Joseph Raz in his work The Concept of a Legal System: An Introduction to the Theory of Legal System, states that, “From an analytic standpoint a complete theory of legal system consists of the solutions to the following four problems:” The final two are the most important to this work because they ask the question from the standpoint of universal applicability.
“1. The problem of existence: What are the criteria for the existence of a legal system? We distinguish between existing legal systems and those which have either ceased to exist (e.g. the Roman legal system) or never existed at all (e.g. Plato's proposed law for an ideal state). Furthermore, we say that the French legal system exists in France but not in Belgium, and that in Palestine there is now a different legal system from the one which was in force 30 years ago. One of the objects of the theory of legal system is to furnish criteria to determine the truth or falsity of such statements….
2. The problem of identity (and the related problem of membership): What are the criteria which determine the system to which a given law belongs? These are the criteria of membership, and from them can be derived the criteria of identity, answering the question: which laws form a given system?
3. The problem of structure: Is there a structure common to all legal systems, or to certain types of legal system? Are there any patterns of relations among laws belonging to the same system which recur in all legal systems, or which mark the difference between important types of system?
4. The problem of content: Are there any laws which in one form or another recur in all legal systems or in types of system? Is there any content common to all legal systems or determining important types of system?”
I want to a look a few other views of the purpose and universality of law. This investigation should support the argument that as men apply the knowledge of God seen in creation, in conscience, and as they retain it in their cultural memory and just legal codes they prosper and are honored by God with longevity and peace. In this article I will briefly look at Rabbinical teaching that assumes universal application of certain legal concepts called the Noahide laws, Jewish law in general and its application to the church will be discussed in this section. In subsequent articles Chinese philosophy and culture will be looked at because to represents an ancient culture that found and maintained just laws and a much extended cultural memory. Men hunger for justice. They hunger for righteousness. If this were not so the Lord would not have given the church a great commission, nor would he have preached the Sermon on the Mount.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6)
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19)
It the preaching of the Gospel that satiates the hunger of righteousness and it is the teaching of the nations to obey the Gospel that sets them free. When we teach and preach we begin with what people know.
Seven Noahide Laws: Redemptive Knowledge for all Men
The following are seven laws that the come down to us through Rabbinical teaching. They represent a universal understand of justice that the Rabbis believed applied to all men in all generations handed down to Noah in principle. They are beneficial markers to us as we travel from Eden to the utter most parts of the Earth. The success and failure of people groups to find their redemptive gifts will be closely linked to these principles. They may have different names or can be set in a different order but they will be present if the people group is being blessed of the Lord. The people will be working their redemptive gifts and fulfilling the dominion mandate individually, within a family construct and in the community at large. The notes are attached as the Auburn University site listed them. I have my comments in relationship to redemptive gifts in narrative form following them.
Idolatry is forbidden. Man is commanded to believe in the One G-d alone and worship only Him.
Incestuous and adulterous relations are forbidden. Human beings are not sexual objects, nor is pleasure the ultimate goal of life.
Murder is forbidden. The life of a human being, formed in G-d's image, is sacred.
Cursing the name of G-d is forbidden. Besides honoring and respecting G-d, we learn from this precept that our speech must be sanctified, as that is the distinctive sign which separated man from the animals.
Theft is forbidden. The world is not ours to do with as we please.
Eating the flesh of a living animal is forbidden. This teaches us to be sensitive to cruelty to animals. (This was commanded to Noah for the first time along with the permission of eating meat. The rest were already given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.)
Mankind is commanded to establish courts of justice and a just social order to enforce the first six laws and enact any other useful laws or customs.
Each of these laws are set forth within the context of the redemptive gifts of the individual, the family, child birth, work, and worship that are the topic of this discourse. Idolatry is forbidden because it detracts from the work of the creator and life itself. Sexual immorality is forbidden because it removes sexual practice away from the family and makes sex animalistic and entirely pleasure driven. It sears the conscience. Murder takes human life that is made in the image of God and is sacred. Words too, are sacred, the scriptures tell us that our “words justify us and our words will condemn us” and that “every idle word will be judged.” Matthew 12-36. Theft is condemned because it steals work created through redemptive gifts which are sacred. It takes God given creativity sought for and worked for by another man and consumes it on the self. Eating the flesh of a living animal reminds us to steward creation and to avoid cruelty to the animal kingdom. Just laws remind us that God has given us authority on the Earth and we need to walk justly before him. The knowledge of these would have been present in the cities of Babble and Sodom and Gomorrah that will be the setting of our discussion in future chapters.
Jewish Law
“For this concept of the Torah is the foundation of the Western notion of "rule by law," in which the law is seen as superior to all temporal rulers, that is, that rulers are ruled by law. This notion, so common in Western culture, ultimately owes its origin to the Hebrew Torah.”
I now want to look at the definition and purpose of the Jewish law. Its redemptive value has the ability to teach, guide and direct until this present time. 2 Timothy 3:16 still applies to the Old Testament. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” “The foundation of Judaism is the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, …"Torah" means "instruction" or "teaching," and like all teaching it requires interpretation and application….The Torah is replete with instructions, directives, statutes, laws, and rules. Most are directed to the Israelites, some to all humanity.” “The salient feature of the Torah as the law of the Hebrews is its divine origins and its immutability. The Torah as law is seen as the instructions given to the chosen people by the one and only one God, Yahweh. The special relationship between the Hebrews and Yahweh is predicated on obedience” Richard Hooker of Washington State University drives this point home by almost personifying the Torah. He gives it the same weight of authority as if God were present speaking in person. He states, “Torah itself stands in for Yahweh. In every sense of the word, if Yahweh is the ruler of the Hebrews, then the Torah is the leader of the Hebrews. This is a remarkably new concept in the ancient world, and a concept of profound brilliance.” Ron Moseley in his book The Spirit of the Law, states that there are three differentiations that we must make when considering Jewish law. They are moral and ethical laws, those related to rituals and festivals and those that have a civil or judicial function.
The importance of the Torah to my discussion of redemptive gifts is that the Torah contains within it the perfect type of cultural memory. I am not stating that each culture has to keep the Torah. I am stating it contains applications that cultures need for their own success. Some cultures discovered parts of these on there own. Examples are the Greeks and Chinese, even the Amorites as I have pointed out in a previous article. I have tried to make the case that redemptive gifts are present in animistic cultures. If that is true the redemptive gifts should be evident in the Torah as well. Josh McDowell helps support what I am talking about in his apologetic work, especially as it relate to the topic of the scriptural unity. That unity repeatedly reflects redemptive gifts found in the individual soul, marriage, family, work and worship. I have already written about nature and the revelation of God through conscience and creation. These ‘hot topics’ are addressed in a uniformed way by the writers of the Bible because they were inspired by God. These same hot topics present themselves in other cultures. The degree to which these cultures maintained Biblical concepts retained in cultural memory they endured. These concepts ultimately find expression in the cultures law.
Concept of a Legal System: An Introduction to the Theory of Legal System. Contributors: Joseph Raz - author. Publisher: Clarendon Press. Place of Publication: Oxford. Publication Year: 1980. Page Number: 1. http://www.questia.com/read/74447675?title=The%20Concept%20of%20a%20Legal%20System%3a%20%20An%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Theory%20of%20Legal%20System
The Concept of a Legal System: An Introduction to the Theory of Legal System. Contributors: Joseph Raz - author. Publisher: Clarendon Press. Place of Publication: Oxford. Publication Year: 1980. Page Number: 1 and 2. http://www.questia.com/read/74447675?title=The%20Concept%20of%20a%20Legal%20System%3a%20%20An%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Theory%20of%20Legal%20System
http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/noahide.html
http://wsu.edu/~dee/HEBREWS/TORAH.HTM
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/practices/Ritual/Jewish_Practices/Halakhah_Jewish_Law_.shtml
http://wsu.edu/~dee/HEBREWS/TORAH.HTM
http://wsu.edu/~dee/HEBREWS/TORAH.HTM
http://www.haydid.org/spirit1.htm
McDowell The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1999) pg 6
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