[Number three in a series]
The last two natural law posts seemed to develop questions around what I intended to deal with now anyway: What are those things "we cannot not know" or "cannot not learn"? In looking around the planet what can we recognize as:
". . . [flowing from] the authority of . . . the Creator, its content in the design He has imparted to us - which is also part of the design, and which includes deep conscience as a part" - J. Budziszewski [hereafter: J. Bud]
I will take a couple of lists from J. Bud [this time] and C.S. Lewis [next time] - and let everyone from different cultural, religious, and moral backgrounds see whether they jive with your personal grounding. Try to add and subtract.
The reason to examine these "first principles" (as J. Bud calls them) is to know what is foundational to human morals. For me the reason to do this is to find some foundation of agreement so I can have a discussion with those of other moral systems.
Remember, natural law is not genetic, and it is not programmed in any way that keeps us from violating it even while we know its there. I will talk in later posts about some of the witnesses of its existence; the results of its violation; and the ways it is being eclipsed in our culture. Finally, I will point out C.S. Lewis's predictions about what its eclipse will do to us - the abolition of man. First, let's argue over the list.
Also remember: rationalizations, justifications, and excuses are all proof the law exists. We would not need to explain and/or justify our acts to others if we did not know that there was a prima facie case against those acts.
In What We Can't Not Know, J. Bud focuses primarily on the Ten Commandments as being the Abrahamic (Christian, Muslim, Jewish) reflection of natural law. Please note what I just said: the reflection of natural law and not the source (Thank you).
This makes the "Decalogue debate" in the United States interesting. I believe that the United States legal system was not based explicitly on the Decalogue. However, I believe that English common law and foundational US law are based on natural law - so both the Decalogue and US law share a common root - that universal moral code. Since, as J. Bud notes, the Decalogue "states the most important part of the universal moral code in ideal form" - it also harmonizes with US secular law. Hence, while it may be true that the Ten Commandments were not the basis of US law, it becomes impossible to convince some of that.
The First Tablet
"Love God with your all"
The first set of commandments have to do with what we owe to God. This is the group that will "incite the crowd" when it comes to calling this a "universal moral code". As J. Bud points out, Thomas Aquinas made a distinction between those commandments "that are evident to every mind and those that are evident to the faithful mind". J. Bud clarifies this apparent contradiction by pointing out that it is like listening to music with, and without, your fingers in your ears - we all hear the basics of the music, but faith - removing the fingers - allows us to hear it as it really is. Faith then is not just a spiritual virtue, but also an intellectual one. This is why Paul, in Romans 1:19-20, would say: . . . because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. [See also Isaiah 28:23-29 and Psalm 19]
The First Commandment: 'I am the LORD your God . . . 'You shall have no other gods before Me. 'You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 'You shall not worship them or serve them . . .
There are no atheistic cultures on the planet - and never have been. All attempts to impose atheism on people (particularly communism) have failed miserably; and brutally. Even Buddhism has internal debate about whether reincarnation, and the eternal nature of souls, implies a creator and, while the practice of the religion doesn't require one, they will not bring themselves to flat out deny His existence. Obviously, different cultures have different cosmologies and different sets of gods - but the human race, in general, knows a creator exists. J. Bud lists some other suppositions that arise from this: - We know benefit incurs obligation;
- We recognize what is intrinsically worthy of our gratitude, and to pay such a debt ennobles us
The Second Commandment: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
People all over the planet "just know" the bad-mouthing your own Creator is wrong; and most usually have codes written into their religion about bashing other people's. This brings light to the extreme emotional undercurrents in the Danish cartoon issue; and why so many moral and ethical people, whatever their beliefs on free speech or Islam, are bothered by the nature of the cartoons. We know the cartoons were wrong - because they were blasphemous - in our deepest fiber; and we have sympathy for those whose Creator was blasphemed even though the most extreme reactions are too much for us to take. It also illuminates why those who wish to bash God in the public square will simply talk themselves out of political existence. The Third Commandment:
'Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
J. Bud points out the parts of this that are considered to be general moral knowledge: - Our complete engrossment in mundane affairs is not merely tiring but debasing - time must be set apart just for the remembrance of the Creator
- While the created world in which we labor is important, the Creator is more important
- We are built to run in cycles - it isn't possible for beings of our type to do the same thing all the time. We must intermit our work
BTW: The seven day cycle in the Bible is not part of natural law: it is a specific revelation to the Abrahamic religions.
The Second Tablet
"Love your neighbor as yourself"
The "Second Tablet Project" is J. Bud's name for those who wish to ignore the three previous commandments (the "loving God" ones); and focus on the rest (the "loving your neighbor" ones). He posits this position is actually more popular among lukewarm religious believers trying to make the moral law more palatable to non-believers than among non-believers themselves. Non-believers will fight the whole ten. The Fourth Commandment (some place this in the first tablet):
Honor your father and your mother
The general moral knowledge according to J. Bud: - Parents are the Creator's delegated representatives to their children
- They can be delegated verbally in specific revelations (such as this one in the Bible); or tacitly by the inclination to procreation and care of the family which has been imparted to us by the Creator
I will mention that since parents are the appointed representatives of the Creator to their children; this implies parents loving their children as the Creator does. The Fifth Commandment:
You shall not murder.
The general revelations: - You may not take innocent life
- Killing is not always murder: self-defense, just war, and the death penalty are some of the types of killing that have generally been excluded over time
- Imago Dei (we are created in image of God) is not a general revelation; but some intuition of the sacredness of life is - and this intuition is what makes Imago Dei attractive when its first heard
The Sixth Commandment:
You shall not commit adultery.
The general suppositions that must be present for this rule to exist: - That marriage of some type exists. Marriage is a universal institution - while marriage hasn't always been for life, or monogamous.
- While some short-term exceptions existed, marriage has always been esteemed over other erotic relationships
While some short-lived exce - It has been between a man and a women as a natural outgrowth of the procreative function. [Whatever changes may be occurring in a few cultures - there is no doubt this has been the historical truth in all cultures.]
- Even polygamy and polyandry have never existed together; and have always been viewed as a series of marriages between one man and women. A series of marriages and not a group marriage.
The truth of marriage as a core moral element is proven to me by the desire of gays to be married. While couched in the desire for receiving the benefits society gives to straight marriages, the hunger for a sanctified union speaks to me of a deeper drive than just some civil rewards. The Seventh Commandment:
'You shall not steal.
This commandment pre-supposes the existence of personal property. The point of the commandment is that no one can take from another what is theirs against their reasonable will. Societies may differ on what may become personal property, how much may be accumulated, and what limits there may be on its use; but all societies recognize personal property and oppose theft.
As J. Bud points out, that word "reasonable" is not just inserted up there. It aligns with "the plain sense of common people - the only warrant for saying it belongs to the basics of natural law". Katrina and New Orleans points out the distinction: people stealing big screen T.V.'s were one thing; food and emergency supplies another. J. Bud:
"The will may be unreasonable; for example, it is unreasonable for the owner to withhold what he has in plenty at the cost of his neighbor's life. The point here is not that some thefts are permitted, but that some takings should not be considered thefts."
The Eighth Commandment:
'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
As J. Bud points out, this is not about lying per se - it is about lying to get someone else in trouble; especially in a judicial setting where one is offering evidence. It therefore pre-supposes that some provision exists for public justice. Indeed: - No people in the world live without some such customs;
- The office of the judge, like the family and marriage, seems to be a spontaneous and natural human institution; and
- the most fundamental role of government is judgment - not legislation.
J. Bud looks at moral codes and philosophies around lying per se and points out that that this is definitely not one of the things we cannot not know: it is not a part of natural law. The Ninth and Tenth Commandments:
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
This heightens the sixth commandment in the first part; and the seventh in the second. Not only should be not commit adultery - we should not even desire too. Not only should we not steal - we should not desire too. The presupposition of the ninth and tenth is that the right ordering of our lives does not just rely on mere performance (or avoidance) of outward deeds; but on our entire inner life. This may also be said about the other eight as well.
Next time: "Natural Law: Objections and C.S. Lewis's Tao"
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