By TimFullerton
Where are listed the laws of nature? How will we know what they are? Nature writes no books, she is too natural for that. Can we simply look around us at nature and determine what the laws are?
The natural world seems divided into two groups: predator and prey. Survival of the fittest. Cull the herd; eliminate the weak and the sick. Predators in the wild show no mercy. Their very survival depends on it. As you work your way up the food chain, how many predators are also prey? The great circle of life.
Some species of prey have but one defense, herding together. Sheep, zebras, and wildebeests cannot defend themselves from lions or leopards or wolves; all they can do is try to save the herd, not individuals. The weak and sick will be sacrificed for the good of the herd. Herd members do not get to vote on who the next sacrificial victim will be. Herds don't have any leadership that I can detect. Except, possibly certain migratory birds. Geese fly in a V formation – one leader.
Like herds but more complex; some animals form communities. Bees and ants have a leader. It does seem like an honorary role since we know of very few queen bee edicts (executive orders) sent to the drones from the throne. Members have specific, assigned duties to perform. They must perform them well, with no complaints, since there are no beehive prisons or ant hill jailhouses that I know of. Do ants and bees have little suburbs they can go to at night when it's Miller time?
All in all, the laws of nature don't seem very inviting. If we had to live under nature's laws only, life wouldn't be very pleasant; we would be ruled by the biggest, toughest, meanest bullies around. You could call nothing your own. At any time, someone bigger or more ruthless than you could take it all away.
At first, mankind gathered themselves into herds (tribes, villages etc.) to protect from both predators and predatory humans. Some of these herds had rulers; usually a self-appointed bully or a democratically elected chief. Sometimes that worked out well, sometimes not.
What was lacking: A set of laws designed for all people regardless of which tribe they belonged to. A universal set of laws for rulers as well as the ruled.
Generally accepted as the laws of nature's God, might be the 10 commandments. I prefer Matthew's (7:12) condensing of (at least 6 of those commandments) into one sentence, the golden rule. If you do what you say you'll do, and if you don't harm another person or his property, you can pretty much do anything you want.
Any law written by men must follow this basic formula to be valid, and good.
So, in conclusion, the laws of nature are cruel and heartless, while the laws of nature's God offer almost limitless freedom. This seemingly impossible paradox yields the perfect fulcrum to keep all life on earth in balance. The laws of man should strive to fortify this delicate balance; tipping neither one way nor the other.
Where are listed the laws of nature? How will we know what they are? Nature writes no books, she is too natural for that. Can we simply look around us at nature and determine what the laws are?
The natural world seems divided into two groups: predator and prey. Survival of the fittest. Cull the herd; eliminate the weak and the sick. Predators in the wild show no mercy. Their very survival depends on it. As you work your way up the food chain, how many predators are also prey? The great circle of life.
Some species of prey have but one defense, herding together. Sheep, zebras, and wildebeests cannot defend themselves from lions or leopards or wolves; all they can do is try to save the herd, not individuals. The weak and sick will be sacrificed for the good of the herd. Herd members do not get to vote on who the next sacrificial victim will be. Herds don't have any leadership that I can detect. Except, possibly certain migratory birds. Geese fly in a V formation – one leader.
Like herds but more complex; some animals form communities. Bees and ants have a leader. It does seem like an honorary role since we know of very few queen bee edicts (executive orders) sent to the drones from the throne. Members have specific, assigned duties to perform. They must perform them well, with no complaints, since there are no beehive prisons or ant hill jailhouses that I know of. Do ants and bees have little suburbs they can go to at night when it's Miller time?
All in all, the laws of nature don't seem very inviting. If we had to live under nature's laws only, life wouldn't be very pleasant; we would be ruled by the biggest, toughest, meanest bullies around. You could call nothing your own. At any time, someone bigger or more ruthless than you could take it all away.
At first, mankind gathered themselves into herds (tribes, villages etc.) to protect from both predators and predatory humans. Some of these herds had rulers; usually a self-appointed bully or a democratically elected chief. Sometimes that worked out well, sometimes not.
What was lacking: A set of laws designed for all people regardless of which tribe they belonged to. A universal set of laws for rulers as well as the ruled.
Generally accepted as the laws of nature's God, might be the 10 commandments. I prefer Matthew's (7:12) condensing of (at least 6 of those commandments) into one sentence, the golden rule. If you do what you say you'll do, and if you don't harm another person or his property, you can pretty much do anything you want.
Any law written by men must follow this basic formula to be valid, and good.
So, in conclusion, the laws of nature are cruel and heartless, while the laws of nature's God offer almost limitless freedom. This seemingly impossible paradox yields the perfect fulcrum to keep all life on earth in balance. The laws of man should strive to fortify this delicate balance; tipping neither one way nor the other.
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