Comments on: Protestants and Natural Law, Part 2 http://blog.acton.org/archives/997-protestants-and-natural-law-part-2.html "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:11:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Clare Krishan http://blog.acton.org/archives/997-protestants-and-natural-law-part-2.html#comment-1511 Clare Krishan Sat, 01 Jul 2006 08:15:19 +0000 http://pb3.acton.org/?p=944#comment-1511 To get an "ahnung" [German for 'notion' 'conception' mental image'] of what the classists meant by natural law, it useful for us moderns to study examples of its action unimpinged by Greco-Roman culture, a rarity in the West, but not so in the East. For me, the Japanese director's Akira Kurosawa’s film "Dersu Uzala" of Tsarist Russian Vladimir Arseniev's account of encounters with an indiginous hunter in Siberia at the turn of the 19th into the 20th centuries captures those elements of conduct that one 'assumes' 'counts on' (i.e. not to be rewarded as 'extra'ordinary). Rather than spoil the movie if you're not familiar with it, suffice it to say that the 'golden rule' (do-unto-others-as-you-would-have-them-do-unto-you) of the unsophisticated Goldi nomad is markedly more pure than the conventions of utility practised by the civilised corps of army engineers, see http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/reviews/dersuuzala.html To get an “ahnung” [German for 'notion' 'conception' mental image'] of what the classists meant by natural law, it useful for us moderns to study examples of its action unimpinged by Greco-Roman culture, a rarity in the West, but not so in the East.

For me, the Japanese director’s Akira Kurosawa’s film “Dersu Uzala” of Tsarist Russian Vladimir Arseniev’s account of encounters with an indiginous hunter in Siberia at the turn of the 19th into the 20th centuries captures those elements of conduct that one ‘assumes’ ‘counts on’ (i.e. not to be rewarded as ‘extra’ordinary). Rather than spoil the movie if you’re not familiar with it, suffice it to say that the ‘golden rule’ (do-unto-others-as-you-would-have-them-do-unto-you) of the unsophisticated Goldi nomad is markedly more pure than the conventions of utility practised by the civilised corps of army engineers, see

http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/reviews/dersuuzala.html

]]> By: Joshua Ballard http://blog.acton.org/archives/997-protestants-and-natural-law-part-2.html#comment-1514 Joshua Ballard Fri, 30 Jun 2006 06:20:15 +0000 http://pb3.acton.org/?p=944#comment-1514 My basic understanding of "natural law" was always in relation to a kind of Taoist "way of life" or a type of Darwinist "natural selection" kind of thing. According to your post, it would seem that the normative "natural law" argument was never intended to reflect that thought. It would seem that the "natural law" argument is closer to the argument that Morality is not a relative but an absolute. It definitely appears to be that way from Cicero's quote. The "absolute morality" argument is a big one in apologetic discourse... If this is the general thrust of the argument then, I happen to agree whole heartedly...even as a Protestant...but then again, there are multiple trains of thought as far as Dispensational Theology, Covenant Theology, New Covenant Theology etc..the latter being closest to my position. My argument for the purpose of the Bible then, (specifically the Old Testament) is not to DEFINE the natural law, but to ILLUMINATE the natural law, which proceeds from God. The difference being the same as the difference between Making something so, and Explaining something as so... My basic understanding of “natural law” was always in relation to a kind of Taoist “way of life” or a type of Darwinist “natural selection” kind of thing.

According to your post, it would seem that the normative “natural law” argument was never intended to reflect that thought. It would seem that the “natural law” argument is closer to the argument that Morality is not a relative but an absolute. It definitely appears to be that way from Cicero’s quote.

The “absolute morality” argument is a big one in apologetic discourse…

If this is the general thrust of the argument then, I happen to agree whole heartedly…even as a Protestant…but then again, there are multiple trains of thought as far as Dispensational Theology, Covenant Theology, New Covenant Theology etc..the latter being closest to my position.

My argument for the purpose of the Bible then, (specifically the Old Testament) is not to DEFINE the natural law, but to ILLUMINATE the natural law, which proceeds from God.

The difference being the same as the difference between Making something so, and Explaining something as so…

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