This document defines and discusses different types of law from both secular and religious perspectives. It begins by defining law as actions that establish how others should act, promulgated by competent authority for the common good. It then discusses moral law, distinguishing between divine law (natural and revealed) and human law (civil and ecclesiastical). The document also examines law in scripture, covering the Old Testament law of the covenant and how Christ fulfilled the Old Law by inaugurating the New Law of love in the New Testament.
This document defines and discusses different types of law from both secular and religious perspectives. It begins by defining law as actions that establish how others should act, promulgated by competent authority for the common good. It then discusses moral law, distinguishing between divine law (natural and revealed) and human law (civil and ecclesiastical). The document also examines law in scripture, covering the Old Testament law of the covenant and how Christ fulfilled the Old Law by inaugurating the New Law of love in the New Testament.
This document defines and discusses different types of law from both secular and religious perspectives. It begins by defining law as actions that establish how others should act, promulgated by competent authority for the common good. It then discusses moral law, distinguishing between divine law (natural and revealed) and human law (civil and ecclesiastical). The document also examines law in scripture, covering the Old Testament law of the covenant and how Christ fulfilled the Old Law by inaugurating the New Law of love in the New Testament.
This document defines and discusses different types of law from both secular and religious perspectives. It begins by defining law as actions that establish how others should act, promulgated by competent authority for the common good. It then discusses moral law, distinguishing between divine law (natural and revealed) and human law (civil and ecclesiastical). The document also examines law in scripture, covering the Old Testament law of the covenant and how Christ fulfilled the Old Law by inaugurating the New Law of love in the New Testament.
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LAW
THE OBJECTIVE NORM OF
MORALITY Definition of Law
• In simplest terms: Law is
an action about actions (a lawmaker acts to establish how others should act) Definition of Law • Standard Definition: Law is an ordinance of reason promulgated by competent authority for the sake of the common good (St. Thomas Aquinas). a. an ordinance of reason: law is a reasonable decision (prudent and with a purpose).
b. promulgated: communicated with
sufficient notice to its subjects while respecting their rights and dignity.
c. by competent authority: by those who have legitimate power to do so.
d. for the sake of the common good:
for the social betterment of its subjects. Characteristics of Law • 1. It is based on vision (certain presuppositions): final end - happiness • 2. It arises from and expresses basic values ex. 5th commandment – respect for life 6th commandment – respect for human sexuality 7th commandment – respect for a person’s possessions 8th commandment – respect for the truth Functions of Moral Laws • 1. They provide criteria for judging who we are and how we should act.
• 2. They help our moral development,
especially in the formation of conscience, by expressing typical patterns of moral behavior and human values.
• 3. They provide stability and consistency
in our lives by acting as a constant and reliable point of reference.
• 4. They can challenge us by stretching
us in view of an ideal, or correcting us by illuminating our faults. Divisions of Moral Law Schematic Diagram:
MORAL LAW
DIVINE HUMAN LAW LAW
NATURAL REVEALED CIVIL ECCLESIASTICAL
LAW LAW LAW LAW Moral Laws – are directives ordering man’s activities towards the ultimate end. 1. Divine Law – is the law that comes to us from God through revelation. a. Natural Law – is that moral order which arises from the nature of man and creation and which can be recognized by reason; it is also called divine natural law (because its origin directly traced back to the will of God who created nature and who therewith also willed the laws resulting from it). b. Revealed Law (of the Old and New Testaments) – it may spell out obligations of natural law in order to impart a clearer knowledge of them; it is also called divine positive law (because it is posed or set down by the authoritative will of God who addresses man in revelation). Human Law – is the law whose immediate source of origin is human authority; it may reaffirm obligations of natural law, yet in many other cases it will set up regulations which are not direct requirements of natural law, but which to a certain extent depend on the free, through reasonable will of the lawgiver by which it is posed and put into force.
a. Civil Law – is the particular
application of natural law and the means of assuring the common good.
b. Ecclesiastical Law – is the
expression of divine law as it is applied to particular circumstances of Christian life. Law in the Scripture
1. The Old Testament
Law of the Covenant (Torah) –
the law given by God to Israel, his chosen people, through His revealing word; it went far beyond the limits of merely human law: it governed the whole Covenant relationship. Characteristics of the Old Law: • a. The Law flowed directly from the Covenant relationship of Yahweh’s loving call creating His Chosen people. This means the whole law was based on the vision and values of God’s Covenant with His people.
• b. Obedience, then, to God’s
comprehensive Law was the hallmark for the believing Israelite. All sin was viewed primarily as an offense against the Lord with whom the Israelites were “bonded” in every aspect of their lives by the Covenant.
• c. The law, then was God’s great gift,
bringing great joy to His people. 2. The New Testament Christ – the fulfillment of the Old Law; He did this: First, by inaugurating the new law of the Kingdom; Secondly, Christ removed the imperfections allowed because of their “stubbornness of hearts” by proclaiming his new commandment of love which transcends all human wisdom and all morality, and summons his disciples to the sovereign demands of their calling (Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect –Mt.5:48). Thirdly, Christ perfected the dietary laws regulating eating and purity of food and the Sabbath Law by recalling that the Sabbath rest is not broken by the service of God or of one’s neighbor. Lastly, He set the precepts of the law in a hierarchical order in which everything is subordinated to love of God and neighbor.
