Module II
Lesson 2. LAW: ETERNAL, NATURAL AND POSITIVE LAWS
Lesson Objectives:
After studying this lesson on eternal, natural and positive laws, you shall be
able to:
1. differentiate eternal law from the natural law and the positive law; and
2. illustrate some examples of the applications of these laws in God's
creation.
Terms as Defined in the Given Selection
1. Eternal law - the mind and the will of God commanding the natural
order of the universe to be observed.
2. Natural law - a component of the eternal law as it applies to man. It is
the moral law.
3. Positive law - clear and inequivocal directives of morality such as the
Ten Commandments. It is based upon the Natural Law.
4. Synderesis - a quasi-angelic power to determine what the Natural Moral
Law is.
Thoughts to Ponder on, Gleaned from the Given Selection
1. The three kinds of laws are eternal, natural and positive laws.
2. Every creature follows a law connatural to it.
3. The positive law classifies the natural law by means of the formulation
of clear and unequivocal directives of morality such as the Ten
Commandments.
4. The natural law is also called Moral Law.
5. The Natural Moral Law is simply expressed as "Do good and avoid
evil."
6. Everyone would know that he ought to do good and to avoid what he
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knows to be evil.
7. The natural moral law is what conscience applies as human act.
Examples of the Application of the Three Laws
• Eternal Law - God as the creator of the universe
• Natural Law - Daily Bread
• Natural Moral Law - man does good and avoid evil in order to relate
himself well with others
• Positive Law - the Ten Commandments, former President Quezon's Code
of Ethics
Ethics teaches that there are three kinds of law:
1. The Eternal Law, whereby God directs all creatures unto the end of the
universe.
2. The Natural Law, whereby God impresses His mind and will upon
creatures through principles intrinsic or natural to them.
3. The Positive Law, which is a rule of action freely established by a
competent authority in some external, palpable sign.
The Eternal law is indeed the mind and the will of God commanding the
natural order of the universe to be observed, forbidding it to be disturbed. This
truth flows from the imperative that God exists and that He is the creator of the
universe. If God has control over His creatures, He could not be the Supreme
Being.
The Natural Law is a component of the Eternal Law as it applies to man. In the
extended sense, there is also a Natural Law of plants, animals, heavenly bodies. That a
plant acts like a plant or that an animal acts naturally as an animal is due to the Natural
Law. This means that every creature follows a law connatural to it.
The Positive Law could come from God or men to help individuals conform
to the Natural Law. The Positive Law is based upon the Natural law which in turn
is part of the Eternal Law. The Positive Law further clarifies the Natural Law to
help men attain their end; it supplements the Natural law.
Of the four elements of the law, the fourth element, namely, promulgation, is
the most difficult to explain. How can a law be made known to all men of ages,
countries, nationalities, beliefs? In the past, a town crier would announce to the
citizens that a law had just been passed extracting from them a new tax, but that
was done in one town or city or country. How can the moral law be made known
to all men?
St. Thomas Aquinas writes that all men, at the moment of birth bear an
imprint of the Creator, enabling them to follow a law which the Creator in His
divine wisdom has decreed that all men follow for their happiness and well-being
on earth. This imprint is called synderesis which is a quasi-angelic power to
determine what the Natural Moral law is. It is not knowledge in the strict sense,
for the mind of man at the moment of birth is a tabula rasa or blank tablet on
which nothing is written.
The Natural law is cryptically and simply expressed as "Do good and avoid
evil." The reasoning is that all men, whether they are born in a sophisticated city
or in a backyard village, would know this law. There is no need to go to school
to know this law. Everyone would know that he ought to do good and to avoid
what he knows to be evil.
The Natural Moral Law is what conscience applies to a human act. One
normally checks with the Ten Commandments to ascertain whether an act is good
or not. Christians are fortunate in that God gave precise commandments to follow.
Other believers like the pre-biblical ones, the Indians and Chinese, were bereft of
such a revelation and they had to make do with whatever their intelligence revealed
to them.
Module II
Lesson 2
SELF-PROGRESS CHECK TEST
On the blank before each number, identify the kind of law that fits the
given description.
Eternal Law 1. That which commands the observance of the natural order
of the universe to be observed.
Positive Law 2. The Ten Commandments.
Positive Law 3. Quezon's Code of Ethics.
Eternal Law 4. God as the Creator of the universe.
Eternal Law 5. The mind and the will of God.
Natural Law 6. Every creature follows a law connatural to it.
Positive Law 7. Any law of a duly constituted authority.
Syndresis 8. Imprinted in man at birth.
Natural Law 9. Do good and avoid evil.
Natural Law 10. There is no need to go to school to know this law.