Human rights and the image of God

Jim Wallis quotes the Pope’s U.N. speech:

The life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for rights, and the guarantees that follow from them, are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict.

I hear it this way: “Human rights” is a measure of the morality of our world.

The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security.

Promoting human rights = improved worldwide security. Imagine, say, Israel and Palestine, and how different American policy would be toward them if human rights were the goal.