RE: What Human Rights?
July 17, 2015 at 1:07 pm
(This post was last modified: July 17, 2015 at 1:10 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
(July 17, 2015 at 9:28 am)bennyboy Wrote: If God is required for existence, then God is required for the existence of human rights. That's fine. However, the existence of God does not necessitate the existence of human rights. Therefore, whether you believe God exists or not, you have to demonstrate that rights DO exist-- and you can be especially helpful by showing us a passage in the Bible or any other Catholic doctrine that affirms the inherent reality of rights among all members of humankind.
The Lord is sovereign and has no moral obligation to all His Creation. To question His authority represents an arrogant attempt to elevate yourself to His equal. (Romans 9:19-21) Do you consider yourself His equal that you could judge him? (see Job 39) No one has any claim on the Creator and yet the Judeo-Christian God is one of both Justice and Mercy. (Psalms 50:6, Rev. 15:3-4)
Human rights are the natural consequence of both His Lordship and Righteousness. Because Man was made in His image (Gen. 1:27), we were created to act justly towards one another like He is (Matthew 5:48, Lev 19:2). By rational demonstration, Aquinas shows human rights as "what is due to each", i.e. justice.
