Basis of Human Law Part 5

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Here are some new observations about the human condition and things which create the bassi for human law. The point of the posts so far has been to observe some initial principles and realities which develop into the complex world of law that we have to navigate today.

Law embodies a wide range of issues just in terms of legality, without reflecting on the broader impact of ‘laws’, such as the laws of nature. We have Contract Law, Family Law, Common Law, Natural Law, International Law, Civil Law, Federal Law, Maritime Law, and more. So this investigation of the ‘basis’ of all that human law should help us all to understand how the various laws impact us.

These posts are drawn from the text of the Holy Bible, particularly the early chapters of the first book, Genesis. This post picks up the review at Genesis 4, where we find the first family coming into problems.

Subverted Lives

The historical events recorded in Genesis 4 point out that human lives do not remain free, but become subverted and engage in illegal and immoral actions. We have already seen, in Genesis 3, that humans are perfectly able to rebel against the rightful supreme authority of God. That ability attests to the free will which all people have been given by their creator. God has free will, and so man, made in the image of God, has also been given the privilege of using free will.

In Genesis 4 we have the account of one brother who takes a dislike toward his sibling. Both men made offerings to God and one offering was accepted, the other not. Abel offered animal sacrifice, while Cain offered garden produce. God was pleased with the animal sacrifice, since it reflected the future sacrifice of Christ. Cain did not learn from the experience, but allowed his personal feelings to rule his actions. By doing so his life was subverted. It came under the power of a force called ‘sin’.

Warning Ignored

Cain was warned by God that his heart attitude was dangerous. There was an evil force seeking opportunity to subvert Cain’s life. That force was meant to be resisted, but if given in to would rule Cain’s life.

Cain ignored the warning, seethed in anger and eventually murdered his brother. This event reveals that humans cannot be trusted to do the right thing, or even to heed appropriate warnings. People do wrong things. People act out of self interest, to the point of criminal action against others.

Cain gave in to the temptation of ‘sin’ which promised him some form of pacification of his inner feelings. Sin did not make things better in Cain’s case, just as it had not made things better for Adam and Eve. Sin is a lying force which promises gratification, but brings destruction.

The Apostle Paul, writing some 4,000 years later, prompted his audience to realise that sin did not provide any benefit. It did not deserve to be listened to. People owe sin nothing, because sin always breaks its promise of gain.

“What fruit did you have at that time in the things whereof you are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.” Romans 6:21

“So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh” Romans 8:12

Slavery

Sin seeks to rule us. Jesus Christ stated it plainly and so too did the Apostle Paul. If we give in to sin that sin will own us and make us its slave.

“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin.” John 8:34

“Don’t you know, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” Romans 6:16

This reality explains why there are people who seem committed to evil, such as serial offenders. It also explains how people who have the trust of others can choose to hurt people for selfish gain.

Humans have the capacity to give in to sin and become enslaved to it.

Note that this principle is true of those who do not commit heinous crimes. Anyone who has given in to lying, lust, pride, theft, greed, gluttony, resentment or the like, is equally a slave to those things. They may not murder someone, or commit a sensational crime, but they are slaves nonetheless.

Blood Crimes

After Cain killed his brother God interrogated him, as sovereigns have the right to do to their subjects. Cain chose to lie to God. This reveals how his life was increasingly subverted by sin, using one form of sin to cover another.

God knew exactly what had happened, but when challenging Cain, God used an interesting reference point – the blood of the dead brother.

“And God said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10

Abel’s blood cried out for justice and maybe vengeance for the crime committed against him. So we see that killing another person has a unique quality about it. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit there was no blood. When Abel killed animals there was no cry from the blood, but God accepted the offering. But when Cain killed Abel, Abel’s blood cried out for God’s attention.

Blood crimes are serious. When murder takes place there is not only a moral crime, but there is a polluting of the very ground, since the blood cries from the ground.

“And they shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.” Psalm 106:38

Unique Punishment

Because of Cain’s sin of murder God put a unique punishment on him. When Adam sinned the ground was cursed – which accounts for the degenerative decay which attends all living things. But when Cain sinned God decreed that he would be cursed from the earth (Genesis 4:11). He was also assigned a new status, that of fugitive and vagabond. This included the fact that he would lose his connection with God.

It is interesting to note that God did not prescribe capital punishment, in the death sentence, upon Cain, even though he had murdered someone.

Cain was very distressed about the punishment placed on him.

“And Cain said to the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from your face will I be hid; and I will be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it will come to pass, that every one that finds me will slay me.” Genesis 4:13,14

Human Vengeance

Cain was concerned that he would be victimised by other people because of his crime and God’s curse. Here we see the reality of human retaliation. Much has been done through the centuries by people stirred by their own passion of vengeance or their own sense for what should be meted out to criminals.

The wild, blood-thirsty posse of the wild west and the cold-hearted avenger who bides their time for retaliation are known to us. Cain wanted protection from any person who may think it their right to kill him.

God did not allow for the notion of people taking justice into their own hands. God did not say to Cain, “Well it serves you right!” God gave Cain a special identification mark, to warn people not to kill him. Anyone who took justice into their own hands and killed Cain would receive a punishment seven times greater.

“And the LORD said to him, Therefore whosoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.” Genesis 4:15

Coming Up

Genesis 4 gives us insights into God’s dealings with individuals who commit crimes. The next key chapter to investigate is Genesis 6, in which we see God responding to a world full of people who have lost the plot. Immorality, rebellion and self-interest became so rampant that just about everyone had rejected their created purpose and any relationship with God.

We shall investigate the legal lessons to gain from that situation in the next post.

Basis of Human Law Part 4

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In the past three posts on this topic I pointed out various observations from the early chapters of the Holy Bible which have import to the subject of human law. The principles found there provide an important basis for human law.

I have grazed through a number of observations, en route to a picture of our modern legal system and the process of human law. I can’t guarantee we’ll get there, but the journey has been valuable so far.

Review

Before pressing on with more things to observe, it is fitting to take some time to review what we have observed so far. To help harvest some of the insights and their significance for future application I am not only revisiting the content, but grouping it into several sub-headings.

All of these points come from a source that is identified as divine revelation. That is, they were not worked out by human thinking or made up by human inventiveness, but were revealed to mankind by God, Himself. God inspired holy men to write what was impressed to them. At the same time historical records were kept of the events of people’s lives. As centuries passed the collection of holy writings became increasingly potent, because things that seemed of little note when recorded in antiquity became powerfully relevant and significant in later times. Thus a book which was actually written by God was passed to us, and, despite the many contributors over many centuries, we have a book that conveys a unified message from one creative author, God.

So here are the points we have covered so far, from the Biblical text.

Existence

The essence of life is our very existence. But we humans are not the only identities which have significant existence.

God is our pre-existent, sovereign creator. All existence springs from God’s existence from eternity.

Natural law is a product of what has been created by God. It is thus a by-product of God’s existence. To appeal to natural law as the foundational legal reality, without regard for God, is a nonsensical idea. Nature is not the place from which we spring, but a product of God’s creativity, just as we are. It was not made in God’s image, but we are.

Man is a created being, morally accountable to the holy Almighty God.

Man’s existence is a consequence of God’s existence. God exists because He is God. Man exists by the will of God.

Life is impacted by three types of being: God; Man; and the Devil. The devil actively influences people to rebel against God, especially by getting them to reject God’s Words.

Note that the devil is a created being. He was at first an angel created to serve God, but he rebelled against God’s authority and thus awaits his eternal doom. Meanwhile, God allows him to tempt mankind as a means of testing he hearts of men, to find those who will truly submit to God.

Supremacy and Jurisdiction

Law requires courts, judges, rulers and the like. These people have some level of authority over others and some realm of jurisdiction in which their word holds sway.

God is the supreme being and has jurisdiction over the entire universe and all that is known and unknown.

Jurisdiction allows a being to speak over a certain realm with authority. God’s jurisdiction is eternal and unbounded. Everywhere that light can go is within the bounds of God’s jurisdiction.

Because man is under God’s jurisdiction, man is a moral being. Therefore there are moral consequences to man’s moral choices and actions. Man is accountable, not a law unto himself.

Natural Law is not the highest and final realm of law. Divine Law, based on the pre-existence of God, as revealed to us in the Holy Bible, has much greater authority and conveys much more powerful truth than natural law could ever imagine.

God gives assigned roles to people, just as He did in the creation, giving man dominion over the rest of creation.

Man is under direct command from God and must obey God’s instructions.

Man is under moral law, so man is accountable for moral actions, not just natural consequences of his actions.

Superiors have authority over their subordinates, and can command them.

Authority and Accountability

Rules are unavoidable. All of life is governed by limitations. There is no such thing as being a law to ourselves or being outside law.

Those with authority have the right to summons and interrogate those accountable to them.

Those with authority have the right to pass sentence on those accountable to them.

Divine law speaks morality into the world, causing everyone to be accountable, not based on natural endowment, but on moral principle.

Mankind has been created with equality before God and has been given equality of purpose on the earth.

Words

Because ‘jurisdiction’ is the right to speak over a realm, words are very important legal elements. Words control the realm over which they have right to apply. Word usage, definitions and the terms of agreements are very important.

Words are elements for which we are accountable.

Consequences

Actions lead to consequences, both natural and moral. We cannot control the consequences or stop them from happening.

Sin has moral power, causing moral consequences which can be profound and far reaching.

Moral consequences can be experienced at a completely internal level, yet be more real and devastating than actions upon our external body.

Human delusion does not create reality. Man cannot become free from divine morality, no matter what man chooses to believe.

It All Starts with Law

From what we have seen so far, the universe is a law based environment. It is logical that people operate under law, since the very shape of life as it was created is a legal context. A superior Being created people who are accountable to Him.

That Being, God Almighty, determines the roles of man, the standards by which man must live and the consequences for his actions. Thus we have the formula for all legal contexts, where people with authority and position enforce standards that others are to live by, even determining the punishment to be meted out when requirements are not met.

Legal Study

I’d like to suggest that you study law, since we live under law in every aspect of our lives. But that might send you off studying some law course or other that is designed to bring you to a wrong place under man’s impositions. Just because something is called law doesn’t make it true law, as we may see in future posts.

Rather, we need to study the Biblical basis for human law, as I am splashing through it with you, so we see the right responsibilities and accountabilities that God has place upon us.

Basis of Human Law Part 3

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This is part three in a series about the basis for human law. The points are being drawn from the earliest chapters of the Bible, which relate events that are 6,000 years old. The Holy Bible is the most authoritative ancient document on earth and deserves careful investigation, as it yields insights which are powerfully applicable today.

In the first two posts I have drawn attention to a range of observations which undergird principles impacting human law. There are yet more to observe, and so this third post builds on the points made previously, adding new insights into new principles.

Enter an Antagonist

In the third chapter of the Bible, Genesis 3, we meet a new character in the human drama. In Genesis 1 we meet Almighty God, who exists in different personalities, such as the “Spirit of God” (Genesis 1:2). We also meet man, made by God, in God’s image, and given dominion over all the other creatures which God made.

Then, in Genesis 3, we are introduced to an identity which is first seen as a snake. We discover that this personality is, in fact, a fallen angel. He is active and intent on tempting humans to rebel against their creator God and master.

We learn much about the character and activity of this identity in the simple record of the encounter between this devil and the woman.

The role of the devil as a negative influence, promoting self-indulgence and creating a breach between people and God. One of his main strategies is to promote doubt about the veracity of God’s Words. See how the devil questions God’s words, then accuses God of lying. This emphasis on words underscores their legal significance, as mentioned in previous posts on this topic.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said to the woman, Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1

“And the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die: for God knows that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes will be opened, and you will be as God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4,5

Paying careful attention to words is a vital principle of legality. Eve mishandled God’s instructions and then chose to believe a lie. The consequences were devastating and irreversible.

The Fall

When Eve and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit there were powerful consequences. Their internal perception changed immediately. Their personal state changed from that of innocence and blessing, to shame and curse. Their relationship with God was destroyed. Instead of blessing and joy they were filled with guilt and fear.

These outcomes reveal the moral power of sin. In a materialistic world people may think that all actions are equal. If what is deemed ‘evil’ can be committed without any visible consequence, then no harm has been done. But the record shows that evil actions have moral consequences, even if no physical harm has been done.

Millions of people live with that reality, even if they don’t admit it to themselves.

Eve was deceived and deluded, but her perception had no power. She could not create reality. She is not a ‘creator’ but a created being. She did not have the power to make reality by her thoughts, interpretations and perceptions. She came up against the ugly reality of her moral accountability and spiritual impotence.

Human delusion does not create reality, even if it seduces people to take a course of action in good faith.

Note also the internal moral consequences, impacting the inner condition of the person. Adam and Eve were profoundly impacted by their choices and actions. The internal impact was far beyond the natural events. This is tragically true for people today who engage in any immoral action. That also explains the state which people end up in when they have done something against God’s moral order, which should not have had any material effect.

The internal impact of our moral choices is as real, even if not more real than any external consequences which impact the natural surroundings.

Interrogation

Once Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit and suffered tragic internal consequences, God came to speak with them. They could not face him, but hid themselves in the bushes.

When God came to meet with them He asked them questions. Firstly he asked Adam to come before him. This is the legal “summons”.

“And Jehovah God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?” Genesis 3:9

Secondly, God interrogated Adam and Eve. This interrogation process

“And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat?” Genesis 3:11

God had the unlimited right to interrogate people and hold people accountable. There was no way that Adam or Eve could have escaped this interrogation, since they were created as subjects of God, their sovereign.

Legal processes employ interrogation. Those with authority have the right to demand an answer. Any encounter with the legal system involves the summons to appear and the requirement that answers be given. This expectation is a standard element of having authority, as God has over us all.

Right to Remain Silent

Note that western citizens have ‘the right to remain silent’. Why would that be so? That right is embodied in their personal sovereignty. If they did not have personal sovereignty, an element of equality among other men, then answers could be demanded of them, no matter how much the answer might incriminate them.

Jesus Christ remained silent when interrogated by a Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

“and he (Pilate) entered into the Praetorium again, and said to Jesus, Where do you come from? But Jesus gave him no answer.” John 19:9

Jesus, as God, was not required to ever answer a question put to him by man. When Pilate tried to impress Jesus with the power Pilate had over him, Jesus notified Pilate that the Roman official had no power over him except that which God gave him.

“Pilate therefore said to him, Don’t you speak to me? Don’t you know that I have power to release you, and have power to crucify you? Jesus answered him, You would have no power against me, except it were given you from above….” John 19:10,11

Note in this reply by Jesus, that human authority over another person is to be a divinely granted privilege. It is not something that people can take to themselves.

Passing Sentence

Once God had interrogated Adam and Eve, He then passed sentence. He spoke consequences over each of them, as punishment for their actions. God is the one who creates the sentence for wrong behaviour.

God prescribes not only the natural consequences of man’s actions, but the personal moral consequences as well. Moral failure is not measured by the material impact of the actions. While some people will say, “I didn’t hurt anyone”, and expect that therefore no crime was committed, God sees that the very intent of the heart has moral consequences and deserves judgement.

In God’s Ten Commandments we see the major actions which God sees as morally important. Among them is “giving honour” (honour your father and mother) and “covetousness” (not covet another person’s goods). These matters could be secret matters of the heart, having no impact on anyone or any material thing, and never being translated into actions. Yet they are forbidden.

“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Jehovah your God gives you.” Exodus 20:12

“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house, you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.” Exodus 20:17

God brings judgement upon people not just for their actions, but for the attitudes of their heart. Thus Jesus equated lust with the act of adultery. Its moral impact and the judgement it generates are the same either way.

“but I say to you, that every one that looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:28

Yet More

A foundation of principles has now been identified. These are not the whole story, but they provide a basis for the development of human law. In future posts we will explore the development of human responsibility to judge other humans.

Basis of Human Law Part 2

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In Part One of this series I opened up the subject of Human Law by looking at several important points introduced in the first chapter of the Holy Bible. Since the Bible is the most reliable of all ancient texts, is the most celebrated of ancient texts, has the greatest endorsement and track record of any ancient text and is given full authority within the High Court of Australia, it is a worthy text to address in looking for the basis of human law.

In part two, I look at some other principles which spring from the first few chapters of Genesis. I have long had a high regard for the amount of significant points given to us in just a few chapters of the Bible. These key points undergird the rest of the Bible and our understanding of the whole of human history.

Words

We have already seen that God spoke words which released power. God said, “Let there be light” and the immediate result was that light sprang forth. This ability to speak things into reality testifies to God’s supreme authority and jurisdiction (the right to speak over the entire universe).

Another principle which has significance in law is the power of words. Words and their meanings are a very important aspect of legal business. Definitions, word usage, distinctions of meaning, what is written, what was agreed to, and so on, take up much of the energies of those engage in law.

The Bible endorses the vital importance of words in many places, confirming the significance of referring to this reality in the third verse of the Bible. Consider these other verses.

“And I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36,37

“He that rejects me, and receives not my sayings, has one that judges him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day.” John 12:48

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4

“Take with you words, and return unto Jehovah: say to him, Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good: so will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips.” Hosea 14:2

Law and Words

Much of law is constructed by words and names, defining responsibilities and consequences contingent on the impact of those words. Yet words do not make up moral law. Divine law stands apart from the various laws which people create to serve the purposes of their own society, club or process. We see that distinction in the New Testament, where a Roman official dismisses the Jewish legal complaint as simply a matter of their own words, names and laws.

“But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked villany [here he refers to moral wrongdoing], O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; I am not minded to be a judge of these matters. And he drove them from the judgment-seat.” Acts 18:14-16

Assigned Roles

We saw previously that God gave man dominion, which prescribed a specific place for man. The dominion mandate of Genesis 1:26-28 reveals that positions are God given. God, who is sovereign over all, ascribes to people their place in His created realm.

This ability to assign roles to people is important in terms of human law, because rulers and others who gain authority have the power to make and enforce laws. The validity of their role directly impacts their right to make and enforce laws and the obligation of others to work with or under those laws.

Under Command

In the second chapter of the Bible, Genesis 2, we see another principle of law at work. God imposes moral law onto mankind.

God created a beautiful resort garden for the man to live in. Only the best trees were planted there. Also planted there were two trees of great power. One of those trees, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, was banned from man. The man was commanded not to eat of that tree or he would die.

“And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16,17

Mankind was not simply given life by God. Man is under command. We are not the free agents which some people want to believe they are. We are accountable to God for our actions. God has prescribed behaviour for us. We cannot do as we please.

Note too, that God’s authority over us places us under moral law. This is not natural law (discussed in part one), but a moral obligation which is independent of the natural considerations. God is a moral being. Man is made in his image, so man is a moral being. God reserves the right, as creator and supreme sovereign, to hold man accountable to moral requirements.

A further legal principle evident here is that superiors have the right to make demands of subordinates. God did not need man’s permission to make demands of man. God is the superior and his right to make demands is simply part of his jurisdiction. The same principle is true for all who have been given authority by God. Note that God is not superior by brute strength. God is the primary cause of man’s existence and is of a nature vastly superior to man’s being. This is not survival of the fittest, but moral order, based on God’s being and His role in the creation of man.

Submission

Note too that rules are a normal part of life. Existence is designed to operate within constraints, rules, moral order and due process. It is not truly possible to live outside of rules and regulation. The very nature itself is regulated and operates according to laws which man has been able to identify, such as gravity.

We must all submit to a range of constraints. We cannot live outside of those constraints – or we would simply float out into space, un-bound by gravity.

However, people seek opportunity to do as they please. This is one of the urges in selfish human nature. We see in history that there were occasions where people did what they pleased.

“You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” Deuteronomy 12:8

This may seem a positive situation for those who seek self-will, but we are warned that the consequence of such choices is evil.

“There is a way which seems right to a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12

Submission is part of the human condition, but it is something which mankind wishes to pull against – not just against divine authority, but against natural authorities and responsibilities as well.

Consequences

Actions lead to consequences, both natural and moral. God warned Adam about the consequences which attended eating of the forbidden fruit.

Actions are not in our own power. We cannot dictate the outcome of our deeds. We cannot make a bad outcome good. We cannot turn off the consequences.

This is why moral choices are so very serious. Wrong moral choices create consequences which cannot be removed. Great devastation has come upon people throughout human history because of wrong moral choices leading to nasty consequences.

In today’s western culture where people have been blinded to the concept of consequences there are many who are stunned by the fruit of their foolish and ignorant selfishness. They have been lied to by humanist philosophy which ignores moral accountability and consequences. Thus they are completely shocked by the results which they did not want and cannot reverse.

Yet More to Come

All of what has been discussed so far is simply putting in place the principles and moving parts which make up our legal landscape. Yet there is more to be put on the table, so part three will open up yet more new principles and elements that need to be understood.

To read the first post in this series on Human Law go to: http://chrisfieldblog.com/ministry/human-law-1

For further reading on the Right To Speak go to: http://chrisfieldblog.com/ministry/the-right-to-speak

Basis of Human Law Part 1

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Law has been referred to in various forms, including such ignominious references as “The Law is an Ass!” Yet, for all its vagaries and flaws, human law exists as a reality we all must navigate. The purpose of this investigation is to clarify the foundation of Human Law, so that those who encounter it or must deal with it have a basis on which to work through their engagement with it and their response to it. It might also be possible to see where human law has digressed from its authorised place and that might even enable some people to be protected from its abuses.

In the Beginning

The most authoritative law book in the world is the Holy Bible. In fact, in Australian courts, the Holy Bible is a recognised legal document. In Australia’s highest court, the High Court, the Holy Bible, King James Version, is a highly respected document.

So allow me to start looking for the ‘basis’ of human law in that most ancient and honoured text.

In the very first verse of the Bible we are introduced to the first principle of human law – ‘existence’.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

This very first text in God’s revelation to man speaks of ‘existence’. Existence is a primary principle of law and of human experience. The philosophical discussions about the definition of life itself reflect the importance of this simple point. “I am because I think”. “I am because I exist”. sum quia sum – I am because I am.

I Am

This principle of existence has profound implications and extensions. Once a person ceases to exist, as when they die, they change their state and value significantly. Note the Biblical comparison between a lion and a dog. Being ‘dead’ makes a great deal of difference!

“He that is joined to all the living has hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know nothing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:4-6

Once you are dead you have lost all practical engagement with human existence on earth. So you will find greater value in a living dog (a menial animal) than a dead lion (the king of all beasts). In the same way, you will find greater value in a live servant, than in a dead king.

That is why the Jews celebrate life with such vigour. Whatever their circumstances, they are inclined to say, “But I am alive!” It is better to be alive, in all your challenges, than to be dead. So the Jewish celebrate life with their toast, “l’chaim”, “To Life!”

There is more to say about existence, but that can be looked at later.

Supremacy and Jurisdiction

The next principle worthy of notice in the Holy Bible is that of supremacy. Another way of looking at the same idea is as ‘jurisdiction’. The Bible reveals that God occupies a place of unique supremacy. He already existed “in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). He had the amazing power to create every material thing that exists (Genesis 1:1). His Spirit hovered over all of creation (Genesis 1:2). And God could speak things into existence (Genesis 1:3).

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3

Jurisdiction defines the realm over which a person can speak with authority. (I have defined Jurisdiction elsewhere – see the ChrisFieldBlog.com articles).

God’s jurisdiction extends to all places where light can exist, since He spoke light into existence into the realm over which He has authority.

Similarly, authorities have realms over which they can speak. We will see more on that point later.

Man Exists

The Holy Bible starts by introducing God to us and revealing His pre-eminence, supremacy, power and jurisdiction. Then we see the creation of mankind.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:26,27

The existence of mankind is given several important definitions in this short passage. Man does not exist because he exists, as humanist philosophers like to believe. Man exists because of the conscious choice of the supreme being who created all things. Man is a created being. Therefore man is a product, not a cause. Man is accountable, not a law unto himself.

Man is made to a specific deign description – that being “the image of God” – Imago Dei. So man cannot be who he wants to be. Man is not a ‘self made’ creature. Man does not create himself by his own consciousness. Man’s consciousness is a consequence, not a cause. Man is conscious because God made him. Man has a moral responsibility to live life as a reflection of the one man was made to represent. God is holy, loving, responsible, creative, accountable and just, among many other attributes. Humans are to also be holy, loving, responsible, creative, accountable and just.

Divine Law or Natural Law

Students of law will know of Natural Law and may be aware of Divine Law. Natural Law is the assertion that living beings have power and right to certain actions, based on their very existence. If a living being needs air, then it has a natural law right to air.

Here is the definition of Natural Law given in West’s Encyclopaedia:

“A law or body of laws that derives from nature and is believed to be binding upon human actions apart from or in conjunction with laws established by human authority.”

The important revelation given in the Holy Bible is that Natural Law is not the ultimate law upon which human life is based. For those who deny the existence of God, Natural Law is their final court of appeal. Choosing to believe in evolution, rather than divine creation, they see that the supremacy of the more powerful is a natural right. Survival of the fittest, indulging animal instincts, dog eat dog, winner takes all, and similar notions hinge on the idea that Natural Law is the final court of appeal. If someone has the power to dominate you, and you do not have the power to resist, then, by Natural Law, they have the opportunity to dominate you.

Divine Law, on the other hand, speaks morality into the world. It declares that man is not to use his natural prowess for personal supremacy and gain. Man is created to obey divine instruction and live by divine morality. Personal prowess has no intrinsic merit in determining law. Law is a moral issue, not a natural issue. Law is based on requirements imposed by God, not on requirements imposed by one person on another.

Dominion Mandate

A further legal issue which is given to us in the very first chapter of the Holy Bible is that of “dominion”. The ‘dominion mandate’ defined by God is that man has dominion over all other creatures.

“And God blessed them, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28

In this dominion mandate we have further confirmation that all humans are equal. All humans were created equally before God, and all humans share a mandate, given by God, to have dominion over all other creatures.

The dominion mandate does not give humans dominion over each other. In the beginning mankind was created equal and given equal authority.

More to Come

These simple elements have profound implication and application. And the unfolding of human law, as revealed in the Holy Bible reaches much further than this. There will be more to come in future posts on the Basis of Human Law.