Natural Law
Senses and Appetites
In Common with Animals Because we are living physical creatures, we have all of the qualities that animals have. Human beings are defined by the addition of spiritual faculties, which govern and elevate our physical faculties and animal qualities. So, when psychology “discovered” due to Darwinism that we can learn a lot about human behavior…
Read MoreHuman Community
Most of the time we talk about what makes us human, or when we talk about the qualities that constitute our individual personalities, we talk about individual attributes. However, no discussion about the human person is complete without talking about relationships. Human beings are not meant to be independent and solitary. Nor are we happy…
Read MoreNatural Law vs. Laws of Nature: Becoming More Human
I once had an argument with a teaching colleague about homosexuality. He told me, “I don’t understand why the Church claims that homosexuality is against Natural Law. You find homosexuality all over the place in nature.” My response was two-fold. One, you really don’t find homosexuality in nature. What you find in nature is what…
Read MoreWhat is Moral Theology and Why Does It Matter?
As a highschool morality teacher, I get two very different questions from Catholics and Protestants. Catholics often ask me, “Why would you study thay?” Protestants have asked, “What is it, anyway?” Most Catholics assume that this area of theology is an outdated, irrelevant, dry-as-dust subject of study. Most Protestants think that morality is pretty simple…
Read MoreHuman Dignity
It is a commonly accepted truth that human beings have a special dignity. However, naturalist and modernist philosophies have obfuscated the reasons behind that special dignity, and in some cases have challenged human dignity altogether. Human dignity is a key concept in moral theology, so it is very important to be clear of its meaning…
Read MoreNatural Law
God’s Plan for Human Nature Law & Authority Let’s face it — most of the trouble we have swallowing the idea that morality is good for us stems from our inherent dislike of law and authority in general. We just can’t stomach anyone telling us what we should do. And, while we have a sort…
Read MoreHuman Freedom: Is Your Definition Adequate?
One of the most important principles of natural law has to do with the definition of human freedom. How we use our free will ultimately determines what kind of person we become. Therefore, we need to be very careful about how we define this attribute of human nature. Natural law defines human attributes according to…
Read MoreHuman Intellect
Spiritual Knowledge The human intellect is a key aspect of human nature that makes us unique from all other creatures. We share with animals knowledge of the physical world through our senses. However, we also share with angels knowledge of the spiritual world. Unlike the angels human spiritual knowledge is “discursive.” In other words, we…
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