Nigeria, July 16 -- Few expressions have gained wider acceptance in modern Christianity than the claim that we are all God's children. It is heard in sermons, eulogies, political speeches and ordinary conversation, usually as an affirmation of our common humanity and the equal worth of every person. The sentiment is generous, but its familiarity has largely spared it from examination. The New Testament does not, in fact, speak of the whole human race as the children of God.

This does not diminish the dignity of any human being. Scripture teaches that God created humanity in His image, that every life proceeds from Him and that all people remain under His providential care. No distinction of race, class, nationality or achievement can rem...