Description
Book SynopsisNatural law theory is controversial today because it presumes that there is a stable ''human nature'' that is subject to a ''law.'' How do we know that ''human nature'' is stable and not ever-evolving? How can we expect ''law'' not to constrict human freedom and potential? Furthermore if there is a ''law,'' there must be a lawgiver. Matthew Levering argues that natural law theory makes sense only within a broader worldview, and that the Bible sketches both such a persuasive worldview and an account of natural law that offers an exciting portrait of the moral life. To establish the relevance of biblical readings to the wider philosophical debate on natural law, this study offers an overview of modern natural law theories from Cicero to Nietzsche, which reverse the biblical portrait by placing human beings at the center of the moral universe. Whereas the biblical portrait of natural law is other-directed, ordered to self-giving love, the modern accounts turn inward upon the self. Drawing
Trade ReviewMatthew Levering brings his customary high level of research and insight to an entangled and prickly topic...a clearly thought-out consideration of an important, practical subject that will serve its readers well. * Mark McDowell, Themelios *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Bible and Natural Law ; 2. Anthropocentric Natural Law ; 3. Natural Law and Natural Inclinations ; 4. Natural Law and the Order of Charity ; Conclusion
