45. Natural laws and natural systems come from God.

Natural laws and natural systems come from God.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 45

Ave Maria series

45.  Do natural laws and natural systems come from God also?

Yes.  The laws of nature and natural systems are also part of God’s creation.  [339, 346, 354]

A coral reef and lots of fish. ......45

Man is not a blank slate.  He is shaped by the order and the natural laws that God has inscribed in his creation.  A Christian does not simply do “whatever he wants”.  He knows that he harms himself and damages his environment when he denies the natural laws, uses things in ways contrary to their intrinsic order, and tries to be wiser than God, who created them.  It demands too much of a person when he tries to design himself from start to finish.

“Who can fail to be led by observation and thoughtful familiarity with the magnificent order of the cosmic system, which is derived from divine wisdom, to marvel at the almighty Architect!”  Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543, naturalist and astronomer)

339, 346, 354

THE VISIBLE WORLD

339 Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each one of the works of the "six days" it is said: "And God saw that it was good." "By the very nature of creation, material being is endowed with its own stability, truth and excellence, its own order and laws."( Gaudium et Spes 36 § 1.)²⁰⁸Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

346 In creation God laid a foundation and established laws that remain firm, on which the believer can rely with confidence, for they are the sign and pledge of the unshakeable faithfulness of God's covenant.( Compare Hebrews 4:3-4; Jeremiah 31:35-37; Jer 33:19-26.)²¹⁴ For his part man must remain faithful to this foundation, and respect the laws which the Creator has written into it. --CCC

IN BRIEF

354 Respect for laws inscribed in creation and the relations which derive from the nature of things is a principle of wisdom and a foundation for morality. --CCC