Historically the notion of rights, born in the (so-called Enlightenment), stemmed from the Reformation as these inalienable rights are bestowed. Bestowed by the Deity at birth. Despite this the UN declaration makes no reference to god but still establishes that all humans have these rights from birth. There is debate as to whether or not this is a meaningless statement. It certainly makes little sense to a citizen of a country who is not a signatory, or belong to a country that has no will to provide those basic rights. Who then holds the responsibility to demand or enforce those right to those that do not have them?skeptic griggsy wrote:Theists use the argument from God that our rights stem from Him so that they are inalienable rather than from the state and thus revocable. That is a false dilemma. Our rights stem from our level of consciousness. Indeed, we naturalists not only find that for us, so does the UN, in effect. And some of us want to extend more protections to the other great apes as have Spain and New Zealand in accordance with the Great Ape Project. This comports with Morgan's Canon. So atheists can further rights.
We ignostics would like to know how a disembodied entity could ever think or act without a mind, as the mind must have a brain. And it does no good to aver that Existence is his body and so, He has a brain and so , a mind as we cannot find the needed ganglia, axons and neurons.
Some atheists thought He'd have a body that one could find. No.
So, again , theists themselves affirm ignosticsm!
It hardly behooves Christians to aver that they have a relationship with their god-man , or Muslims that they have a way of life, not a religion. Poetically, fine, but that is preaching in vain as Paul the Sophist did.
And at that level, we are free beings, beholden to no totalitarian Yahweh or Allah.The I am that I am has only the duty to have put us into a better place as the problem of Heaven delineates.
' Life is its own validation and reward and ultimate meaning."
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.