European society has forged a culture that, in a manner
previously unknown to humanity, excludes God, the divine logos from the public conscience. He is denied altogether, or judged to be irrelevant to public life since His existence cannot be materially demonstrated.
The teachings of Pope Benedict XVI are an appeal to the individual to ponder on God’s unwritten law inscribed in his or her heart so that he or she may better contribute to the common good of society.
Gratian synthesised both Roman law and the theological traditions in such a manner that compelled future jurists to rely more on the Commandments than human law.
John Locke’s philosophy of the natural law did provide the means for people in liberal democracies to overcome all types of discrimination and segregation, simultaneously protecting our civil liberties.
There is very little sense of an objective, rational order in Islam because Allah’s laws do not have to conform themselves to any natural and rational order.
While Grotius had the best of intentions, he inadvertently paved the way for the atheistic philosophy of the Enlightenment and today’s effective altruism that has reduced the human person to a mere statistic.
The dilemma in today’s western culture is that in Europe there is no historical point of reference to the natural law as a founding principle of government.
Hungarian Conservative is a bimonthly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.