Natural Law Theory and Biblical Precepts in Evolution of Ethical Systems: An Examination of the Nigerian Moral Conscience
), Ayodeji j. Fatehinse(2), Nike Morenikeji Olawepo(3), Oridamilola Adaba Ijiwoye(4),
(1) Babcock University School of Law & Security Studies, Ogun State, Nigeria.
(2) Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Redeemer's University, Ede Osun State, Nigeria.
(3) Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Redeemer's University, Ede Osun State, Nigeria.
(4) Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Redeemer's University, Ede Osun State, Nigeria.
Corresponding Author
Abstract
The paper examined the natural law position that man's heart is branded with the divine law and that the divine law informs his conscience and reason. It critically appraised the position that the intersection at which biblical precepts and the natural law theory meet is a position that has often inspired human societies to make laws that seek to preserve ethical systems. The article engaged the question of whether natural law and biblical precepts influenced the ethical evolution of the Nigerian society through the normative doctrinal analysis, using content analysis to examine primary and secondary sources. It was argued in the article that although the Bible and the natural law school of thought have both contributed to the development of human-made laws by their impacts through their significant realization in the meta-narrative of human history, the Nigerian state has failed to engage its ethical system in accordance to the guidance of its moral conscience. The paper concluded that the Nigerian state had incurred a bad image from its ethical crisis. For its image to be redeemed, the moral conscience of the state and society must be the point of reference in political, legal, and social matters
Keywords
Biblical precepts, Moral conscience, Natural law, Rule of law
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