Human Rights in a World of Cultural Relativism? Not Possible! At Least Not Consistent.

“In a purely naturalistic universe without God there is no compelling way to resolve this dilemma [between commitment to moral relativism and human rights]. Contemporary academia is in a moral stalemate. Cultural relativism is essential to dismantling the many Western traditions that postmodern scholars do not like, but there is no consistent way to keep it from dissolving the moral traditions they themselves affirm. In purely evolutionary theory there is hardly a convincing basis for treating all persons as equals or for special concerns for the weak and disadvantaged. Christian theism on the other hand, can provide grounds for supporting moral intuitions that many academics find themselves having, despite a lack of any adequate intellectual basis.”

George Marsden, “What Difference Might Christian Perspectives Make?” in History and the Christian Historian (ed. Ronald Wells; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 19.