Social Yet Quarrelsome

“For the human race is, more than any other species, at once social by nature and quarrelsome by perversion.” (Augustine, City of God).

"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." (President George Washington)

It should be clear now as to why:

1) God instituted moral laws in which civil laws are derived.

2) God created positions for people to administer and enforce civil law. God placed Godly people in positions of authority to govern and He created a people that understood and respected the law and authority.

Man is social. He is designed and built to interact with other people.

“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:8A)

But man hit a bit of a stumbling block with the, “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. (Genesis 2:17A)

Man disobeyed the authority, God, and ate of that tree. Man’s eyes were opened, and he knew evil.

The devil told Eve, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

Yeah, well, being “as gods” and “knowing good and evil” wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. The human body and the human condition were built to be good and sociable. It is a burden for the mind, body, soul and spirit to be evil. We simply aren’t designed for sin and its consequences. The body begins to break under the burden. In fact, it is counterproductive when you mix man’s natural need and desire to socialize with his unnatural need to satisfy his personal lust and desires.

Before sin, it was “we”. After sin it became simply, “me”.

It’s like two porcupines trying to hug. The closer they get, the more they stick and prick each other. A lot of people give up on folks and retreat from the world, into their own space. They figuratively and quite literally build an island with a mote surrounding their personal space, warding off any and every soul who tries to make contact.

Look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). These are not suggestions or nifty ideas to mull around in your head and think about. These commandments are the most important words of wisdom, coming from God, which are to be adhered to for all of eternity. And what are the commandments all about? The Ten Commandments is a guidebook for man on how to socialize and integrate with our fellow man. It’s all about man’s ability to relate, first with God, then with other people. And to be quite honest, it’s pretty pathetic to think that man had fallen so low and his people skills were so bad that he had to be told by God that murdering folks is a bad thing.

“And while you’re at Mr. & Mrs. Man, that whole stealing, lying, adultery, coveting routine is right out as well. Forget it, they’re all bad. And don’t forget to be nice to your parents too!”

God actually had to tell us these things, the most basic and primal do’s and don’ts of life. It’s difficult to imagine. And God made Moses write the Ten Commandments in stone so that A) We wouldn’t forget them and B) We wouldn’t be able to change the commandments to suit our own lusts, fancies, and desires!

“Male and female are the distinctions of nature, good and bad the distinctions of Heaven.” (Thomas Paine, Common Sense 1776)

God created morality. Or put in another way, Morality is of God. Let that sink in for a moment. God codified morality into ten, very simple commandments for man to follow. We don’t have to understand each, only follow each in faith of God. These moral standards enable us to have a relationship with God and to enable us to socialize and integrate with the folks around us.

All laws both civil and moral have the Ten Commandments as their foundation, which is probably C) the third reason why God made Moses to write them in stone. Stone, a sure foundation and cornerstone for building. This is both literal and metaphorical, physical and metaphysical. And for those who are not of God, the stone is a stumbling block, for surely God’s word will trip the apostate and reprobate just like any stone would trip those walking around in the dark.

All true morality will have their roots in the Ten Commandments. This holds true for civil law as well. Civil law and morality are outgrowths of the Ten Commandments. A society could not form or function without morality or law. A society is formed to allow a people to live safely, peacefully, and beneficially among each other.

“Man did not enter into society to become worse than he was before, nor to have fewer rights than he had before, but to have those rights better secured. His natural rights are the foundation of all his civil rights.” (Thomas Paine/Rights of Man)

Man’s natural rights come from God. These rights are inalienable and unalterable. No man can take away what God gives.

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.” (Romans 13:1-2)

God has given man laws to establish and to enforce.

“By breaking the law of nature, the offender declares himself to live by some rule other than that of reason and common fairness (which is the standard that God has set for the actions of men, for their mutual security); and so he becomes dangerous to mankind because he has disregarded and broken the tie that is meant to secure them from injury and violence. This is an offence against the whole ·human species, and against the peace and safety that the law of nature provides for the species.” (John Locke/Two Treatises of Government)

Countries (societies) and governments are made possible by laws which are founded in morality rooted in the Ten Commandments.

“We are all the work of one omnipotent and infinitely wise maker; we are all the servants of one sovereign master, sent into the world by his order to do his business; we are all the property of him who made us, and he made us to last as long as he chooses, not as long as we choose; we have the same abilities, and share in one common nature, so there can’t be any rank-ordering that would authorize some of us to destroy…. no-one may take away or damage anything that contributes to the preservation of someone else’s life, liberty, health, limb, or goods.” (John Locke/Two Treatises of Government)

Bill Hitchcock