Religion

Morality & Human Rights

Morality and Human Rights

"Most of the things that we hold dear, most of the things we believe that mean the most to us could not be empirically proven."

— Tim Keller & Jonathan Haidt, via YouTube

Most fundamental moral beliefs, like human rights, cannot be empirically proven and require faith-based assumptions.

Four Possible Foundations for Human Rights (using Dershowitz's framework):

1. Religious Foundation
   • Based on divine creation/image of God
   • Clear grounding but requires religious belief
   • Key Quote: "All human beings have inherent equal dignity because they're made in the image of God"
2. Natural Law Foundation
   • Problem: Nature actually shows opposite of human rights
   • "If you actually look at nature it's kind of violent... the strong eat the weak"
3. Human Creation/Majority Agreement
   • Problem: Undermines purpose of rights
   • "If human rights are the creation of the majority [they're] useless because the whole point of a human right is to... take the right of a minority and put it in the face of the majority"
4. Just Knowing They Exist
   • Rights must be "discovered not created"
   • Problem: Still can't explain why or prove they exist
   • "We just know they're there... why are they there? We don't know but they are"

Keller's Conclusion: "There's as much evidence for human rights as there is for God... in fact I think there's probably more evidence for God than there is for human rights"

Everyone brings unprovable moral assumptions into public discourse, whether religious or secular. Therefore, religious perspectives shouldn't be excluded from public debate just because they're based on faith. This argument forms part of Keller's larger case for true pluralism - one that acknowledges that all moral frameworks, religious or secular, ultimately rest on some form of faith or unprovable assumptions. This recognition should lead to more humble and respectful dialogue across differences.

Scripture and Religious Understanding

"The scriptures were not used merely as a narrative of the past, but rather as a thesaurus, a treasury of imagery, for entering into the mystery of Christ."

— Fr. John Behr, The Mystery of Christ

Religious texts serve not just as historical records but as living documents whose meaning deepens through interpretation and experience.

"The truth of Christianity is not protological, but rather eschatological, residing in Christ whose return Christians still await."

— Fr. John Behr, The Mystery of Christ

Religious understanding often requires both looking backward and forward - meaning is found not just in origins but in ultimate purposes and ends.

"It would be a mistake to look to the past in an attempt to find an original and pristine Christianity... The earliest Christian texts that we have are already written in response to errors arising in the Christian communities."

— Fr. John Behr, The Mystery of Christ

Religious traditions are living, evolving things - their development and response to challenges is part of their authenticity, not a deviation from it.