Natural Law Flashcards
are actually part of the Christian moral teachings of the Catholic Church since they are inherent in the very nature of man.
Moral norms and natural law
______theologians, however, tended to resist using the natural law as part of the moral norms.
They believe that any teaching about Christian ethics must be based only (and completely) on what is found in the_____.
Protestant
Bible
For them, the heavy reliance on “reason” is fraught with both practical and theological peril.
Finally, due to original sin of humanity, which is the fall of Adam and Eve, our very human nature has been corrupted.
Protestants
The______ theologians’ response is that, though, we cannot find the literal word “natural law” in the Bible but the_______________ would give us hint as the locus classicus for a sort of biblical proof text of the validity of the whole natural law tradition in moral theology.
Catholic
letter of Paul to the Romans (2:12-17)
All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
letter of Paul to the Romans (2:12-17)
When the_______, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their_______, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.
Gentiles
hearts
Gentiles, who are not part of the Jewish community, do not have the laws of_____ to be followed in order for them to be saved. But as human beings they could not escape instinctively from the requirement of the law to do good and avoid evil.
Since such lase is not in a written form or promulgated by a competent authority but knowable by human reason through their conscience, then, it follows that this is actually a______
Moses
natural law
Another locus classicus of ______for biblical proof text is the Letter to the Hebrew 8:10, in reference to the Book of Prophet Jeremiah 31:33, which the Lord says, “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts”. The reality of this law does not depend on the competent authority, whether civil or ecclesiastical, to promulgate it in written form for it is already embedded in the nature of the human person.
Natural law
while there may be problems, dangers, and difficulties in the human mind, but the _______ can always rationalize what is good and what is evil for man by nature is a rational human being.
human reason
although, the human nature has been corrupted due to the original sin of humanity by the fall of Adam and Eve, as they believed, it was not totally destroyed because man is_____ and _____ to God by the blood of Jesus Christ.
redeemed and reconciled
Under International Law,_____ and _____, as the basis of international law, are used interchangeably.
the natural law and the law of nature
The_________ is described as a “higher law” or a rule of human conduct independent of positive enactment and even of special divine revelation, and binding always and everywhere in view of its intrinsic reasonableness.”
law of nature
Under this theory, there is a natural and universal principle of right and wrong, independent of any mutual intercourse or compact, which is supposed to be discovered and recognized by every individual through the use of his reason and his conscience.
Natural law
There are two definitions of law according to St.
Thomas Aquinas. One is from the viewpoint of the_____ and the other one in from viewpoint of the_______.
lawmaker
subject
a law is an ordinance of reason, promulgated by one who has the care of the community for the common good.
Pov of lawmaker
a law is a rule and measure of acts.”
Pov of subject
the following are the elements of a law.
- Law is a reasonable decision
- promulgated
- by competent authority
- for the common good
DIVISIONS OF LAW
Natural law
Law of nature
Positive law
This is the eternal, divine, objective, and universal law which is implanted by God in human beings endowed with reason.
Natural law
The common example given by most of the writers on this is “Do good and avoid evil,” which is proper only to man.
Natural law
, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” referring to the meaning of the Law and the prophets (Matthew 7:12), would have somehow a semblance of the common example of natural law.
The Golden Rule of Jesus Christ
Golden Rule already appeared in the Old Testament, particularly in the Book of Tobiz (4:15) “________.” The Church teaches that “only God can answer the question about what is good, because he is the Good itself. To ask about the good, In fact, ultimately means to turn towards God
What you hate, do to no one
This is the order and harmony of the created world that remited from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them.
Law of nature
The law of gravity, for example, belongs to this division of law which can be shared by both man and animals
Law of nature
● This kind of law is promulgated expressly or directly by a competent authority
Positive Law
The term “positive” is derived from the Latin word _____ which means what is laid down or promulgated. Hence, the word “positive” should not be understood in the sense of affirmative, constructive or valuable, and as a contrast to negative, but in the sense of a decree or act of will of the law giver.
Positivus
there is no such thing as “_______”per se being an antonym of positive law because a law should not be offensive in nature but always for the common good.”
negative law
KINDS OF POSITIVE LAWS
Divine positive law
Divine human positive law
Human positive law
● An example of this kind of law is The Decalogue or The Ten Commandments. “The Decalogue is not a set of negative commands
DIVINE POSITIVE LAW
The________ is not a set of negative commands, but concrete directions for emerging from the desert of the selfish and self-enclosed ego in order to enter into dialogue with God, to be embraced by his mercy and then to bring that mercy to others The Law of Love, on the other hand, is actually a kind of natural law However, this can also be considered as ________insofar as it is expressly commanded by Jesus Christ: “My commandment is this love one another, just as I love you” John 15:12).
Decalogue
positive law
Hence, The Ten Commandments and The Law of Love are both_____ and _____ because they are expressly commanded by the One who is Divine.
divine and positive laws
● These are the ecclesiastical laws of the Church, like the 1983 Code of Canon Law and other liturgical laws.
DIVINE HUMAN POSITIVE LAW
This law is (3) because the Church also originated in the One who is ____, the Holy Trinity. It is_____ because the Church is all an assembly of human beings. Finally, it is _____ because the Church explicitly promulgates it.
divine, human, and positive
● These are laws promulgated by the State, like the Constitution as the fundamental and supreme law of the land, presidential decrees, republic acts, executive orders, judicial decisions”, ordinances promulgated by the local government units (such as provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangay), etc.
HUMAN POSITIVE LAW
The highest norm of human life is the_______ itself.- eternal, objective, and universal, by which God orders, directs and governs the whole world and the ways of the human community according to a plan conceived in his wisdom and love.
divine law
God has enabled man to participate in this law of His so that, under the gentle disposition of divine providence, many may be able to arrive at a deeper and deeper knowledge of unchangeable truth (Vatican II, Declaration on Religious Liberty Dignitatis Humanae, no. 3).
Natural moral law
The_____ is a work of divine Wisdom.
moral law
, based on a moral vision comprising basic moral values, express the objective standard for judging moral good and evil.”
Moral norms
expresses and lays down the purposes, rights and duties which are based upon the bodily and spiritual nature of the human person.
natural moral law
this law cannot be thought of as simply a set of norms on the biological level; rather it must be defined as the rational order whereby man is called by the Creator to direct and regulate his life and actions and in particular to make use of his own body.”
natural moral law
are indispensable for moral life.
They provide the objective criteria for conscience to judge what is morally good or evil; help our moral development, especially in the formation of our conscience; offer the needed moral stability in our lives; challenge us to stretch for an ideal beyond our limited experience, and correct our personal moral misconceptions in the process.
Moral norms
