A Biblical Case for Natural Law
Overview
Are you perplexed about the biblical understanding of natural law? This study offers an explicitly biblical defense for the existence and practical importance of natural law. If natural law is taught in Scripture, it should certainly be affirmed in Christian theology.
Anyone who is familiar with the debate over natural law in Protestant theological ethics has likely heard it said: “The Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura and the Roman Catholic teaching on natural law are fundamentally opposed.” According to the proponents of this view, natural law is a set of ethical imperatives drawn from human nature and known through reason and it differs thereby from any form of supernaturally revealed legal or moral instruction. While the opponents of natural law reference several lines of theological arguments to develop their case, perhaps the argument most frequently encountered in Protestant circles is that natural law makes God and Scripture irrelevant to moral knowledge. If that is the most common Protestant criticism of natural law, the second most common is that natural law turns a blind eye to the effects of sin on reason and human nature. When combined, these two criticisms constitute the standard Protestant objection to natural law.
David VanDrunen guides readers to a better understanding of a Protestant view of natural law, built on biblical principles, that stands strong despite these arguments.
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Save more when you purchase this book as part of the Acton Monographs on Social and Economic Morality collection.
- Offers a biblical defense for the existence of natural law
- Presents Christians with invaluable insight into the daily economic choice before them
- Delivers international perspectives on Christian economic principles
- Provides important modern scholarship that engages both the mind and the heart
Top Highlights
“Though different writers suggest various definitions of natural law, the term generally refers to the moral order inscribed in the world and especially in human nature, an order that is known to all people through their natural faculties (especially reason and/or conscience) even apart from supernatural divine revelation that binds morally the whole of the human race.” (Page 1)
“A number of reasons account for this development. One concern among the skeptics is that natural law detracts from the authority and priority of Scripture. Another concern is that appeal to natural law makes human nature rather than God our moral authority, hence producing an ethics based on human autonomy. A third concern is that use of natural law does not take seriously the fact of human sin and its dire impact on moral reasoning. Finally, there is concern that natural law theory presents a monolithic moral standard that cannot account for the historical development of biblical teaching on ethics.” (Pages 3–4)
“The foundation for speaking about natural law is not nature but the creator of nature, God himself” (Page 8)
“The claim that all people, of whatever culture, historical milieu, or religion, know the basics of what is right and wrong at the core of their being is a staggering assertion. If it is true, it would seem to have ramifications not only for each person’s individual character and conduct but also for politics, civil law, economic life, and every other aspect of culture.” (Pages 1–2)
“The present study seeks to address especially Christians who are wondering about this issue by offering an explicitly biblical defense for the existence and practical importance of natural law.” (Page 2)
- Title: A Biblical Case for Natural Law
- Author: David VanDrunen
- Series: Studies in Christian Social Ethics and Economics
- Publisher: Acton Institute
- Print Publication Date: 2006
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Pages: 59
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Natural law › Religious aspects; Natural law › Biblical teaching
- Resource ID: LLS:BBLCLCSNTRLLW
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T19:10:59Z