Natural Law
There
is at our disposal, an easily applicable aid to reasoning to the right moral
decision in the face of the moral dilemmas we face. This stage in reasoning to a
right moral decision is to ask about the nature of things that we confront in
considering the morality of an act: what is the nature of the act? This is
called the application of natural law.
The Law of Nature
Have
you not noticed that all things appear to be created, appear to work, appear to
function according to some design that we are not able to change? Try as I
like, even with an abundance of stone around me on an isolated island, I cannot
make a stone boat to sail on water. The "nature" of stone is to sink
in water. Floating alone on the ocean makes no difference to the fact that I am
thirsty but cannot drink salt water. The "nature" of the salty ocean
water is not designed to satisfy my bodily thirst for water no matter how much
I would like to drink it.
I
would love to have my automobile run on water. There is plenty of it around.
But the "nature" of combustible energy necessary for the automobile
to run is the need for gasoline. The Apostle Paul may have had some of this
realization in mind when he addressed the mutuality of part of the body of the
Church needing each when he said that the toe does not see, nor does the eye
hear (1 Corinthians 12:16-17). Planets stay in their orbits, the seasons of the
year follow each other year after year, the whole universe manages effortlessly
to function with order and harmony.
The “Manufacturer’s
Manual”
There
appears to be what some call "a manufacturer's manual" to all
creation. To understand the function of created things seek out the maker's
design of the object (Rice, 1995, p. 28). Have you ever purchased software for
your computer? If you are as I am, you installed the computer program and
immediately started using it. Rare is the person who reads a manual first for
all software use! But, confront a problem getting the software to do what you
think it should do or know it should do and you will search the manual for the
correct procedure to get the software to function as it was designed to
function; so too with all created things.
The
Manufacturer is God. The built-in design is called "natural law." And
yes, natural law presupposes the existence of God. All we have to do is study
creation and then reason to its design and function. Our human reason is
capable of leading us to God's design for all things. And God's design and our
utilization of all created things are going to be the right and good use of
those things. It is part of the process of reasoning to a right moral decision.
The
long history of philosophy and theology--which includes individuals as
Aristotle (535 BC) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1210 AD)--has applied the concept of
natural law to explain and articulate the rule of human morality. As an example
of applying natural law to human acts, consider human sexuality. In considering
the right and good use of human sexuality one has only to think through the use
of male and female genitalia in design and function to understand what is God's
will to the use (intercourse) and end (procreation) of human sexuality. There
is no other cavity of the body that is an apt receptacle to the male penis than
the female vagina to satisfy the natural purpose to deposit of semen and its
nature to open itself to the creation of new life. It doesn't take a high IQ to
determine that. There is no manufacturer's way to avoid conception 100% of the
time but not-to-have-intercourse during a woman's fertile periods.
There
is no natural and complimentary design to human bodies to accommodate same sex
union. Human bodies have a design created by their Manufacturer. Try as we like
to the contrary, there is no 100% contraceptive, there is no bodily union to
create new life than what natural law affords. Nothing outside the natural
bodily union satisfies the Manufacturer’s intent for procreation. And sexual
pleasure was created and needed by the Creator to entice and make the
procreation of our species pleasurable. The natural law provides an objective
standard of right and wrong. Any act that we may be judging either is or is not
in accordance with the natural law as it relates to the circumstances of the
act. This is a great help in determining the rightness or wrongness of our
behavior.
Romans 1: 18-32
The wrath of God is indeed being revealed
from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the
truth by their wickedness. For what can
be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them.
Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power
and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God they did not
accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their
reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.
References
Finnis,
John (2000). Natural Law and Natural
Rights. Clarendon Law Series. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK.
Rice,
Charles E. (1995). 50 Questions on the
Natural Law: What It Is and Why We Need It. Ignatius Press: San Francisco,
CA
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture texts are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2011 Robert J. Schihl
Email comments to rjschihl@catholicapologetics.org