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Natural Law And Augustine: Natural And Revealed Law

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Natural and Reveal Law are two types of laws from which substantial disputes and misunderstandings often arise. The basis of most discountenance frequently results from misinterpreting the meaning of the words "natural" and "reveal." A comprehensive analysis of these two common terms and their diversified interpretation is important in order to clarify their true meanings. Revealed Law or divine law, as the name imply, is revealed to mankind through the writings of the Holy Bible. Natural law, on the other hand, is an exemplary theory of legislation, which typifies the substructure for all human conducts. In order words, Natural Law represents the moral standards or ethical codes that regulate human actions. In the history of political philosophy, …show more content…

He believes that not only does eternal law that provide guidance regarding what men should do or avoid if they wish to be happy or good, but it also issues commands and prohibitions of actions that are not legitimate (Strass & Cropsey 1987, p. 186). Revealed Law, according to Augustine, finds its origin in God's revelation through the Bible. He believes that, to resist such law "is to defy God's own ordinance, inasmuch as civil society is intended by God Himself as a remedy for evil and is used by Him as an instrument of mercy in the midst of a sinful world" (Strauss & Cropsey 1987, p. 200). Chapter 13 of Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans starts out with these words: "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established"(Romans 13:1, NIV). Augustine often refers to this particular passage in the Bible when talking about Revealed Law. Analyzing the underlying message in this particular Biblical passage makes it clear that his account of Revealed Law is one that is compatible Christian …show more content…

Having been adamant believers in such laws, the founding fathers thought the best way to protect the natural rights of American citizens was to establish laws that are in agreement with divine laws. They believed that God brought the world into being with series of principles by which it should be governed. From their perspective, the American people would not be able to continue to exist as an independent civilization without the protection of these principles. Thomas Jefferson, referring to Natural Law, wrote the following words in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (The Declaration of Independence, U.S. 1776, para. 2). In writing those words in the Constitution, Jefferson believed that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were part of the human nature that every human being is entitled to. In James McClellan's book named Liberty, Order, and Justice, James Madison-the father and defender of the Constitution-claims the application of the Ten Commandments in the Constitutional Law of the United States as the best way in which the country will be able to sustain itself (p. 224). He saw the Ten Commandments as a set of unalterable laws that

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Through the fundamental ideals of the founding fathers the United States government has been sculpted into a variation of a democracy influenced by Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton. These men each provided concepts and qualities of their respective government that are directly reflected in the constitution and the bill of rights. Although, conflicting principals can be identified through each individual’s interpretation of a democracy, there is no doubt Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton structured our government into what it is today. Madison described a democracy in which wealth needed to be equally distributed among the people in order to function.

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Thomas Jefferson uses parallelism and loaded words to clearly reveal his message about human nature to his audience. Jefferson wrote, “The Declaration of Independence” to declare its independence from Great Britain and to give citizens rights such as “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.” In the preamble, the author clearly states “...Powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature's god entitled them…and that all men are created equal…” It is clear that his view of human nature is that we are all equal to one another through his repetition of human equality. In this quote, Jefferson describes that God gave everyone natural rights and because of this, our rights should not be taken away under

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One of the biggest influences that John Locke had on President Jefferson was, what John Locke dubbed, “Natural Rights,” and what Jefferson called, “Unalienable Rights.” Meaning practically the same thing, these rights were very similar, and it is obvious that Jefferson’s version derives from Locke’s ‘Natural Rights.’ John Locke’s version stated that all peoples shall possess the following rights: Life, Liberty, and Property. In this case, life means, that people people will fight to live and want to survive. Liberty refers to being free, and being able to make one’s own decision.

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The natural given right of life, liberty and the right to own property ideas of the philosopher John Locke were fundamental to the creation of probably the two most important document of the United States: The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. This was achieved during 18th century within the Enlightenment period. In the Enlightenment period reasoning was the main focus towards a social change in order to eliminate the suffering of human beings and set precedent to the pursuit of happiness. Rogers stated the “Jefferson's ideas in the Declaration of Independence put the 13 Colonies on the road toward the creation of a new, independent nation.”

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Thomas Jefferson borrowed George Mason’s idea about rights when he was writing The Declaration of Independence This is shown in Thomas Jefferson’s writing when he wrote “... with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” , for a similar text can be found in the the Virginia Declaration of Rights saying “...the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”. This shows that borrowed the concepts of natural rights from George Mason as they both said almost the same thing about human

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He also believed we are entitled to equal justice, religious and political freedoms, peace, honest friendships, and the right of election. This tells us that Jefferson’s beliefs in the importance of personal freedoms and individual rights was genuine and sincere. Surely, without access to our freedoms and rights, we would have an unhappy nation. With an unhappy nation might spawn rivalry from the people against the government. Jefferson avoids this by promising liberty to the people.

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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (U.S.). This quote, from the Declaration of Independence, is probably one of the most well-known quote there is. It speaks of man’s right to be free and equal of any one man out there. As we have all learned in our history class back in junior high, the Declaration of Independence was written mainly by Thomas Jefferson to explain why the colonies wanted independence from Great Britain. This document is a list of complaints by the English colonists’ against King George III.

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The declaration of independence states that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights”. What Thomas Jefferson meant by that is, we have rights that cannot be taken away by anyone, not even the government. John Locke had an influence this by stating, “Men have rights by their nature… We give up our

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Thomas Jefferson in particular wrote the Declaration of Independence, which stated “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator

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Is out of harmony with the moral law.” (356). This illustrates for the clergymen where each type of law stands in a moral position. Each type of law affects a person’s personality in a negative or positive way. The just laws are typically laws voted for by the people, s

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It is wise to start with Roman law. Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD - when the Roman and Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of the Empire. Laws before the Roman Empire were primarily based on centuries of customs which means that laws were not written. Roman law through its development carries more than a thousand years of jurisprudence. Roman legal history is framed by two codifications, the Twelve Tables and the Corpus Juris Civilis.

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Men make laws to instill order in a society and prevent chaos in any shape or form. Naturally, laws will always be somewhat unjust because it is impossible to consistently construct laws that directly and equally benefit all members of a society. There will always be a majority that makes the laws and a minority that has to obey the laws. Although laws are usually the standard of morality by which we live by, they must be disobeyed in certain situations. These situations are, but not limited to, an undemocratic formation of aforementioned laws, laws that are inherently unjust according to human law which can be synonymous with God’s law.

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“Do good and avoid evil” is a result of the differing educational, religious and cultural influences on man in the various times and places of his historical development. Thomas Aquinas contended that general principles of the natural law cannot be applied to all men in the same way on the great variety of human affairs, thus arises the diversity of positive laws among various people. Human laws deal with changing and contingent matters and often with singulars, do not have the certitude that belongs to the speculative sciences. Each has its own realm of operation and is sufficient that each have the certitude proper to its own realm. [ Ibid. ]

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Natural law theory states that there are laws that are immanent in nature and the man made laws should correspond as closely as possible. Man can’t produce natural laws but he can find and discover through his reasoning. If a law is contrary to a natural law then it is not a law. Laws should be related to morality. It is a concept of a body of moral principal that is same for all the man

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The law is an intriguing concept, evolving from society’s originalities and moral perspectives. By participating in the legal system, we may endeavour to formulate a link between our own unique beliefs and the world in which we live. Evidently, a just sense of legality is a potent prerequisite for change, enabling society to continue its quest for universal equality and justice. Aristotle once stated that "even when laws have been written down, they ought not to remain unaltered".

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