Perspectief 2019-45

Perspectief 56 Gewone Catechismus As Christians we must affirm, “The moral law is the work of divine Wisdom” ( Catechism of the Catholic Church 1950). As St. John Paul II explains: “Law must therefore be considered an expression of divine wisdom: by submitting to the law, freedom submits to the truth of creation.” Furthermore, as John Paul also clearly sees, the moral Law protects the “ good of the person, the image of God, by protecting his goods ,” that is, “human life, the commun- ion of persons in marriage, private property, truthfulness and people’s good name.” In sum, scriptural norms are the Creator’s norms. To articulate this point requires an under- standing of the relationship of Christ and creation, redemption and creation. Given the limits of this review article, I can merely indicate the direction both the Reformed and Catholic traditions take in answering this question. I conclude with an important statement of the late American Reformed ethicist, Lewis Smedes (1921-2002) who argues that the law of God is the order that God has placed in creation and that Christ’s redemptive work is in continuity with that law. Christ is continuous with creation, the restorer of creation’s original intent. It comes to a universal claim for the morality taught by Jesus: it is the way all persons should live. The morality of the Bible is not an esoteric way of life for a relatively few disciples; it is the human way of life. But is it a way of life which ordinary people can be persuaded to accept? The continuity between Christ’s law and God’s original purpose with his creatures does not entail an ability of sinful people either to tune into it or live by it. Jesus’ moral teachings assume that a conversion is necessary in the hearts of those who hear them, a personal conversion that includes both a new vision of God and new power to will to do his will. So, even though the special morality of the Gospel is – in the deepest sense – valid for all people, it is – in terms of its feasibility – applicable only to those who are prepared by the Spirit to accept it. Still, it is important that when one does accept Jesus’ moral law, he is accepting, not an odd, esoteric, enclave moral- ity, but the morality of the truly human existence. This thesis especially needs defense today in a culture of subjectivism and relativism, in a culture that has rejected nature, the givenness of creation. Those who interiorize the law, submitting to it, submit to the truth of creation. This, too, should have been reflected in the questions of GC .