How Should We Then Live? by Francis A. Schaeffer
Week 9: Chapter 9 — The Shift in Law and Government
Read Chapter 9 of How Should We Then Live? Key themes: the decline of natural law, the rise of sociological law, judicial activism, and the threat of an elite manipulating the masses.
Previewing Week 9 of How Should We Then Live?
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
When a society loses its belief in a transcendent standard of justice — a law above the law — it has only two options left: the will of the majority, or the will of an elite, and neither is sufficient to protect human dignity.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Schaeffer describes a shift from 'natural law' (the idea that there is a moral order built into reality by God, which human laws should reflect) to 'sociological law' (the idea that laws are simply whatever society decides is useful or consensus-driven at any given moment). What are the practical consequences of this shift for how a society treats its most vulnerable members?
2.Schaeffer argues that American democracy was built on the assumption that there is a law above the law — that even the government is accountable to a higher moral standard. What happens to limited government, checks and balances, and individual rights when that assumption disappears? Do you see evidence of this happening?
3.He warns about the possibility of an authoritarian takeover — not necessarily by a military junta, but by a technocratic or political elite that manipulates a population that has been softened by affluence and entertainment into trading freedom for security. Written in 1976, how prescient does this warning seem to you today?