God the Lawgiver

Lesson 3

Genesis 2:16

• 16 Then Yahweh God gave the man this command, 'You are free to eat of all the trees in the garden.

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; for, the day you eat of that, you are

doomed to die.'• A moral boundary• A divine command• The Creator as Lawgiver

The meaning of Law

• An ordinance of reason• For the common good• Promulgated• By one who has care of the community

Kinds of Laws

• Eternal Law• Natural Law• The Decalogue• The New Law• Human Laws– Civil law– Ecclesiastical law (the Code of Canon Law)

An experiment

Pair 1

Pair 2

Pair 3

Pair 4

Pair 5

Pair 6

Pair 7

Pair 8

Pair 9

Pair 10

Natural Law

• Jeremiah 31:33• 33”But this is the covenant that I will make

with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people”.

4 Natural Inclinations

• The inclination to truth: scientific knowledge• The inclination to good: do good, avoid evil• The inclination to life– To self-preservation– To transmit life

• The inclination to communion: social life

Content and Knowledge of Natural Law

• Natural law includes all the norms of conduct, and only those that necessarily derive from human nature.

• There are 3 levels of propositions:– The first principles– The secondary principles or immediate

conclusions– Specific moral norms or remote conclusions

The First Principles

• They are the first truths that our intellect grasps spontaneously. They are evident. Through them, man can discover particular precepts of the moral law. They perfect man.

• They may be compared to a light that illumines our experience and our reflection on the goods that perfect us.

• Examples of the first principles are:

– Do good, avoid evil. (The basic human goods like self-preservation, knowledge of the truth, work, etc.)

– Love God above all things and love your neighbour as yourself.

The Secondary Principles

• They are those deduced from the first principles.

• Their purpose is to specify further the first moral principles by excluding those actions incompatible with a true integral human fulfilment.

• Example is “One must not do evil that good may come out of it.”

• Included here are the Ten Commandments.

• The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them unto you.”

• Do injury to no one.

Remote Conclusions

• They are the more specific moral norms which identify human actions that ought to be done or avoided.

• They can be known through study and a diligent effort of the intellect.

• Example of remote conclusions are the indissolubility of marriage, the unlawfulness of polygamy, etc.

Knowledge of the Natural Law

• We discover the precepts of the natural law by means of our intellect.

• God may also reveal the natural law to make sure that it is known and to increase its binding force. He has actually done so. Natural law is most perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus was Perfect Man while being Perfect God. In his words, in his attitudes and deeds, we primarily learn what natural law is and how a Christian should live.

• God also revealed the basic precepts of the natural law with the Ten Commandments, just as He has also revealed other important natural truths.

• As God entrusted the deposit of Revelation to the Church, the authentic interpreter of the natural law is therefore the Church.

• The declarations of the Church on the precepts of natural law apply to all men, since by the mere fact of being men they are subject to natural law.

• Knowing and observing these precepts is good for all, and ignoring or disobeying them is harmful for all.

• Catholics should make these precepts known and foster their observance. The happiness of society and of all its members is at stake.

Legal Positivism

• A school of jurisprudence whose advocates believe that the only legitimate sources of law are those written rules, regulations, and principles that have been expressly enacted, adopted, or recognized by a governmental entity or political institution, including administrative, executive, legislative, and judicial bodies.

God the Judge