Christopher F. Rufo  ⚔️

On what grounds can anyone say “god” grants us rights? The entity that may be said to grant rights is the one that may protect them or take them away. I don’t see any god doing that. For better or worse, in our world, the closest thing to a “rights-granting”entity is the state.https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1357743742564749312 …

That rights are "God-given" is just a lie people tell themselves so it sounds more concrete, permanent, and profound. Certain rights may align with human nature and thus feel very central to our being and may be somewhat universally desired. But we don't need to invoke God.

The point is that natural ("God-given") rights are higher principles than the State, and the State must respect them. Otherwise, the State can determine moral law/rights with no recourse. This is what happened in 20th-century totalitarian regimes ("nothing outside the State").