A Biblical Case for Natural Law by David VanDrunen

Author:David VanDrunen [VanDrunen, David]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: social ethics, natural law, christian theology, biblical studies, scripture, christians
Publisher: Acton Institute
Published: 2012-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

Natural Law as Moral Standard in the Civil Kingdom

If the civil kingdom is a moral realm, then the civil kingdom must have a moral standard appropriate to it. At least one basic fact demonstrates that natural law is certainly an appropriate moral standard for the civil kingdom. That fact is that the civil kingdom has been ordained by God as a common realm, a realm for all people of whatever religious conviction in which to live and pursue their cultural tasks, while natural law is God’s common moral revelation given to all people of whatever religious conviction. A common moral realm, in which all of created humanity enjoys membership, is rightly governed by a common moral standard that is revealed to all of created humanity. The civil kingdom is for human beings insofar as they are created and sustained by God; natural law morally obligates human beings insofar as they are created and sustained by God.

The appropriateness of natural law as the moral standard for the civil kingdom becomes all the more important in light of the fact that, in a certain sense, Scripture is not the appropriate moral standard for the civil kingdom. Scripture, of course, provides much relevant teaching for God’s people concerning their attitude toward the world at large and their conduct in it. This monograph explores such teaching in considerable detail. Scripture confirms the existence of natural law and shapes and corrects Christians’ understanding of it. Likewise, Scripture provides the Christian with crucial information on the nature of the civil kingdom and its relationship to the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Without the guidance of Scripture, Christians would rightly fear to enter the civil kingdom, the cultural realm, to pursue their responsibilities within it.

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