The Natural Law Theory

1031 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The relationship between morality and law

Obeying by the natural law theory is the only true and moral way to live life; especially a life lived in God’s image. God’s presence is a guiding factor to obtaining a moral and virtuous life, which can only be obtained by following the natural law theory. God created a set of laws as a supreme guide for humans to live life, like any law these laws were created to ensure wellbeing for everyone. The laws he created are the civil law, the natural law and the divine law God created them from a law much superior than the rest, one which only God himself has the knowledge of, the eternal law. Humans actively participate in the eternal law of God by using reason in conformity with the Natural Law to discern what is good and evil(Magee 1). Of these laws the natural law is the most vital, the natural law uses nature as a guide to morality and humanity, to decipher the right from the wrong, and the moral from the immoral. “ natural law theory is a theory about the relationship between morality and human nature, the theory that who we are determines how we ought to act”(Holt 1). Nature is a definitive guide to use when deciding what is appropriate and how God would want life to be lived. Natural law is used by using reason to develop knowledge of life and oneself. The natural law theory is the only way to attain a moral life and can be proven as a valid theory when the existence of god is proven, the explanation of nature being a guiding factor to morality is explained, and proving the theory with examples of how the ethics are applied.

God, our almighty creator’s, existence is proven by Saint Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, where he explains his proofs. Aquinas’ simply uses life experience to prove the existence of God. Two...

... middle of paper ...

... to the decision that the only true way to allow God to give humans the true enlightenment needed is to understand and obey the natural law. It is essential to use the natural law theory as a guideline to live a moral and virtuous life.

Works Cited

Archon. "St. Thomas Aquinas 5 Proofs of God's Existence." Catholic Community Forum - The Catholic Community Forum. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. .

Holt, Tim. "Philosophy of Religion » Natural Law Theory." Philosophy of Religion. 2008. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. .

Magee, Joseph M. "St Thomas Aquinas: On Natural Law." Thomistic Philosophy - the Philosophy Thomas Aquinas. 27 Aug. 1997. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • Prove the Existence of God Using Who Has the Idea of God

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this paper, I will explain how Descartes uses the existence of himself to prove the existence of God. The “idea of God is in my mind” is based on “I think, therefore I am”, so there is a question arises: “do I derive my existence? Why, from myself, or from my parents, or from whatever other things there are that are less perfect than God. For nothing more perfect than God, or even as perfect as God, can be thought or imagined.” (Descartes 32, 48) Descartes investigates his reasons to show that he, his parents and other causes cannot cause the existence of himself.

    Read More

  • Anselm's Ontological Argument Essay

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    St. Anselm and St. Thomas Aquinas were considered as some of the best in their period to represent philosophy. St. Anselm’s argument is known as the ontological argument; it revolves entirely around his statement, “God is that, than which no greater can be conceived” (The Great Conversation, Norman Melchert 260). St. Thomas Aquinas’ argument is known as the cosmological argument; it connects the effects of events to the cause for why they happened. Anselm’s ontological proof and Aquinas’ cosmological proof both argued for God’s existence, differed in the way they argued God’s existence, and had varying degrees of success using these proofs.

    Read More

  • A Philoshpical Approach to Proving the Existence of God

    4011 Words  | 9 Pages

    The question of God’s existence has been debated through the history of man, with every philosopher from Socrates to Immanuel Kant weighing in on the debate. So great has this topic become that numerous proofs have been invented and utilized to prove or disprove God’s existence. Yet no answer still has been reached, leaving me to wonder if any answer at all is possible. So I will try in this paper to see if it is possible to philosophically prove God’s existence.

    Read More

  • St. Thomas Aquinas 5 Argument To Demonstrate The Existence Of God Analysis

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    St. Thomas Aquinas presents five arguments to demonstrate the existence of God. However, this paper focuses on the fifth argument. The fifth argument is regarded as the Teleological Argument and states that things that lack intelligence act for some end or purpose. While the fifth argument satisfies God’s existence for Aquinas, some contemporary readers would argue that Aquinas neglects the laws of physics. Others argue that Aquinas allows a loophole in his argument so that the Catholic conception of God is not the only intelligent designer.

    Read More

  • The Problems with Hate Crime Legislation

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    Culver, Keith Charles. Readings in the philosophy of law. 1999. Reprint. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, 2008. Print.

    Read More

  • The Political Theory Of The Constitution

    1057 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The laws of nature and of nature 's God" are the beginning point of the political theory of founding America. The political theory explains the Founding Fathers ' decision to declare America 's independence from England. But they had to think; Is the law of God supreme or is it subject to the laws of the people? The Founding Fathers, in the end, agreed to treat

    Read More

  • The Universe: The Design Argument by William Paley

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Paley, William. “Natural Theology,” in Introduction to Philosophy. 6th edition. Perry, Bratman, and Fischer. Oxford University Press. 2013, pp. 47-51.

    Read More

  • Five Proofs That God Exists

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    St. Thomas’s five proofs rely on the causality of God. Causality, in simple terms, is the fact that you cannot make something greater from lesser parts; the more perfect does not come from the less perfect. In order for something to exist, there must be something greater to have caused it to exist. This means that you cannot trace back causes infinitely - there must be a first, uncaused cause. Therefore, there must be something that caused everything. This we call God.

    Read More

  • St. Thomas Aquinas’ First Two Ways in Proving the Existence of God

    5036 Words  | 11 Pages

    It is my view that God exists, and I think that Aquinas’ first two ways presents a

    Read More

  • Contrasting Settings in A Midsummer Night's Dream

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    the laws of man and kept in check by society's own norms.  The human struggle to

    Read More

  • An Argument for the Existence of God

    2339 Words  | 5 Pages

    3) The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas. Whether God Exists? 1920. New Advent. http://www.newadvent.org/summa/100203.htm. K. Knight. 2003.

    Read More

  • Thomas Aquinas's Five Arguments For The Existence Of God

    637 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Aquinas uses five proofs to argue for God’s existence. A few follow the same basic logic: without a cause, there can be no effect. He calls the cause God and believes the effect is the world’s existence. The last two discuss what necessarily exists in the world, which we do not already know. These things he also calls God.

    Read More

  • Natural Law Vs Divine Command Theory

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Natural Law stated that humans have a moral knowledge/reason that makes us able to decide what’s right. This has caused various debates on whether people did the right because it was the right thing to do or whether they did it because that’s

    Read More

  • Theological Virtue of Charity

    1981 Words  | 4 Pages

    Velde, R. A. (2006). Aquinas on God: The 'divine science' of the Summa theologiae. Aldershot,

    Read More

  • The Natural Law by Thomas Aquinas

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    The natural law was given to man so that he might know virtue. While the natural law is vague, and hard to understand it always points in the right direction. Human law derives its precepts from the natural law. However, human law often misinterprets what the highest good is and creates laws that disagree with the natural law. One case where the natural law conflicts with human law is abortion, which is directly opposed to the natural law of God.

    Read More

More about The Natural Law Theory

Open Document