Abstract

Human beings possess a sense of basic morality that is similar in cultures worldwide. This may be termed ‘Natural Law’, and St Paul referred to even the gentiles as having ‘God’s Law in their hearts’. However, the standard Western presentation of the subject by Thomas Aquinas faces two major modern challenges. One concerns the objective validity of moral law of any kind. An examination of this question leads to the familiar conclusion that God’s authority is required for absolute moral values and obligations. A second challenge comes from the scientific picture of humans emerging from an amoral animal kingdom – but we are moral beings. The issues here are discussed with reference to evolutionary theory, palaeontology and anthropology, and seem to be resolved best if God acted directly in human history, perhaps in the Palaeolithic period. I examine some implications of Natural Law in current human affairs.