Please give me your opinion of the following statement....?

Question

Law reflects but in no sense determines the moral worth of a
society...the better the society, the less law there will be. In
Heaven, there will be no law, and the lion will lie down with the
lamb...the worse the society, the more law there will be. In Hell,
there will be nothing but law; and due process will be meticulously observed.
-- Grant Gilmore - Yale Law Journal

Answer 1

As a libertarian, I agree. In an ideal world, people will naturally behave themselves without any threat of punishment hanging over them, because they know that doing so brings peace and harmony. In our world, however, people *don't* behave themselves, so we have to come up with more and more laws to keep them in line. We all suffer lost freedoms as a result. Heaven and hell work as pretty good analogies for those situations, I'd say.

Welcome to hell. ;-)

Answer 2

A thoughtful analysis. Essentially it's saying that a law can never be perfect because there can always be more extenuating circumstances than the law can cope with. Murder is a crime, except in self-defense or on behalf of an innocent person, unless it can be avoided or the defense was a premeditated ruse, assuming the murderer wasn't insane... A statute that covers every possible permutation of an act would be too complicated to understand or enforce. And people can be very creative with loopholes.

In contrast, operating under general principles, such as the values of peace, freedom, life and justice, offer little in the way of specific rules (They can even conflict), but they help guide one's actions throughout one's personal experience. It's like the difference between a comprehensive, automated traffic control system and a steering wheel. The system will work efficiently except for unanticipated, unprogrammed situations. The steering wheel will be less efficient overall but can deal with unusual, ad hoc situations. To put it Biblically, it's the letter of the law vs. the spirit.

People who feel a part of their society, who can take ownership of their role in it, are more invested in making it work. People who feel separate from it are usually more interested in taking care of themselves. Interestingly, this seems to occur most at the upper and lower ends of the economic spectrum. Poor people feel excluded from participation in the benefits of society and do whatever it takes to survive. Rich people regard societal obligation as a burden and become more interested in protecting their self-sufficiency and influence. So economic justice affects the betterment of society. The less volutary cooperation there is, the more laws will be needed to keep order and force people to behave decently. The more people recognize their interdependence and common humanity, the fewer legal restrictions will be needed.

Answer 3

I don't agree with this at all. Obeying laws does not mean that you have morals; it simply means you know how to do as you are told.
Who says there is no law in heaven? The fact that the "lion will lie down with the lamb" proves nothing about laws. The lion doesn't kill for fun, he kills to eat, so this says there is no hunger in Heaven.
Of course there are laws in Heaven. God made more laws for people then we have in law books. Lucifer was cast out of Heaven for questioning God, and you think there are no laws?

I feel, personally, that this is Hell. It never said that God made a special place for Lucifer to rule, it says He gave him domain over Earth. And Heaven is simply a place we go that isn't here.

Answer 4

I disagree with that...the part that says in Heaven there will be no law. I believe God governs by His laws, they will not cease to exist or He would cease to be God. The lion will lie down with the lamb because there will be no earthly enmity towards the other. There must be law or there would be no point of living on this earth, no consequence (good or bad) for actions, no reason for repentance or the atonement...
There must be law and justice must be satisfied at some point.

Also, the "better" the society would mean to me that the laws WERE being followed. The worse the society would mean no laws were being followed...

Answer 5

Interesting......
First line: being obedient to the law is an outward righteousness (like the Pharisees) but can still harbor a prideful, bitter heart which is of no moral worth.

Second segment: the kinder people are, the less need for law,henceforth, no law needed in heaven where our transformation to Christ's likeness will be complete.

"The Lion/Lamb" is a reference to the millenial kingdom in which Christ rules and peace reigns for a thousand years.....

Hell (this part is interesting)... while there is no biblical reference for there being 'nothing but law', it probably implies that for the rebellious who choose to go there, having all law would be hell.....

This was interesting.... you get a star

Answer 6

I do not agree with that statement. Even God obeys his own laws perfectly.. The law of justice says that all sins have a punishment affixed, and that punishment is physical death and spiritual banishment. God does not vary from this. God will never allow an unrepentant sinner into his kingdom. The Law of Mercy allows for a redeemer who can take your punishment for you if you become the slave and obedient servant and he becomes your Lord. Only one perfect individual can be the redeemer. God made this law and doesn't make an exception from it. God is a being of order, not chaos, and order demands laws. There will always be laws in heaven, as there are now, and they will always be perfectly observed. Not because beings are forced to observe them but because they choose to obey them out of Love. Where there is no law and no organization and no order there is nothing.

Answer 7

I agree with it. The whole point of Satan's plan was to take away our free choice. He said that he would guarantee the safe return of every person who would ever be born on earth back to our Heavenly Father. This among other things is what led to him being kicked out of heaven.
It's also been said that precepts are given first, then if people can't handle living by them, laws are given, if people still have problems with living according to laws then rules are given. Examples would be, Thou shalt ...; thou shalt not... = a rule (you may do this, but you may not do that). The law of chastity comes to mind as an example of a law. While the concept of loving your neighbor as yourself (and might I add, better than yourself) comes to mind as an example of a precept.

EDIT: I suppose I'm coming at this from the perspective of this occuring in Heaven and in Hell, not on Earth. The society of those in Heaven, will not need laws, because they will naturally live so as to not need them. While the society that will exist in Hell will not be able to exist without a law governing even the very breathe they take.

The wolf - see below.

Answer 8

I am only going top comment on this :

"the better the society, the less law there will be"

it is false.

a society without laws will be a complete anarchy, i dont call that a 'better' society than where i am living in now.

but i see now it is also true , if in the society live good people who dont need laws then the society is called good, or better than one where laws are needed to maintain some order and discipline.

so in heaven live good people who dont need laws and in hell live bad people who need laws, i am still scratching my head why there should be laws in hell.

.

Answer 9

I think of law a little differently. To me there are natural laws of happiness and of an orderly society just as there are natural laws of physical science.

One of the reasons we're on this earth is to learn these laws of happiness and incorporate them into our natures.

To say there is no law in heaven would be inaccurate. People in heaven have learned these laws and naturally obey them.

Those who refuse to obey the law are free to live elsewhere.

A good description of Hell would be a place where people refuse to acknowledge these natural laws.

Answer 10

I think there is some merit to the statement, that we don't need laws for things that aren't a pressing problem.

I don't agree with the heaven statement, because the OT claims that God dealt directly with the children of Israel through prophets and judges, but they had more law than we do today.