Implications of Natural Law for our Spirituality

Michael Furtado & Garry Everett

Introduction

Natural Law is rarely seen in terms of spirituality, yet it widely informs the beliefs and practices of Catholics in the field of Bioethics as well as the indissolubility of marriage. Several questions arise from this, including the view that, if Natural Law provides a framework for encoding the Magisterium or rule of the Church, what influence might it have on our spirituality? Might those rules be too ‘fixed’ or out of touch with human experience?

This is an especially interesting challenge for Christians at a time when, in general terms, pastoral theology is understood to arise out of our everyday contemporary experiences of living in a complex world. Thus, a greater emphasis since Vatican II has been placed on a pastoral theology, which while enlightened by the Gospels, derives from human experience (which is called ‘Praxis’). However, such an approach is sometimes hard to reconcile with the vastly changing contexts of everyday life.

For Catholics especially, Natural Law theology is particularly applied to the field of human life. For instance, there is an ongoing debate within the contemporary Christian world on issues of human life starting with conception through to end-of-life quandaries. This discussion is termed the field of Bioethics.

Natural Law rightly commands a big audience in matters of discerning the sacredness of human life and, inevitably, the morality of sexual preference. Additionally, it impacts on issues of whether war can be just in the contemporary age of weapons of mass destruction when the accidental killing of innocent victims may not be justified.

Natural Law also provides the foundation for Catholic Social Teaching (CST), a major aspect of Catholic philosophy. CST has led to the provision of institutions to promote the common good and to prioritise the needs of the poor. So, it goes without saying that Natural Law, while rich in its foundation and outreach and regarded by many as indispensable to Christian living, poses a major challenge if it is to continue to have relevance for the age in which we live.

The purpose of this paper is to assist participants to explore how their spirituality may have been shaped, consciously or unconsciously, by aspects of the natural law. We will explore understandings of the natural law, and what those understandings might mean for developing one's spirituality.

Views of the Natural Law

In the wonderful musical, 'The King and I', the King of Siam is heard to exclaim "A puzzlement!" The choice of that word is deliberate, as it captures his uncertainty and surprise at the ways Anna, the English tutor, is raising his children, and reveals his feelings for Anna. Perhaps it is a good word to describe the term ‘Natural Law’. If so, is there a difference between Anna’s and the King’s view of what is ‘natural’?

Puzzlement No 1.  

Each of these words has been interpreted differently among the early Greek and Roman philosophers, through the Middle Ages, and by contemporary theologians. In brief, the "law" is generally regarded as the "order of things.". The word" natural" has two debated meanings: derived from our experiences of the natural world in which we live (planet earth, including humans; and the cosmos); or given to us by God, in whose image each of us is made (i.e., a share in God's nature).

Puzzlement No. 2 

Further, the Romans believed the law was meant to change to accommodate new learnings. The Greeks believed nature was fixed and we had laws to help us live with the natural order. The Catholic Church teaches that the natural law is immutable.

Puzzlement No.3 

At this point in human history, we have to admit that there is great deal we do not understand about the workings of nature. Not long ago we believed the universe was contracting, and now we teach that it is expanding at a rapid rate. We are just discovering something of the role that the polar ice caps play in determining the weather patterns that affect our planet. Our laws are in a similar state of development: we can instance IVF, A-I, and electric cars and fuel (petrol) taxes. Neither nature nor law seems to be static.

Puzzlement No 4. 

Attempts to describe or define the term natural law are often reduced to two classic examples. The Old Testament's list of the ten commandments and Jesus's Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. (See appendix below). With respect to this latter version, it might be useful to remind ourselves of what O'Murchu said about the parables being revolutionary stories, because the Beatitudes are certainly a revolutionary statement of human behaviour, something outside the then knowledge of nature and the law.

Puzzlement No.5 

When we introduce a connection between the natural law and spirituality, we encounter a different kind of challenge. If we take spirituality to mean an expression of how I relate to the divine, God, Jesus......, then everything depends on how we understand the self and the divine. Once again, O'Murchu reminds us that we may have got the image of God horribly wrong. We can ask ourselves whether our ideas of nature, of the divine, of self, and of laws, are moving us forward, or holding us back.

Curtain Call. 

We acknowledge that we are a mixture of the fixed and the creative; of the accepting and the changing; of the reason and the heart.  We are discovering who we are and who we are becoming as individuals and as communities, to say nothing about our understandings and feelings of who God is or is becoming for each of us.

Some additional information

The natural law view holds that: 

1. all natural law is God-given; 

2. it is naturally authoritative over all beings;  

3. it is naturally knowable by all; 

4. what is politically good must always take precedence over what is politically right;

5. this must always take precedence regardless of consequence;

6. right political motivation is always morally superior to beneficial political action;

7. ways of doing Natural Law can easily be captured and formulated as general rules (which is why Catholics have canonical courts).

St Thomas Aquinas is generally regarded as the father of natural law theory. He gets his moral philosophy from Aristotle (‘logos’) through the Muslim conquest of Spain and his greatest devotee was Leo XIII, the father of CST and a famous Scripture Scholar. Pope Francis enunciates a somewhat differently nuanced ontologically based CST in 'Laudato si' (2015). 

Ontology is about the nature of things as they are (e.g., ‘Who am I to judge?’), whereas teleology is about the nature of things as they should be, offering firm guidelines for human behaviour. While there are some prominent secular teleologists, moral relationship & ethical accountability in Natural Law is primarily vertical (i.e., to God), whereas ontologists tend towards mapping such relationships horizontally (i.e., seeing God in others). Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter 'Laudato si' (2015) emphasises a theology and spirituality that is to some degree ontological and cosmological, i.e., it emphasises the interconnectedness of all things.

By way of further contemporary explanation, the 'father' of everyday natural law theory is Thomas Hobbes, whose writing strongly influenced both Hegel & Marx. He is known as an 'order theorist'. For him, an unregulated life is famously described as 'solitary, nasty, brutish & short'. At the opposite end of the scale to Hobbes is John Locke, the 'father' of English liberalism, which gave birth to Protestantism and eventually to democratic institutions as we know them today, emphasising tolerance and human rights. Locke regarded the principle of human liberty, which is about exercising freedom and choice, as second to none and tended towards a belief in human perfectibility. Natural lawyers tend to regard this with scepticism.

Conclusion

Natural Law, while playing a central role in Catholic doctrine, is widely reduced in the wider world to a set of rules about human reproduction and life termination. Understanding these issues can help clarify our spiritual direction. Is it plausible then that, rather than ignoring Natural Law, it might be contextually updated to play a more animating role in spiritual thought and action?

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Discussion Questions

1. If the 10 Commandments expressed the Natural Law, how did Jesus fulfil that law through his statement of the Beatitudes?

 

2. What images or understandings of God underpin

a)     (a)  the 10 Commandments and

b)     (b)  the Beatitudes?

 

3. In what ways has your Spirituality (your relationship with God/Jesus), changed as you have matured?

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FAQs: Natural Law and Spirituality

What is “natural law” and why does it matter for spirituality?

Natural law is the idea that moral truths are embedded in nature and discoverable by reason, not just by divine revelation. (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy In Christian thought, natural law is often seen as “participation in the eternal law” - a way our human nature reflects God’s ordering of creation. (The Gospel Coalition) The Gospel Coalition | Canada For spirituality, this means our moral and spiritual life is not random: there is an intelligible order we can align with, not just rebel against.

How does natural law shape ethical and spiritual decision-making?

Natural law gives a moral “baseline” - universal principles (e.g. do good, avoid harm) that guide conscience and reason even before we articulate them. (The Gospel Coalition) The Gospel Coalition | Canada It helps spirituality avoid subjective drift: when revelation, tradition, or personal experience push us in one direction, natural law asks, “Does this align with the order built into creation itself?”

Can natural law be known by everyone, regardless of religious belief?

Yes - that is one of its key claims. Natural law theory holds that rational beings can grasp moral truths through observing human nature and creation’s design, not only through scripture or faith tradition. (First Things) First Things This is why some philosophers argue natural law provides common ground for moral discourse even in secular societies.

What are spiritual implications of living according to natural law?

Yes - natural law alone is not enough for salvation or transformation. Christian tradition holds that grace, revelation, and forgiveness go beyond what reason can grasp. (Gospel Coalition) The Gospel Coalition | Canada Also, the application of natural law can vary with context: though core principles remain, how they apply in modern dilemmas may require wisdom and discernment. (Catholic Education)

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Appendix:

The 10 Commandments

1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.

2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8.  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

9. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.

 The Eight Beatitudes

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.

3. Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.

4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.

5. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

6. Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.

7. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

8. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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October 2023