The Natural Law Part VI

Revelation is the Foundation of Natural Law

Pope Benedict XVI places the philosophy, or reality for that matter, of ‘relativism’ as ‘the’ dictatorship on the human spirit. ‘Relativism’ is not objective but is rooted in ‘individualism’ which is based on power rather than justice.

In the search for Truth, God, St. Thomas Aquinas asks whether philosophy is enough. His answer is not surprising, or maybe in some circles it is, but basically states that we need ‘revelation’ from God.

Hans Kelson, a legal positivist, makes the statement that man cannot know what justice is therefore any law enacted is valid. He continues that there is no Natural Law because, according to him, any concept of Natural Law is essentially religious in character. Two problems with that are a) the great philosophers, i.e. Plato particularly, was an agnostic b) because something is rooted or it’s essential character is religious in character does not necessarily mean that it does not exist. One has to identify, as we have discussed previously, the law giver.

What has God told us about himself? This is what’s termed ‘revelation’. Through particularly the New and Old Testaments, He refers and infers to his Trinitarian Being; three distinct Persons in one Godhead. That statement is beyond reason but not necessarily at odds with reason or inconsistent with reason. The three great mysteries of the Catholic Faith are 1) The Trinity 2) The Incarnation—two natures in one being/person, and 3) and God’s foreknowledge or how God knows what we’re going to do tomorrow and how that comes into play and is consistent with our free will.

God is eternal, for all eternity. He, the Father, is profoundly bound to the “Word”, Christ, and to the Spirit from and for all eternity. We know this through ‘revelation’. The life of the Trinity is a life of love. Does God have a social life? You bet. It has to be because God’s life is one of love and of relationship. He chose to create. The first creation was of angels. Sharing is the life of the Trinity; one cannot love unless one has the power not to love. Love is an act of the will. Love, agape, is of “self giving”, ultimately of self emptying. It is not about feeling good or romantic although at times that can be part of love. But in its essence, love is about choosing, an act of the will. The first sin ever committed was by the angels. Non servium. ‘We will not serve.’ It is also the beginning of ‘hell’. There is no second chance because they, the angels, had clarity of intellect, of thought. They were fixed in their hatred of God and freely chose not to be a part of Him, their Creator.

God created man, Adam and Eve. He created them so that they could share in the life of the Trinity, a life of love. They had natural gifts: the body, intellect, the will, etc. They also had preternatural gifts: they didn’t get sick, death wasn’t a factor, didn’t have to study for knowledge. And finally they had supernatural gifts: sharing in the life of the Trinity to the end of time.

When ‘supernatural’ is talked about, it means that human beings have a nature; they are also given freedom to act above their nature, i.e. ‘supernatural’. The reward or goal is the sharing in the life of the Trinity. That ‘supernatural’ gift requires us as defined by God, that we love Him, that we recognize God as God. The first commandment is to love God above all.

Adam and Eve’s intellect becomes darkened, disordered when they disobeyed. They were in rebellion against “Love”, which is the nature of God. The human race suffers throughout history because of this one act, although not unjustly. (A father gives his son a commandment. ‘If you don’t drink until you’re twenty-one I will give you a million dollars. The son doesn’t keep the commandment and his inheritance is forfeited.)

Then God gave the human race a second chance. Just as a little boy might break somebody’s window the question that arises is “sorry” or “being sorry” enough? No, one has to repair the damage. Reparations AND redemption. That also begets the question of who can make up for the ‘sin’ of man? Who can make reparation to God? One measures offense by the dignity of the person offended. God is infinite. Who has the capacity to make up for an infinite offense? A person who is infinite. The second person of the Trinity, the Son, took on the nature of man so he could make reparation to God for the sin of man. One person, two natures. Christ claimed to be God and there are only three options we have in how we view Him: a) He was a liar b) He was crazy c) or He told the truth.

The Natural Law comes back to Christ. Christ founded a Church to communicate to us and to help us. He is Truth. “If you know me, keep my commandments”. And the two great commandments from Him are, “to love God with all of your being, and to love your neighbor as yourself”. The commandments of the Old Testament, of Moses, are specifications of the Natural Law. The Natural Law only makes sense in regards to the Law Giver. The Law Giver of the Natural Law is our manufacturer. He has made us for the purpose of making us totally happy, forever.

St. Thomas says that in heaven you have the immediate presence of God; you have the satisfaction of all desires, the company of the blessed, and the certainty that it will never end.

To sum up: God is accessible to reason. We can know Him and He has given us directions, as our manufacturer, on how to get the most out of ourselves. God gave us “directions”, the Ten Commandments, so we can rise above our nature, truly love, and share the life of and in the Trinity.