Is Christian natural law a universal concept?

God’s natural law is the rational plan by which the Whole creation is ordered. Christians
and other religious people as well believe that the Universe obeys orderly principles and
far from existing by accident, it does so through the will of a Creator, God who is the
very embodiment of logic and perfection. Such a belief is quite in line with scientific
thinking. According to scientists, the Universe is subjected to rules to which all things
adhere and which can be studied and measured by the laws of chemistry, mathematics,
physics and logic. It ensues that secondary principles of nature are based on primary
principles and the latter must be right for our Universe to be possible.

What is natural law?

The term “natural law” is ambiguous. It refers to a type of moral theory, as well as to a
type of legal theory, but the core claims of the two kinds of theory are logically
independent. It does not refer to the laws of nature, the laws that science aims to
describe. According to natural law moral theory, the moral standards that govern human
behaviour are, in some sense, objectively derived from the nature of human beings and
the nature of the world. While being logically independent of natural law legal theory,
the two theories intersect. According to natural law theory, the authority of legal
standards necessarily derives, at least from considerations having to do with the moral
merit of those standards.

The concept of natural law in Christian scriptures

Thus, the Bible starts with a description of the various stages through which the creation
gets into existence (the book of Genesis). Man comes at the last stage and as such is
considered to be the most accomplished of all creatures. Being himself God’s ultimate
goal, man is given the undisputed right to name all other created things and animals, in
other words, to govern them. (Genesis 1:19). This reminds us of the philosopher
Immanuel Kant’s inner revelation that the ultimate progress made by Humanity in its
history consists in the realisation of its superiority over all living creatures. But man is
also governed by Nature’s law but in his goodness, God has endowed him with the
exceptional free will. Freedom to choose is a supreme godlike quality prescribed by the
Creator in the constitution of human nature. In inanimate things and beasts,
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determination reigns. According to St-Thomas, the natural law is nothing else than the
rational creator’s participation in eternal law as well as his will to ordain and direct man
to this end. The ordination is of a character in harmony with his free intelligent nature.
In virtue of his intelligence and free will, man becomes master of his conduct.

Concerning Christianity, we are confronted to a real problem in that it is not founded on

a set of books belonging to some tradition and context as the Koran in Islam, but on two
sets of books with obvious differences in their approach. Our aim hereby is to formulate
the relation between what is called the Old Testament and the New Testament and
decide what remains universally true and valid in the laws given to us by God for our
Salvation. Our questioning will be mainly focussed on the books of Moses and the
Christ’s teachings and St Paul’s interpretations of the new laws in the New Testament.

Besides, Roman Catholics constantly refer to God’s natural laws to justify their
condemnation of contraception, abortion or gay marriage among others. But other
points of view are expressed on such matters by other groups of Christians belonging to
the Protestant denomination. By the way, all the greatest Universities in Europe were
created in the middle ages to study the Bible. From that comparative approach, was
developed in Europe, the critical mind so prized in the Western culture. It is therefore
up to us to assess the importance given to natural law in the Bible and above all what in
it is Universal, addressed to one and all, or just particularly aimed at people of such
faith.

In the book of Genesis that opens the Bible, what is narrated function as myths and is of
a symbolic value. Each event must not be taken literally since they have first and
foremost, without any doubt a universal dimension. Through the story of Adam and
Eve, representing the first humans, it appears that mankind has been created free and
endowed with the innate capacity to know God’s law. After eating the forbidden fruit
borne by the tress of knowledge, they immediately realise the distinction between good
and evil which they hide themselves, narrowed by feelings of guilt. It becomes clear that
as a result of this act of disobedience mankind crosses one important stage of his history
and developments. He is thrown out of the bountifully and blissfully enchanting world
of the Garden of Eden, just as the baby comes out of his mother’s womb and from that
time on, he must grapple with the thorny problems of life. An obvious parallel can be
drawn with the writings of eighteenth century writers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau in
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his “Discourse on the origin inequality” and “the social contract” in their efforts to
explain how man springs out of the state of nature and happens to draw a social contract
with other fellow beings, which he does accept as such a contract embodies all the
virtues of life in the state of nature. The difference between the Bible and eighteenth
century philosophical writings lies in the fact that the term God is replaced by that of
‘Nature’, ‘The Supreme God’ and ‘The natural order’ in modern literature, God’s law
becomes naturally authoritative and knowable. Actions at variance with our nature are
wrong and immoral and those in conformity with its tendencies are right and morally
good. By intuition, we know that a variety of things will benefit us: life, family and
social life, rational conduct, practical reasonableness, authenticity, integrity, justice,
knowledge and truth, virtue and wisdom, inner peace. Our conflicting tendencies and
desires or actions are wrong if they are incompatible with the subordination of the lower
to the higher. For example, self-preservation is right but to refuse to expose our life
when the well-being of society is at stake, is considered wrong. In the same way, it is
wrong to drink to intoxication for besides being injurious to our health, such indulgence
deprives one of the use of reason, which is intended by God to be the guide of our
conduct. Theft and crime are wrong because such acts subvert the basis of our social
life. Now man’s nature requires for its proper development that we live in a state of
society. God’s design states that Adam and Eve be ultimately doomed to material life in
society.

As for the first murder perpetrated by mankind as exemplified by the killing of Abel by
his brother Cain out of jealousy, the murderer has no doubt at all about its unlawfulness.
Standing in owe of God, Cain tells a lie in that he does not know where is Abel. He is
obviously tormented by his conscience for he is fully aware that he has already been
warned previously. “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must
master it.” In a famous poem, Victor Hugo on this biblical episode, Cain in vain tries in
vain to hide himself. Even in the profoundest cave on earth, the eye of God that is
Conscience still dogs him, reminding him of his horrible deed. Later on, in the book of
Leviticus, building on Cain’s murder, the Lord sets the following law for the people of
Israel. “You should not hate your brother in your heart… but you shall love your
neighbour as yourself. This becomes the cornerstone of Jesus Christ teachings who
can’t deny that such land is universally binding, the neighbour being no other than
anyone of our fellow beings. Kant explains that, whilst knowing that things and animals
are means and instruments put at his disposal by Nature’s will, man also knows the right

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is denied to him to treat another fellow human being in the same way. The latter must be
considered an associate likely to make the must of the gifts of Nature on an equal basis.
We can conclude that the natural laws dealt with at the start of the Bible in the narration
of Creation are written in nature and therefore are Universal.

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Mosaic laws: laws written on tablets of stone

With the passing of time, mankind strays away from God’s will and disregards his
desire for good. So God, departing from the laws written in Nature, addresses himself to
Moses, the latter has been appointed as the leader of the elected people as Jews were
called since a divine covenant was established with them. Legislation covering all
aspects of life can be found throughout the first five books, especially in the Exodus,
Deuteronomy and Leviticus. It is even engraved in stone in a summarised but
impressive form in what we call the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments.

At this stage, there is a need to clarify the use of the word ‘law’ as it is understood in the
Old and New Testaments. God’s variety of instructions during Moses’ times (also called
the Mosaic Laws) takes their whole significance only within the Jew community to
whom they were addressed. By New Testament times, two distinct meanings of the law
have emerged both of which reflect the thinking of the Jews. Firstly the law begins to
designate the Old Testament scriptures as a whole. Quite often the term refers to the
Pentateuch (or the Torah), the first five books and at times only to the Decalogue itself
which is itself part of the Pentateuch.

Secondly, the expression ‘law’ designates the Jewish religious whole or in part. New
Testament references to works of law often indicate the ceremonial element that was the
most apparent feature of the Jewish religious system. So when using the texts referring
to the law, it is wise to carefully study the setting of the passage in order to determine in
what sense the word ‘law’ is used.

Moreover, in the New Testament arises the problem as to whether part or whole of the
ancient law has been abolished as a consequence of Christ’s coming on earth and his
dying on the cross, which makes a new beginning and the accomplishment of the
‘Word’. The Old Testament contains three basic types of laws; moral, ceremonial and
civil and we are to determine which one or ones have a Universal value or not.

a) The moral law

Among all these God-given instructions, the moral is the basis of God’s Universal
kingdom. It exists because God exists. It combines a perfect blend of justice and mercy.
The most basic moral principles are enumerated in the Ten Commandments, the lists of
which appear in the ‘Exodus” and “Deuteronomy”. The same principles are presented in
“Leviticus” in a more elaborated way but quite in parallel with the Decalogue. This part
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of the Holy Bible has been a dominant force for many people over millenniums of the
Ten Commandments; the first four statements concern the relationships between God
and mankind while the next six concern relationships between people. So, all the
requirements of the moral law hang over these two great principles: the love of God and
love of the neighbour.

b) The ceremonial or ritual laws

Such laws regulate the services at the Temple, the offering of the sacrifices and the
priestly ministration. The distinction with Moral law is clear. For Christians, these laws
have become obsolete with the accomplishment of the death of Christ.

c) The Civil law

Finally comes the Civil or judicial law. It is given to Israel as a nation and is addressed
to a people of God which was a political entity and for much of its history had at least
some degree of political autonomy. Hereby are involved the ordering of Israel’s
political life, the conduct of political affairs, the formulation of policies as well as the
responsibilities of citizens and subjects.

We can conclude that only moral laws, pertaining to Natural law or God’s eternal law
are of Universal value. Love of God stands as the cornerstone of the whole edifice.
The first commandment: Exodus 20.3
“You shall have no other Gods before me”

Deuteronomy 4:39
“Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in Heaven above and on
the earth below. There is no other.”

Leviticus 19:2:3
“You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy. Most of the time in Leviticus,
after stating the laws, decrees and ordinances, he repeats “I am the Lord your God”.
Love of God constitutes the basic principle from which are derived all other natural
moral obligations and duties. And by the love of God is meant love of the ‘Supreme
Good’, a concept which leads to a variety of interpretations and is likely to win the
adherence of one and all including the atheists.

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Christian scriptures and their relation with the Old Testament

The predominant Christian view is that Jesus Christ mediates a new Covenant
relationship between God and his followers. Although the New Testament (which
consists of the Gospels and St Paul’s writings) do not disregard the past experiences of
elected people, it questions in some way or other, the validity of the Old Testament law.
In fact, if we follow the Gospels in its portrayal of Jesus’ life and his teachings,
nowhere does he assent to obsoleteness. What he does in fact is to put the Ancient law
in a new perspective. Given that the Old Testament law is considered to be eternal, it
becomes necessary for Christians to harmonize the Old statements with the new
statements. They need to decide and tell whether it still applies or wholly applies a new
light over it.

More concretely, the context has changed. Much of the Old Testament is addressed to
people of God when they formed a political entity, and this for much of its history. The
New Testament is addressed to a politically powerless Community in the Roman
Empire no longer living in a theocratic state but scattered throughout various nations.
For example, Old Testament teaching on Holy wars become inapplicable and is
replaced by Jesus’ ethic of non-violence. But during the Middle Ages when the Catholic
Church was powerful in Europe and ruled over all kings, acting obviously as a
theocratic power, it had to resort to Old Testament arguments and examples to justify its
wielding of power, imposing the Divine right of kings, or the waging of holy wars such
as the Crusades in the hope of recapturing Jerusalem. The modern relevance of the Old
Testament becomes open to diverse interpretations among the Christians themselves,
amply substantiated by research and argumentation and theologian debates. Differences
do crop up between the Catholic and Protestants faiths. Consequently, Christians
develop a tendency to selection when referring to the Old Testament in as much as such
and such elements are considered as relevant or not. There is no doubt that the relation
between the two Testaments becomes a vital issue.

However, the Old Testament cannot be dismissed altogether. God and its purposes for
human life remain the same in both Testaments. Instructions in the Ancient law
however can no longer be slavishly followed in our lives now. Their teachings do not
apply directly to us. Nonetheless they still remain instructive for us. From the way God
expressed his character and purposes, we may learn something of how we should direct
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our lives today. In this light, all is relevant to us as being instructive. For Christians, the
fundamental point in that Jesus fulfils the whole of the law and the books of the
Prophets. The Old Testament is certainly affected by its fulfilment in Christ but all of it,
as fulfilled in Christ, remains instructive. The New Testament must be read against the
background of the Old Testament, which it presupposes. So both of them supplement
and inform each other.

According to Christians, Jesus Christ is the centre of the new scriptures. All the themes
converge to him and find their final and fullest significance with reference to him. In his
ministry, Jesus proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God and practised its
presence. This is nevertheless, but the kingdom in its fullest but a preliminary presence
of the kingdom in history. Preliminary, because it made itself felt in relation to evil and
suffering and death, triumphing over them but not yet eliminating them for the world.
The rule of God, as Jesus’ praxis actualised God’s rule through his living identification
with people. As the son of God his Father, Jesus brought God’s love powerfully to bear
on people’s lives. From what we gather from the stories and the sayings in the Gospels,
and this love being exercised in complete solidarity of those who suffer from all kinds
of ills and evils; the Sermon on the mount (Mathew,7) and (Luke,6) fully illustrate this
love. His stress on values pervading the whole New Testament have inspired great many
people including Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther king in their illuminating fight for
freedom and welfare of the humanity.

Jesus on the Mount impressed those listening to him by the novelty of his teachings.
Some of the words run as follows:
“Blessed are the poor
For Yours is the kingdom of God
Blessed are you poor
For yours is the kingdom of God
Blessed are you who hunger now
For you all be satisfied…”

Jesus’ love identification with people knew no limits. The excluded will get welcoming
inclusion. He treated with exceptional respect women, who in Jewish society of the time
were second-class citizens, implicitly acknowledging their full and equal status in Israel.
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Christ’s crucifixion, while demonstrating solidarity with the sufferings of mankind, also
symbolises its redemption. By his resurrection are actualised in a preliminary way, the
expectation of a time when God’s role would prevail against all evil and suffering. The
risen Jesus is our future. We cannot grasp the full significance of the New Testament
without a critical application of Jesus’ coming on earth. Without doubt, Jesus breathes
new life into the Old Testament. He is the living Word.

No one can deny that Jesus’ teachings and praxis are an advance on Old Testament
ethical teaching in that the emphasis on the good at the expense of evil as well as on
human and religious values acquire a new universal dimension as never before. Above
all, his message is destined not to the Jews only but to all human beings. People Jesus
met emerge now as individuals and now as representatives of groups of people: the tax-
collectors, the beggars, the lepers, The Sadducees, the prostitutes the rich, the poor and
so on. This special concern for the marginalised was not in neglect of the others.
“Love your neighbour as yourself”. All the law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments. (Matthew 37-40).
If we compare with the statement in Leviticus “Love your neighbour as yourself”, we
should be aware that’ neighbour’ is synonymous to ‘brother’. Meaning a fellow Israelite
and a fellow member of the covenant Community. To be fair, we note that Leviticus
does request that this love be shown to resident aliens too but it may imply that you can
hate an enemy. Jesus rejects explicitly such an interpretation. He interprets the
Commandment to love one’s neighbour as including all human beings without
exception. Jesus extends the demand of love, the central principle of the law, scarcely
penetrated in the Old Testament.

In the same way, referring in Matthew on swearing falsely oaths in the name of God
(Exodus 20-7); (Leviticus 6, 1-7) Jesus intensifies its application by prohibiting all
oaths. The point is that oaths are needed only because it is assumed that people are
truthful when not under oath. He extends the law’s demand for truthfulness to a
requirement of absolute truthfulness at all times. Where the law requires a minimal
demand, Jesus makes a maximal demand, examining these few examples, we try to give
an idea of Jesus’ teachings concerning the law to which he gives renewed vigour and
vitality. He criticises the Pharisees for sticking to the letter of the law, as for the
lapidation of the prostitute, at the expense of its spirit; indirectly inculcating in them a
modern approach to such matters what he says is of Universal value and has been
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recognised as such over the millenniums after his death. Through his lifestyle and
sayings Christ becomes the living Word.
The word becomes flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14). Christians are
exhorted to act as living Epistles:
“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by anybody”
(Paul 2 Co.3.23)

Christians believe in God’s method of gradual revelation and publication of the law
itself, which he illustrated in his own sinless life.
From the Gospels that come from the Apostles, especially Paul, the greatest intellectual
of them all, new light is shed on the new conception of the law, the New Testament as a
whole together with the Torah that precedes it. No longer written on tablets of stone, a
New Testament of stone, a new Covenant is made with the house of Israel.
“I will put my laws in their minds and write them in their hearts. I will be their God and
they will be my people. (Paul, Hebrews 8; 10)
Further still Paul states:
“A man is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision of the heart, by the spirit, not by the written
Code. Such a man’s pause is not from men but from God. No need for Paul to be a Jew
to know the truth. Gentiles who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the
law, they are a law for themselves… since they show the requirements of the law are
written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness and their thoughts how
accusing, now even developing them. (Paul, Romans 2:15)

Mankind’s history lies come full circle. In reference to the English poet Wordsworth’s
“Says of innocence and says of experience”, we’ll say we are back to the days of
innocence and to the Primeval state of things in the Garden of Eden. However
enlightened man is in a new predicament, after undergoing so many experiences in
history. Enlightenment by the scriptures written in stone and on paper, man is more
knowledgeable. Conscience reigns supreme, the deepest one, which constitutes the
interior witness to the fundamental principles of morality. We cannot not know. A
distinction is to be made between the surface and deep conscience. Conscience can be
suppressed or denied but logically, ontologically can never be erased, except for the
mad people who are deprived of reason. Even the pagans know the truth about God and
its moral requirements, but they may be blamed for suppressing and neglecting their
conscience in full knowledge.
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At great lengths St Paul examines the new attitude to the law Jesus pride themselves on
their special relationship with God. But to what use if they continues to break it. By
contrast, someone may not be a Jew and yet be more in conformity with God’s word.
Many experiences of such cases are given in the Gospels.

Far from being limited to a sect or a narrowly limited community, Christianity promises
salvation to the whole of mankind. God is the sustainer and redeemer for all of us. And
it is appropriate to distinguish between. As a final remark, we will stress the formidable
force of religion in all human cultures, the serenity of great religions, the aptitude to
believe in God and how it has directed the lives of so many individuals. It serves as a
bond between man and the Divine as well as among men themselves in a relationship
with one another through beliefs and rituals. Founders of religion such as Moses and
Jesus accomplish what the greatest political leaders have difficulty in doing: social
cohesion. Religious experience is in its essence obedience, faithfulness to an authority
that occupies the hierarchical position of a Sovereign. The feeling of awe God’s
instructions have inspired during the Rome and elsewhere that have taken guides that
stun and shock throughout its history and the true religion as revealed in the New
Testament, the Universality of which is undisputed.

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Conclusion

Any study of Christian thought is necessarily more complicated than others since
Christianity rests on two sets of books and civilisations: the Old Testament and the Jews
on one side and the Christians on the other side. Besides, throughout the history of
Christianity has been going on the breaking off of the community into differing
Churches. We deliberately leave out come aspects or interesting points in order to stick
to our main guideline.
As we progress through our study, we become more and more aware of the innumerable
features Christianity has in common with other religions. How can it be otherwise since
all of them are founded on the cornerstone of Natural law. We will nevertheless refrain
from equating Nature with God. Man and the Universe exist as creatures through the
will of their Creator. Law in general is revered as something sacred. If such a diffuse but
real fear of authority, such a religious fear of punishment did not exist, rational
obedience would prove insufficient to guarantee the authority of the State. Significantly,
the revolutionaries, whilst being anxious to root out religion from French society,
rapidly created the cults of the Supreme Being to consolidate the power of the New
Republic. It happens that this religious frame of mind ends in fanaticism. But it may
also, as in Christianity, leads people to Sublime forms of altruism and true generosity.
Such propensity to do good out of dutifulness and without the expectation of any reward
has long characterised the Christian culture. That is what makes Christianity such an
inspiring force.

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