“In the Beginning…” 

The Beginning of “Human Rights” 

I remember when I first began to understand “human rights.” It was the turn of the millennium, and I had just completed my Ph.D. coursework at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. I had taken some courses on human rights, and I understood that genocide was the worst-case result when human rights are regularly violated—particularly, the Turkish genocide against the Armenians during World War I (killing 1.5 million Armenians), and the German genocide against the Jews in World War II (killing 6 million Jews).  

I also knew that Hitler understood the former as a reason for the latter. As he said just before invading Poland and beginning the genocide against the Jews: “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” 

It was logical to me, as a former Marine, that the inability to prevent the violation of human rights only invited more violations. Without consequence, there is no deterrence. It was also logical to me that, in the aftermath of World War II, the overwhelming majority of the world’s countries signed the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights—which secular history marks as the beginning of human rights, and the basis for several more, similar, U.N. agreements.  

I was comfortable in my secular reasoning for human rights.     

Until I spoke to my dad one day… 

My dad was also a former Marine, and, at the time, the first-ever U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. He respected the human rights framework, but it was not his point of departure for serving others. He believed that the secular framework of the United Nations was an echo of an older, spiritual, framework, that began long ago.  

He told me: “All human rights derive from Genesis 1:26-27: we are all made in the “image of God.” 

What? 

I knew the verse so well that it was cliché…so cliché that it cloaked my ignorance. I did not appreciate that this verse had practical—daily—application; in part, because I was still a Sunday Christian who spent the rest of his week as a six-day-secularist.  

Dad’s argument was instantly impeccable and immutable: We should care about the well-being of others—physically and spiritually—because we believe that each human bears the image of God. And we should believe this—and act accordingly—even, and especially, when encountering those who don’t share the same beliefs as we do. 

I remember being on Capitol Hill one time, and a Christian staffer told me that America should not let those of a particular religion build houses of worship here, in our Christian majority country, because “we” were not allowed to build churches “there.”  

I understand, I said, but: if others do not believe in keeping international standards, let alone believe that each human is made in the image of God, and therefore has the freedom to choose and practice his/her belief freely, should that stop us from practicing how we understand the image of God in our own context?   

The staffer walked away flustered.  

Another time I was in Peshawar, Pakistan, the guest of the ruling (Islamist) party that had been freely elected in that province. This political party decided to renovate a church, using government funds to do so. I had not even asked, but they had done so as a function of our relationship and trust. A trust that had resulted from me refusing to stereotype them; because, from the beginning, I chose to engage them as each made in the image of God.  

And you know what, I was received and respected for it—despite some irreconcilable differences in theology and politics. Talk, rooted in the image of God, builds trust, which yields tangible and positive change. 

We should be our own yardstick, a yardstick whose measurement is the immeasurable of bearing His image. We must remember that “human rights” begin with Him who created humanity. Incredible things can begin when we engage neighbors different from us as fellow image-bearers. 

About the Author:

Chris Seiple, Ph.D., is a seasoned leader with over 30 years of experience in creating and implementing strategies among diverse government and non-government stakeholders that build social cohesion through inclusion. He leads The Sagestone Group, consulting for clients such as the Templeton Religion Trust, where he helped develop and implement the “Covenantal Pluralism Initiative.”

Dr. Seiple’s extensive career includes co-chairing the U.S. Secretary of State’s “Religion and Foreign Policy” working group, chairing the research committee in support of, and advising on, the U.S. government’s first-ever summit on strategic religious engagement (at USAID), and serving as a U.S. Marine infantry officer. He has chaired the World Economic Forum’s Council on Faith, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Religious Advisory Committee. A prolific author, Dr. Seiple’s works include The U.S. Military/NGO Relationship in Humanitarian Interventions and he has co-edited the Routledge Handbooks on Religion & Security, as well as Religious Literacy, Pluralism & Global Engagement.