Running Head: APPLICATION ESSAY 1
APPLICATION ESSAY 1
Topic: Natural Law, Sin, and Crime
Natural law is a set of rules that emanate from a higher entity. The Lord tells us through Jeremiah
that He “established the laws of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25, NIV). These are unchanging
laws that apply to all people. No other laws supersede them.
Question 1:
How do natural law conceptions of sin and legalistic definitions of crime differ?
How does the natural law concept of sin differ from the legalistic definition of crime?
Khalib Fischer points out in his presentation about biblical principles of law enforcement that all
crime is a sin but not all sin is a crime (2015). Natural law dictates the more obvious offense to
be a crime while the less obvious could remain a sin but not necessarily a crime. Furthermore,
crimes need to be legalistically defined otherwise individuals would/could contest their specific
situation as being a crime or the State would/could abuse the lack of definition to charge more or
less people. I’ll use theft as an example to all of the above. It is a sin to covet and steal but only
stealing is a crime while coveting (the precursor to most theft) is only a sin. If someone is be
convicted of theft they will need to be afforded the due process of law, another natural law ideal
that gives individuals being prosecuted rights and the expectation of being handled justly and
properly. Can due process exist without a legalistic definition behind the crime or the
punishment? I posit that it could not. The person who only temporarily deprives a person of their
property without that person’s permission only to return the property the next day commits a
theft in my book. If that temporary deprivation of property is not included in the definition of the
crime than that person could argue that they did not in fact commit theft.
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APPLICATION ESSAY 1 CJUS 200_B02
Question 2:
Natural rights or “unalienable rights” derive from natural law. What are unalienable rights?
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness sums up perfectly our inalienable rights. The
founding fathers looked to natural law concepts in writing the declaration of independence and
the Constitution of the United States (Hendrix, 2013). A further explanation as to what liberty
means can be found in the bill of rights which contains restrictions on the government that allows
people the liberty (freedom) to pursue their happiness. Less restrained government equals less
liberty whereas a more restrained government equals more liberty. Fischer points out that the
more laws we have the less freedom we have (2015).
The first amendment allows people the right basic right to be free to choose their religion or their
having no religious affiliation. The first amendment also allows people to have a basic
expectation to voice their opinions, assemble in groups, and petition the government for change.
The second amendment ensures people have the right to keep and bear arms. This amendment
provides the teeth to the other amendments by ensuring the government does not have the
unopposed ability to trample your rights. The fourth amendment ensures we have the right to be
safe and secure in our persons and our property. Basically, that we nor our things will be
searched or taken without due process. While this is intended for the government it also applies
civilly. The fifth amendment ensures our right to due process of law specifically.
While these are only a sampling from the bill of rights, they are great examples of our inalienable
rights that are derived from natural law.
APPLICATION ESSAY 1 CJUS 200_B02
References
Fischer, K. (2015, April 9). Biblical Principles. Retrieved May 25, 2015, from
https://prezi.com/rdo7e91mruov/biblical-principles/?
utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy#
Hendrix, N. & Inciardi, J. (2013). Experience Criminal Justice (Custom ed.). Columbus, OH:
McGraw-Hill Custom. ISBN: 9781259336119.
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