One man that our Founding Fathers turned to in History when they developed their ideas on Natural Law was Cicero. Cicero lived in Ancient Rome from 106 to 43 B.C. Cicero understood that good laws along with a sound government was a long range formula for happy human relations. The Founding Fathers of this nation saw the wisdom in what Cicero wrote, recognized his formula and applied it as a model for the United States of America. The Founding Fathers recognized and identified the rules of right conduct were based upon the laws of a Supreme Creator. Once the reality of a Creator was clearly defined in their minds, then the only intelligent approach to government, justice and human relations was found in the terms and the laws which the Supreme Creator had already established. These laws are called Natural Laws. Man shares with the Supreme Creator a rational approach to solving problems. Man’s mind will usually lead to common sense conclusions when based upon the Laws of Nature. To the Founding Fathers Natural Law is eternal and universal. To them it was a sin to try to alter Natural Law because it is impossible to repeal any part of it or abolish it entirely. We can’t be freed from its obligations by any legislative body or the People, and we most certainly don’t need someone to expound or interpret Natural Law for us. There is only one eternal and unchangeable law valid for all nations and all times and there is only one master over all of us and that is God. God has given man the divine gift of reason. This reason, when perfected, is called wisdom. The first common possession of man and God is reason and this reasoning leads to law. Those who understand the concept of Law also share the concept of Justice. When God’s Law is respected and applied by governments in regulating human relations, it naturally leads to justice. When the People unite together under God and create a covenant with God the People become a commonwealth. This leads to the First Great Commandment: Thou shalt love thy Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This naturally leads to the Second Great Commandment: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Justice is impossible except under the principle of God’s just law. The glue that holds us together in a commonwealth of a just society is the love of God and God’s Law of Justice. All men are born for justice and this right is based upon nature. Because of this all men can attain to virtue, but all do not as exemplified by career politicians. Legislation in violation of God’s Natural Law is a scourge to humanity. Cicero warned that legislators have a propensity to pass laws that violate the Law of Nature and the Law of God. To Cicero all law should be measured against God’s law to determine if a law is good or evil. As long as a law is in agreement with the laws of nature the law is just. Evil laws can’t be amended through the legislative process or by popular acclaim. Justice can never be arbitrarily passed in violation of the standards set up under the Laws of nature either. Cicero said, “Men must eliminate the depravity lodged in society. We must return to the high road of Natural Law. We must obey the mandates of our Creator.” The Founding Fathers embraced the necessity of building a highly moral and virtuous society under God’s Law. They also wanted to lay the foundation of a new society built upon freedom for the individual and prosperity for the entire commonwealth. Our Founding Fathers built our Constitution and nation around the idea of Natural Law. They wholly believed in the concept of unalienable rights given by God based upon natural law. These rights are as follows: The Right to Self Government. The Right to bear arms for self defense. The Right to own develop and dispose of property. The Right to make personal choices. The Right of free conscience. The Right to choose a profession. The Right to choose a mate. The Right to beget one’s kind. The Right to assemble. The Right to petition. The Right to free speech. The Right to a free press. The Right to enjoy the fruits of one’s labors. The Right to improve one’s position through barter and sale. The Right to contrive and invent. The Right to explore the natural resources of the Earth. The Right to privacy. The Right to provide personal security. The Right to provide natures necessities, air, food, water, shelter and clothes. The Right to a fair trial. The Right to free association. The Right to contract. Along with the above unalienable rights there are corresponding duties: The duty to honor supremacy of the Creator and his laws. The duty not to take the life of another except in self defense. The duty not to steal or destroy the property of another. The duty to be honest in all transactions with others. The duty of children to honor and obey their parents and elders. The duty of parents and elders to protect, teach, feed, clothe and provide shelter for their children. The duty to support law and order and to keep the peace. The duty not to contrive through a covetous heart to despoil another. The duty to provide insofar as possible for the needs of the helpless, the sick, the crippled, the injured and the poverty stricken. The duty to honorably perform contracts and covenants both with God and man. The duty to be temperate. The duty to become economically self sufficient. The duty not to trespass on the property or privacy of another. The duty to maintain the integrity of the family structure. The duty to perpetuate the race. The duty not to promote or participate in the vices which destroy personal and community life. The duty to perform civic responsibilities, vote, assist public officials, serve in official capacities when called upon, say informed, on public issues, volunteer when needed. The duty not to aid or abet those individuals involved in criminal or anti-social activities. The duty to support personal and public standards of common decency. The duty to follow rules of moral rectitude. Our nation stands upon the precipice of oblivion because we have abandoned the principle of Natural Law and the Law of God. If we return to governing this nation as our Founding Fathers intended, we can regain the greatness we once had. If we fail to do this, the United States of America will become just another experiment where man rose above tyrannical rule and instead based its society of free and independent people living under the Laws of God but failed in its attempt.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 04:40:20 +0000
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