Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Joseph Albo, Book of Principles (242-244, 249-250)

After reading Joseph Albo, Book of Principles (242-244, 249-250), Albo talks about the three types of law: divine, natural, and nomic. Divine law is the opinion of believers who’s choices are impacted by God’s will. Divine law’s main principals are the existence of God, reward and punishment, and Torah from heaven. Also, the purpose of divine law is to have happiness and immorality. Next, natural law is mainly to promote justice and societies safeness to the world. Natural law’s principal is that a human action can be judged as reasonable or unreasonable and the intentions are to keep men away from theft and robbery. Finally, nomic law improves human activity and is when wise men worship God, and God has no disclosure. Natural laws principals are choice and purpose and its intentions are to keep away the evil and to bring in the good.

In chapter nine some questions arose such as, Albo discusses nomic law and its principals and there are two laws within it, choice and purpose. Why wouldn’t somebody have complete choice of there own ability to do something if the purpose is to gain spiritual reward? While reading throughout the text there are many statements about the differences to nomic law and divine law. Why is it stated that divine law is superior to nomic law but also nomic law can be superior to divine law?

In chapter eight, the viewer reads that it is impossible to have perfect qualities and to be naturally perfect in everyway. This is stated which shows that the world is full of imperfections. Although if you look deeper into chapter eight, David believes that there is such thing as perfect and it is divine law. Why in the Book of Principals is divine law stated, as being a perfect law, could there be negative effects to that? Also, if missing one principal in the divine law then it cannot be completed because everything follows one after another. When reading the divine law it is difficult to understand, saying as within laws there should be separate reasoning’s and everything should not connect completely.

Overall Joseph Albo, Book of Principles expresses the different laws that humans dealt with and the different connections within them. Also the reader learns the specifics about nomic, natural, and divine law. Reading about the Book of Principals shows the different type of beliefs and their understandings towards various laws.

1 comment:

Prof. Ashley Vaught said...

This isn't really clear. I'm guessing you had some difficulty making it through this reading. But it does seem a shame that none of your colleagues can pose question to help clarify the material.