[all2]

The problem isn't technology. The problem is immoral people. Immoral people make immoral and greedy governments. Immoral and greedy governments wield power to acquire more and survive as a parasitic organism. All governments move towards totalitarianism. No nation-state in the world has ever escaped this eventuality.

Limiting technology won't limit the harm even one evil person can do. Take a look at Gengis Khan, for example.

What limits immoral people is the moral people around them.

The reason Western culture has fared so well over the last 500 years is because it was largely Christian in nature. There are fundamental values embedded in the Bible that have echoed into what we consider to be "human rights" today. These ideas are uniquely Christian in nature, and rely on a Christian morality in order to function.

"Do to others as you would have them do to you", "love your neighbor as yourself", "you need to work in order to eat", the ten commandments (which are pretty common sense if you're looking for a stable society), a true/faithful set of weights and measures -- including a sound currency, lending for interest gained is illegal, and so on.

All of these require a basis of people who are willing to adhere to them. The Western world lacks people who are willing to adhere to them. In fact, we've been taught to hate the West and its contributions to the world. We hate white people, we hate Christianity, we hate absolute truth, we hate moral law, we hate being accountable to the Almighty, and we scoff at anyone who loves those things.

[andrekandre]

  > The problem isn't technology. The problem is immoral people.

i think you are underestimating the power of your tools (technology) to shape you instead of the other way around... might be a good idea to read up on Marshal McLuhan and Neil Postman to get an idea what technologies and systems can do to us (as humans)

  > The reason Western culture has fared so well over the last 500 years is because it was largely Christian in nature. There are fundamental values embedded in the Bible that have echoed into what we consider to be "human rights" today. These ideas are uniquely Christian in nature, and rely on a Christian morality in order to function.

human rights came from the bible? got any proof for that claim?

[all2]

> human rights came from the bible? got any proof for that claim?

I apologize for the delay. Let me see what I can do.

By my reckoning the core of "all men are created equal" finds its roots in Paul's letter to the Galatians where he says

    3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
    3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
    3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

The statement "All men are created equal", from the Declaration of Independence is an appeal to the idea of the perfected church. That is, in a perfect world, the christian church conducts itself in such a way that none of the above "identities" matters any more. (See Romans 12 for how the church ought to act towards itself and others.) You aren't valued more or less than because of your race/ethnicity/people, or because of your financial status, or even because of your gender. If the ideal is realized, there is true equality.

In the Lord's Prayer, there's a request to God to bring His kingdom into this world

   ...Your kingdom come, Your will be done...

The founders of the US understood this and it is reflected in the Preamble of the Constitution

    We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

They recognize they can't achieve perfection, and still seek it out "in order to form a more perfect union".

I argue that the fundamental human ~right~ truth is equality. From that all other rights stem. Without equality, none of the other rights enshrined in the constitution (what you say, who you associate with, your right to self defense, your right to your person -- habius corpus, your right to swift justice, and so on) all have their roots in the sovereignty of the individual. And the sovereignty of the individual among peers is only guaranteed if one has equality with all the rest.

Here's a short essay that covers this more in depth: https://www.gotquestions.org/human-rights.html

[edit] wording [/edit]

[amanaplanacanal]

This seems a bit overstated. Civilization is way older than Christianity, and there is no evidence I can see that civilization under Christianity is any more moral than any other kind.