Thursday, March 18, 2021

Moral vs. Natural Laws

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

"The prime distinction between moral and natural laws is this: the first has respect to intention--the other has not. 
----Fire will burn us, and water will drown us, whether we fall into
them accidentally or rush into them madly.
 
*Should one refuse to attempt to rescue his fellow-man from impending destruction by fire, and plead in extenuation that it would have involved the violation of law, as he must have been somewhat burned in the effort, they would, as readily as others, abhor his selfishness. 
Here they recognize the distinction claimed, and place the moral duty of assisting our neighbor above conformity to natural law.
 
Q: Is it possible that the Supreme One, who has so nicely arranged the material world, and subjected it to certain laws, has placed moral balances in our hands to no purpose? 
A: The very fact that we discriminate between moral and natural laws, as seen that all men do, and that all pronounce upon the right or wrong of the actions of mankind, is proof of the general recognition of the existence of a moral Government."
Joseph Waggoner