Balkin and Vischer on God and Human Rights

Jack Balkin is right, I think, that "several centuries of modernity, secularism, and religious skepticism" coupled with the Church's loss of direct temporal power have aided religioius thinking about universal human rights.  And, with Jack, I assume that God is chuckling at the irony.  But, I think Rob's response is far too timid.  I think we can  1) successfully argue from history that Jewish and Christian belief pre-Enlightenment provided the foundation for modern universal human rights thinking, 2) argue from reason that for any benefits gained from the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment periods, that those projects ultimately undermine universal human rights (this has yet to be fully worked out in history), and 3) we can offer an explanatory hypothesis as to why human beings (religious and non-religioius alike) set themselves up for failure by articulating moral codes that are unachievable by most people, institutions, and societies. 

I am not a historian, but I hope later today to at least offer a few more thoughts on 1) and possibly 3).  My thoughts on 2) will have to wait for a another day.