DAY 291
CHALLENGE
“Christian appeals to natural law are futile. In nature we see animals committing all kinds of acts—such as rape, homosexuality, and purposeless killing—that Christianity considers immoral.”
DEFENSE
This misunderstands the concept of natural law.
Confusion on this point is understandable. We see many “laws” in operation in nature. Some of these are studied by sciences such as physics and commonly referred to as laws (e.g., the laws of gravitation, optics, or thermodynamics).
The field of ethology studies animal behavior and, though its findings aren’t as often referred to as laws, it does frequently report animal behaviors that would be deemed immoral if done by humans.
However, when moral theologians refer to natural law, they are not talking about either of these. The Catechism explains: “This law is called ‘natural,’ not in reference to the nature of irrational beings, but because reason which decrees it properly belongs to human nature” (CCC 1955). In other words, in discussions of moral theology, the natural law refers to the moral laws that we can discern by reason, which is rooted in human nature.
Moral theology thus does not make appeals to the behavior of animals. It does not matter whether ducks rape ducks, whether penguins engage in homosexual behavior with penguins, or whether baboons gratuitously kill baboons. None of these creatures have the human gift of reason.
Appeals to natural law are thus appeals to human nature and to what reason tells us about moral behavior:
The natural law is nothing other than the light of understanding placed in us by God; through it we know what we must do and what we must avoid (CCC 1955).
The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties (CCC 1956).
Although our reason is disfigured by sin and we find it easy to ra- tionalize immoral behavior, moral reasoning is a human universal, and thus the natural moral law finds expression in all cultures.
TIP
For more, see the International Theological Commission’s document, “In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at the Natural Law,” available online.