:

Can universal human rights for all people continue without the notion that human beings are created in the ‘image of God’?

Individually students reflect on and write down:

• 3 things they’ve learnt from this lesson
• 2 questions they still have, and
• 1 thing they are personally challenged by

• Article: Why we need the Christmas story (6 min)

Students read the article and write a letter to the editor in response to this piece.