What exactly is natural law and can't God "overwrite" it to lessen the apparentness of the "problem of evil"?

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This is likely something that those who are troubled by what God does or his apparent lack of activity or existence would bring up I guess.If anyone has thoughts about how natural law has been said to connect with the problem of evil please do so.

If natural law is the system that governs and controls the nature of the reality that we know of including all it’s physics and mathematical foundations is something that holding back the “cconspicuousness” of God and being able to greatly lessen the suffering that innocous and good ppl undergo from the most unfavorable and malicious agents with little reason,natural law?.
 
Natural law does not “govern” the universe in the sense that the laws of physics determine motion, etc.

A more complete term is “natural moral law”. It is the process by which right behavior is discovered by reflecting on how God created things to work. Properly taught, natural moral law does not even require a belief in the divine for it to work. For example, natural law demands a recognition that human life has an inherent dignity that demands its preservation. There is an atheist organization that opposes abortion on those grounds.

Defying natural moral law does not have the immediate, visible repercussions one would witness one might witness from attempts to violate the physical laws (for example, attempting to make two cars occupy the same space at the same time, resulting in a wreck and likely injuries). Rather, the repercussions for violating natural moral law are witnessed more thoroughly in their spiritual effects: grief, unforgiveness, regret, bitterness…
 
Natural law does not “govern” the universe in the sense that the laws of physics determine motion, etc.

A more complete term is “natural moral law”. It is the process by which right behavior is discovered by reflecting on how God created things to work. Properly taught, natural moral law does not even require a belief in the divine for it to work. For example, natural law demands a recognition that human life has an inherent dignity that demands its preservation. There is an atheist organization that opposes abortion on those grounds.

Defying natural moral law does not have the immediate, visible repercussions one would witness one might witness from attempts to violate the physical laws (for example, attempting to make two cars occupy the same space at the same time, resulting in a wreck and likely injuries). Rather, the repercussions for violating natural moral law are witnessed more thoroughly in their spiritual effects: grief, unforgiveness, regret, bitterness…
thankyou, I enjoyed reading .
 
This is likely something that those who are troubled by what God does or his apparent lack of activity or existence would bring up I guess.If anyone has thoughts about how natural law has been said to connect with the problem of evil please do so.

If natural law is the system that governs and controls the nature of the reality that we know of including all it’s physics and mathematical foundations is something that holding back the “cconspicuousness” of God and being able to greatly lessen the suffering that innocous and good ppl undergo from the most unfavorable and malicious agents with little reason,natural law?.
1.If you mean “the laws of nature” you need to distinguish moral evil from natural evil.
  1. Persons are often malicious whereas natural events are sometimes unfavorable.
  2. Malice is not inevitable because it is an abuse of free will but misfortune is inevitable because the laws of nature cannot cater for every contingency.
 
Natural law does not “govern” the universe in the sense that the laws of physics determine motion, etc.

A more complete term is “natural moral law”. It is the process by which right behavior is discovered by reflecting on how God created things to work. Properly taught, natural moral law does not even require a belief in the divine for it to work. For example, natural law demands a recognition that human life has an inherent dignity that demands its preservation. There is an atheist organization that opposes abortion on those grounds.

Defying natural moral law does not have the immediate, visible repercussions one would witness one might witness from attempts to violate the physical laws (for example, attempting to make two cars occupy the same space at the same time, resulting in a wreck and likely injuries). Rather, the repercussions for violating natural moral law are witnessed more thoroughly in their spiritual effects: grief, unforgiveness, regret, bitterness…
👍 Confusion sometimes arises as a result of confusing natural (moral) law with physical laws.
 
sidetrack

You have asked a very intelligent question. There is no intelligent reply that I know of.

“Overwriting the natural law” sounds very much like you are asking for miracles to solve the problem of unwanted or undeserved evil, such as floods or famine.

I have no answer. Maybe God has an answer for you if you someday get to ask him in person? :D:thumbsup:

One thing I know, God is not evil, so we must surrender our doubts to his divine intentions even when they are unfathomable…
 
I have understood the “natural law” as being that process which brings all things to their ultimate “good” or “purpose”. “Natural law” is, then, the Will of God for all processes and all things. For man, that is ultimate union with God. If that understanding of “natural law” is correct (and I think different people have different definitions) then God cannot overwrite natural law, because He would be overwriting His own will.
 
**Ridgerunner

If that understanding of “natural law” is correct (and I think different people have different definitions) then God cannot overwrite natural law, because He would be overwriting His own will. **

Then hoe else do we account for miracles? :confused:
 
**Ridgerunner

If that understanding of “natural law” is correct (and I think different people have different definitions) then God cannot overwrite natural law, because He would be overwriting His own will. **

Then hoe else do we account for miracles? :confused:
We can’t account for miracles. If we could, they wouldn’t be deemed miracles. However, and just speculatively, it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that miracles are also expressions of the natural law, but are only unexpected by us. It is also possible that God writes things into the natural law that we, who think of “natural law” in terms of known physical principles, just don’t know everything that’s in it.

For example, the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea might simply have been a result of “wind blow-down” that God knew from all eternity that he would have occur in that particular time and place and for His purposes. People have not known about “wind blow-down” until fairly recently, and they certainly didn’t in Moses’ time.
 
This is likely something that those who are troubled by what God does or his apparent lack of activity or existence would bring up I guess.If anyone has thoughts about how natural law has been said to connect with the problem of evil please do so.
Evil is a property of self and cannot be understood with a set of laws. Our universe just seems to obey natural laws at the surface but its underlying dynamic does not obey any law.
If natural law is the system that governs and controls the nature of the reality that we know of including all it’s physics and mathematical foundations is something that holding back the “conspicuousness” of God and being able to greatly lessen the suffering that innocuous and good ppl undergo from the most unfavourable and malicious agents with little reason,natural law?.
Law of nature does not control the nature of reality but just explain that how nature behaves at the surface excluding all conscious beings.
 
This is likely something that those who are troubled by what God does or his apparent lack of activity or existence would bring up I guess.If anyone has thoughts about how natural law has been said to connect with the problem of evil please do so.

If natural law is the system that governs and controls the nature of the reality that we know of including all it’s physics and mathematical foundations is something that holding back the “cconspicuousness” of God and being able to greatly lessen the suffering that innocous and good ppl undergo from the most unfavorable and malicious agents with little reason,natural law?.
THE NATURAL MORAL LAW

CCC 1954 Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view to the true and the good. The natural law expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil, the truth and the lie:

The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin . . . But this command of human reason would not have the force of law if it were not the voice and interpreter of a higher reason to which our spirit and our freedom must be submitted.

CCC 1955 The “divine and natural” law shows man the way to follow so as to practice the good and attain his end. The natural law states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life. It hinges upon the desire for God and submission to him, who is the source and judge of all that is good, as well as upon the sense that the other is one’s equal. Its principal precepts are expressed in the Decalogue. 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:

Where then are these rules written, if not in the book of that light we call the truth? In it is written every just law; from it the law passes into the heart of the man who does justice, not that it migrates into it, but that it places its imprint on it, like a seal on a ring that passes onto wax, without leaving the ring. 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. God has given this light or law at the creation.

CCC 1956 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:

For there is a true law: right reason. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense . . . . To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely.

CCC 1957 Application of the natural law varies greatly; it can demand reflection that takes account of various conditions of life according to places, times, and circumstances. Nevertheless, in the diversity of cultures, the natural law remains as a rule that binds men among themselves and imposes on them, beyond the inevitable differences, common principles.

CCC 1958 The natural law is immutable and permanent throughout the variations of history; it subsists under the flux of ideas and customs and supports their progress. The rules that express it remain substantially valid. Even when it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or removed from the heart of man. It always rises again in the life of individuals and societies:

Theft is surely punished by your law, O Lord, and by the law that is written in the human heart, the law that iniquity itself does not efface.

CCC 1959 The natural law, the Creator’s very good work, provides the solid foundation on which man can build the structure of moral rules to guide his choices. It also provides the indispensable moral foundation for building the human community. Finally, it provides the necessary basis for the civil law with which it is connected, whether by a reflection that draws conclusions from its principles, or by additions of a positive and juridical nature.

CCC 1960 The precepts of natural law are not perceived by everyone clearly and immediately. In the present situation sinful man needs grace and revelation so moral and religious truths may be known "by everyone with facility, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error."The natural law provides revealed law and grace with a foundation prepared by God and in accordance with the work of the Spirit.
 
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