by Chase Hawkins
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In the movie series “Pirates of the Caribbean”, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) follows a mystical compass that always points north. What he doesn’t always tell people is that the compass points the holder in the direction of the thing they want most. Throughout the series, this compass becomes more valuable as people realize it can lead them to their heart’s deepest desires. However, the compass ends up being dangerous as the characters find out that what they desire may not always be what is right or what is best.
C.S. Lewis – the author of The Chronicles of Narnia – is a prolific Christian writer. I read one of his books, The Screwtape Letters in my senior religion class (I’ll come back to this in a later post). Currently, I’ve found myself reading and annotating his well-known book, Mere Christianity. In the first part of the book, Lewis discusses “The Law of Nature” (also known as “The Law of Human Nature” or “The Law of Right and Wrong”).
In the first part of the book, Lewis discusses the argument between whether or not there is an objective moral right or wrong. Although humans are subject to “various biological laws”, such as gravity or nourishment, Lewis suggests that there is a law that is selective to only humans. That law is referred to as the Law of Human Nature. This, as Lewis points out, does not mean that all humans are naturally prone to it; rather, it is generally assumed that everyone knew it by nature.
Lewis says that although there have been many different civilizations in world history and many different laws and government styles, there is still a constant Law of Nature.
Lewis goes on to prove his argument for the existence of a Law of Nature by assuming that most people are inconvenienced by following the Law of Nature. And, when we don’t follow it, we are quick to conjure up a list of excuses as to why we aren’t or why we can’t follow it. Why then, Lewis argues, would we make up excuses if we didn’t believe that there was a Law of Nature (or if we didn’t believe that it was important to follow)?
I believe that the Law of Nature is real and that it truly matters whether or not we follow it. As an American citizen, I have a set of laws that I must follow and, if I don’t, I could be punished in one way or another. Similarly, as a Catholic, I have a set of laws/rules that I should follow in order to be a good Catholic (The 10 Commandments, The Catechism, etc.).
As a human being on Earth, however, there is no set or written group of laws to abide by. There really is no way of actually proving that I did something wrong as a regular human being, morally. Like I said earlier, the Law of Nature is an objective moral right or wrong that governs us humans. Whether or not we follow it, it still presides over us throughout our lifetime.
Barring any argument for the existence of God, I do believe that there is a moral, objective sense of right or wrong either way. In other words, whether or not God exists, I still believe that there is a universal moral compass that everyone should follow.
I don’t think that it’s fair or safe to allow people to make moral decisions depending on how they view it through the moral microscope. If we have this mindset, we end up thinking, “Oh, well this won’t hurt me, so it can’t be wrong!” In that case, we have become what Lewis says no civilization has ever commended: selfish. Lewis states, “But they [the differing civilizations] have always agreed that you ought not to put yourself first. Selfishness has never been admired.”
If we use our own moral compass for our own gain like Jack Sparrow, if we steer our life’s ship with the compass that points to what we want most, we end up sailing into chaos, darkness, or even both. However, if we steer our life’s ship with the universe’s moral compass – one that everyone can follow – we don’t collide with others as much; we are led relatively straight on our life’s path.
-Chawkins.
C.S. Lewis – the author of The Chronicles of Narnia – is a prolific Christian writer. I read one of his books, The Screwtape Letters in my senior religion class (I’ll come back to this in a later post). Currently, I’ve found myself reading and annotating his well-known book, Mere Christianity. In the first part of the book, Lewis discusses “The Law of Nature” (also known as “The Law of Human Nature” or “The Law of Right and Wrong”).
In the first part of the book, Lewis discusses the argument between whether or not there is an objective moral right or wrong. Although humans are subject to “various biological laws”, such as gravity or nourishment, Lewis suggests that there is a law that is selective to only humans. That law is referred to as the Law of Human Nature. This, as Lewis points out, does not mean that all humans are naturally prone to it; rather, it is generally assumed that everyone knew it by nature.
Lewis says that although there have been many different civilizations in world history and many different laws and government styles, there is still a constant Law of Nature.
Lewis goes on to prove his argument for the existence of a Law of Nature by assuming that most people are inconvenienced by following the Law of Nature. And, when we don’t follow it, we are quick to conjure up a list of excuses as to why we aren’t or why we can’t follow it. Why then, Lewis argues, would we make up excuses if we didn’t believe that there was a Law of Nature (or if we didn’t believe that it was important to follow)?
I believe that the Law of Nature is real and that it truly matters whether or not we follow it. As an American citizen, I have a set of laws that I must follow and, if I don’t, I could be punished in one way or another. Similarly, as a Catholic, I have a set of laws/rules that I should follow in order to be a good Catholic (The 10 Commandments, The Catechism, etc.).
As a human being on Earth, however, there is no set or written group of laws to abide by. There really is no way of actually proving that I did something wrong as a regular human being, morally. Like I said earlier, the Law of Nature is an objective moral right or wrong that governs us humans. Whether or not we follow it, it still presides over us throughout our lifetime.
Barring any argument for the existence of God, I do believe that there is a moral, objective sense of right or wrong either way. In other words, whether or not God exists, I still believe that there is a universal moral compass that everyone should follow.
I don’t think that it’s fair or safe to allow people to make moral decisions depending on how they view it through the moral microscope. If we have this mindset, we end up thinking, “Oh, well this won’t hurt me, so it can’t be wrong!” In that case, we have become what Lewis says no civilization has ever commended: selfish. Lewis states, “But they [the differing civilizations] have always agreed that you ought not to put yourself first. Selfishness has never been admired.”
If we use our own moral compass for our own gain like Jack Sparrow, if we steer our life’s ship with the compass that points to what we want most, we end up sailing into chaos, darkness, or even both. However, if we steer our life’s ship with the universe’s moral compass – one that everyone can follow – we don’t collide with others as much; we are led relatively straight on our life’s path.
-Chawkins.