In recent years, many Christians have turned to the notion of “natural law” as a way of engaging a hostile culture or secular political sphere. But how does natural law work? How does it fit with total depravity? Is it supported by Scripture? And is it really useful? Brad Littlejohn addresses questions such as these in this video.
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Discussion Points
00:40: What is natural law, and how does it function in everyday human ethics?
1:40: Natural law is the awareness that, as a certain kind of creature, there are certain things that are good for us, and certain things that are bad for us.
2:35: What about total depravity? How has sin snuffed out our moral instincts?
3:15: There is no part of our nature that has not been touched by sin, and when it comes to our relation to God, sin has entirely incapacitated us.
4:05: The doctrine of natural law recognizes that sin has not snuffed out all awareness of our moral good.
4:55: What does the Bible say about natural law?
5:35: The Book of Proverbs takes for granted that we can discern something about moral order from the world.
6:05: How do we use natural law in Christian engagement with a hostile culture?
6:55: C.S. Lewis’s notion of the Tao; different moral values all find their basis in a common foundation.