Lecture 253

253. The Threefold Division of the Old Law's Precepts

Summary
This lecture examines Thomas Aquinas’s analysis of the Old Law through the lens of its three kinds of precepts: moral, ceremonial, and judicial. Berquist walks through the scholastic arguments defending the necessity of each type and their relationship to natural law, divine worship, and justice among men. The discussion centers on how the Old Law presupposes natural law while adding determinations specific to the divine law’s purpose of ordering men to God.

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

  • The Threefold Division of Precepts: Thomas Aquinas divides Old Law precepts into moral, ceremonial, and judicial—a comprehensive categorization based on the principle that three is the first number about which we say “all”
  • Relationship to Natural Law: The Old Law does not contradict but presupposes and adds to natural law; grace presupposes nature, just as divine law presupposes natural law
  • Purpose of Moral Precepts: They direct men to virtue and friendship with God; friendship requires that men be made good
  • Purpose of Ceremonial Precepts: They determine the manner of exterior worship and profess man’s subjection to God; they are sensible likenesses through which divine things are made manifest
  • Purpose of Judicial Precepts: They determine specific applications of justice among men in particular circumstances

Key Arguments #

On Moral Precepts in the Old Law #

  • Argument from friendship: The divine law aims chiefly at ordering men to God through friendship; likeness is the reason for friendship; therefore men must be made good (virtuous) for friendship with God to be possible
  • Citation of Leviticus 19: “Be holy because I am holy”—the first command regarding friendship with God
  • Response to objection: The Old Law is distinguished from natural law not as being entirely alien to it, but as adding something to it; thus moral precepts belong to both

On Ceremonial Precepts as Distinct from Moral #

  • Divine law differs from human law: Human law orders men chiefly to each other; divine law orders men chiefly to God
  • Sensible manifestation: Divine things must be made known through sensible likenesses, not only by word but also by things proposed to the eye
  • Example of incense: Represents prayer ascending; mentioned in the Psalms as evening prayer
  • Etymology: The word “ceremony” (ceremonia) derives either from Ceres (goddess of fruits, from which offerings were made) or from a place called Cere near Rome

On Judicial Precepts as a Third Kind #

  • Acts of justice require determination: Acts of justice in general pertain to moral precepts, but their specific application in particular cases pertains to judicial precepts
  • Speed limit analogy: Driving at 30 or 45 mph is a determination of the natural law principle to preserve life, not itself a natural law
  • Both moral and ceremonial share the feature of determination: Just as ceremonial precepts determine how worship occurs, judicial precepts determine how justice among men is applied

Important Definitions #

  • Ceremonial Precepts (ceremonia): Determinations of the common precept about divine worship; exterior works by which man professes his subjection to God (divine servitude)
  • Judicial Precepts: Determinations of the common precept about justice to be observed among men; applications of reason to particular circumstances in a determined way
  • Antonomastice: A rhetorical device where a word is used in a specific or restrictive sense (e.g., “precepts” specifically means moral precepts, not ceremonial or judicial)

Examples & Illustrations #

  • The Pope’s Reception: Monks were instructed not to shake hands or clap when the Pope arrived, but they did clap and stand—an example of ceremonial laws and how people “get carried away” with them
  • The Abortion Clinic Vigil: Cars honk and people yell in both directions at an abortion clinic during the 40 Days for Life; illustrates how human reason is obscured in particular moral applications regarding what is truly licit
  • Mistake in Greek Philosophy: Early Greek philosophers tried to explain how knowledge works in man but failed to explain how mistakes happen; yet mistakes are the usual state of man—showing the need for divine law to correct erring reason
  • Political Candidates: Multiple candidates for political office; if people disagree about which will dominate, most must be mistaken—illustrating that human reason wanders about particular judgments
  • Lawyers and Natural Law: Berquist’s teacher Kasurik met with lawyers in St. Paul who had difficulty with natural law because they were more familiar with positive law (Minnesota state and county laws); yet English common law is based deeply in natural law

Questions Addressed #

Does the Old Law contain moral precepts? #

  • Objection 1: The Old Law is distinguished from natural law, but moral precepts pertain to natural law
  • Answer: The Old Law adds to natural law as grace presupposes nature; it reinforces moral precepts because friendship with God requires men to be virtuous
  • Objection 2: Divine law should provide only where human reason fails; but reason suffices for moral precepts
  • Answer: Divine law provides not only where reason cannot reach (matters of faith) but also where reason is impeded by sin and custom, making moral precepts obscured in particular applications
  • Objection 3: The Old Law is called a “law of killing,” but moral precepts give life
  • Answer: As Augustine teaches, the law kills insofar as it commands what is good without grace to fulfill it

Are ceremonial precepts distinguished from moral precepts? #

  • Objection 1: All laws direct human acts, and human acts are moral; therefore only moral precepts should exist
  • Answer: Ceremonial acts are human acts directed to divine worship; they are distinguished because ceremonial precepts are determinations of how worship occurs, not determinations of virtue in general
  • Objection 2: Worship is an act of the virtue of religion; therefore ceremonial precepts should pertain to moral precepts
  • Answer: Acts of religion in general pertain to moral precepts, but the specific manner of worship (offerings, gifts, etc.) is determined by ceremonial precepts
  • Objection 3: Ceremonial precepts are merely figurative and words suffice for signification; therefore they are unnecessary
  • Answer: Divine things move the soul more powerfully when offered to the senses than when merely expressed in words

Are there judicial precepts distinct from moral and ceremonial? #

  • Objection 1: Only moral (life-to-be-lived) and ceremonial (significant of life) precepts exist, according to Augustine
  • Answer: Both moral and judicial precepts pertain to the direction of human life; they are contained under the broader category of “life to be lived”
  • Objection 2: Judgment is an act of justice; acts of virtue pertain to moral precepts
  • Answer: Acts of justice in general are moral; their determination in particular applications is judicial

Notable Quotes #

“Grace presupposes nature, so is necessary that the divine law presupposes the natural law.”

“The intention of the divine law is that it be constituted chiefly a friendship of man to God.”

“Likeness is a reason for friendship; it is impossible for there to be friendship of man to God unless men be made good.”

“Be holy because I am holy” (Leviticus 19)—cited as the first command regarding friendship with God

“The perfection of a thing is its actuality.”

“It is an act of men, so genuine reflection is an act of men."—In response to whether ceremonial acts count as human acts