[Peace-discuss] Natural law

[Bob Illyes]

Thanks for your reply, Phil. I don't really think that ethics
is as God-centered as you do, although this is a distinction
that is arguable even in what I say below. There is an old school
of thought called natural law. Its origins are Greek, and
originally pagan. Its main supporter these days is the Roman
Catholic church, so folks on the other side of the Catholic-
Protestant divide have a tendency to look down their noses at it.
I think, however, that the conceptual basis is valid even though
I disagree with some of the Catholic conclusions.

Natural law assumes that there are laws and ethical guidelines that
apply to all persons, regardless of religion or origins, by virtue
of their humanity alone. One of my favorite natural law documents
is John Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government, about 300
years old and much of the theoretical basis for the Declaration
of Independence. Locke argues for human rights on parallel
religious and philosophical grounds, and reaches exactly the same
conclusion. Interestingly, the only principle that he can't
justify except biblically is that it is wrong to waste- specifically
that if one is allowing grain to rot in the field, anyone may take
it without being considered a thief. I agree with him, but western
law has so far not followed his lead.

If we are made in the image of God, then we can understand God by
understanding ourselves. The thing that drove early Christian thinkers,
especially Paul, crazy was that understanding what was right, they
nevertheless seemed to be unable to do by it. Paul thought that people
were so flawed that only by turning ones life over to God second by
second could one hope to do any good. I am not as pessimistic as Paul
(at least not usually).

What drives me crazy is the perversion of Jesus's message of peace
and inclusiveness into a message of war and exclusiveness. The
Bible has been used to argue for all sorts of nonsense, including
slavery and the inferiority of women. One must read the Bible with
one's brain turned on at all times if one is not to fall into serious
error.

With reference to evil, which you and Mort were discussing, there is
a real split on the nature of evil, both inside and outside of the
church. Some folks think evil is simply the absence of good (denial
of God is another way to put it). I think evil is sometimes an
absence of good, but that it is sometimes something far worse. A
friend of mine proposed that we invaded Iraq just for the fun of
blowing up a bunch of buildings (the shock and awe thing). I don't
think he is right, but he has a point and I suspect this was a part
of the equation. This sort of behavior is evil as a thing in itself,
as is the torturing of prisoners.

Bob