Years ago, on my visit to Campbell Law School I published a short piece titled Looking for Bedrock: Accounting for Human Rights in Classical Liberalism, Modern Secularism, and the Christian Tradition (download here or here). Nothing earth shattering about it but in it I concluded that the "Christian doctrine of humanity's creation in the image of God provides a foundation for human dignity." And it's the well-nigh universal invocation of "dignity" that undergirds the contemporary human rights movement. Without pursuing the various strands of non-Christian foundations for the notion of human dignity, it will suffice to say here that I found all of them wanting.
For a short blog post that focuses on the atheist delusions of a foundation for human rights you can read Who Created Human Rights (And Why It's a Problem for Atheists). In a more pungent vein, Andy Bannister surveys some recent books and debates on the foundation for human rights. And he, like me, conclude that the materialist metaphysics that pervades elite forms of contemporary secularism provides thin gruel for human dignity and thus human rights.
A reasonable response to Bannister and me might be: So what? Why do we need a foundation for something to which "everyone" gives assent? A couple of simple observations. First, "everyone" turns out to be no more than a modest slice of of the human population, and and an even smaller slice of those wielding power in many current states. Second, without some tether to the transcendent, blind faith in the moral high ground assumed in connection with human rights runs the risk of being no more than a will-o'-the-wisp in even the medium term of human existence.The relentless grind (or distraction, take your pick) of late-modern capitalisms in either their individualistic or social-democratic forms may soon render belief in human dignity as implausible as belief in fairies.
As Brad LIttlejohn concludes in "The Peril and Promise of Christian Liberty" (2017):
For a short blog post that focuses on the atheist delusions of a foundation for human rights you can read Who Created Human Rights (And Why It's a Problem for Atheists). In a more pungent vein, Andy Bannister surveys some recent books and debates on the foundation for human rights. And he, like me, conclude that the materialist metaphysics that pervades elite forms of contemporary secularism provides thin gruel for human dignity and thus human rights.
A reasonable response to Bannister and me might be: So what? Why do we need a foundation for something to which "everyone" gives assent? A couple of simple observations. First, "everyone" turns out to be no more than a modest slice of of the human population, and and an even smaller slice of those wielding power in many current states. Second, without some tether to the transcendent, blind faith in the moral high ground assumed in connection with human rights runs the risk of being no more than a will-o'-the-wisp in even the medium term of human existence.The relentless grind (or distraction, take your pick) of late-modern capitalisms in either their individualistic or social-democratic forms may soon render belief in human dignity as implausible as belief in fairies.
As Brad LIttlejohn concludes in "The Peril and Promise of Christian Liberty" (2017):
To be sure, one can do the right thing without knowing knowing why it is the right thing, but not forever. Likewise, there is no doubt that the liberal order of neighbor-love can long survive without conscious public recognition of the love of God that orders it. But how long? ... At some point, it will start to crumble.
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