The Natural Law Theory

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Obeying by the natural law theory is the only true and moral way to live life; especially a life lived in God’s image. God’s presence is a guiding factor to obtaining a moral and virtuous life, which can only be obtained by following the natural law theory. God created a set of laws as a supreme guide for humans to live life, like any law these laws were created to ensure wellbeing for everyone. The laws he created are the civil law, the natural law and the divine law God created them from a law much superior than the rest, one which only God himself has the knowledge of, the eternal law. Humans actively participate in the eternal law of God by using reason in conformity with the Natural Law to discern what is good and evil(Magee 1). Of these laws the natural law is the most vital, the natural law uses nature as a guide to morality and humanity, to decipher the right from the wrong, and the moral from the immoral. “ natural law theory is a theory about the relationship between morality and human nature, the theory that who we are determines how we ought to act”(Holt 1). Nature is a definitive guide to use when deciding what is appropriate and how God would want life to be lived. Natural law is used by using reason to develop knowledge of life and oneself. The natural law theory is the only way to attain a moral life and can be proven as a valid theory when the existence of god is proven, the explanation of nature being a guiding factor to morality is explained, and proving the theory with examples of how the ethics are applied.

God, our almighty creator’s, existence is proven by Saint Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, where he explains his proofs. Aquinas’ simply uses life experience to prove the existence of God. Two...

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... to the decision that the only true way to allow God to give humans the true enlightenment needed is to understand and obey the natural law. It is essential to use the natural law theory as a guideline to live a moral and virtuous life.

Works Cited

Archon. "St. Thomas Aquinas 5 Proofs of God's Existence." Catholic Community Forum - The Catholic Community Forum. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. .

Holt, Tim. "Philosophy of Religion » Natural Law Theory." Philosophy of Religion. 2008. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. .

Magee, Joseph M. "St Thomas Aquinas: On Natural Law." Thomistic Philosophy - the Philosophy Thomas Aquinas. 27 Aug. 1997. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. .

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