The Spirits' Book

Allan Kardec

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Characteristics of Natural Law

614. What is natural law?
“Natural law is God’s law. It alone ensures the happiness of human beings. It shows them what they should or should not do, and that they only suffer when they deviate from it.”


615. Is God’s law eternal?
“Like God, it is eternal and unalterable.”
616. Can God recommend or preach something at one time and prohibit in another?
“God does not make mistakes. People must reform their laws because they are imperfect, but God’s laws are perfect. The harmony that regulates both the material and moral universe is founded on laws God established for eternity.”


617. What do the Divine laws encompass? Do they have any reference to anything outside our moral conduct?
“All the laws of nature are Divine laws, since God is the creator of all things. Scientists study the laws of nature in the realm of matter, while good people study those of the soul and practice them.”



a) Are human beings able to fathom both these divisions of natural law?
“Yes, but a single life is not long enough to accomplish this.”


What are a few years for obtaining all that is necessary to make a perfect being, if we only take into consideration the distance that separates the civilized human being from a savage? The longest human life is insufficient for such a task, and even more so when it is cut short, as is the case with such a large proportion of the human race.


Some divine laws govern the movements and relations of raw matter. These laws are called physical laws, and their study is the domain of science. Others concern human beings, themselves, their relations with God and their fellow human beings. The moral laws encompass the rules of the life of the body and those of the soul.


618. Are divine laws the same for all worlds?
“Reason dictates that they must be adapted to the special nature of each world, and proportionate to the degree of advancement of the beings that inhabit them.”

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