God Arises
Religion and Society
~ 427 ~
This statement may not constitute a valid argument
in support of that particular school of legal thought,
but it does contain an element of external truth.
Moreover, for the law to be effective, there also
have to be forces at work in society, which
discourage crime. Apart from punishment, there
has to be prevention, for the activities of law
enforcement bodies in themselves do not
necessarily inspire sufficient fear to act as
deterrents. This is largely because, all to often,
punishment can be eluded by resorting to bribery
and corruption. Anyone who is confident of being
able to escape in this way will pay no heed to the
law or its enforcement.
In divine law lies the answer to all the shortcomings
of man-made law. We have seen how an
atmosphere in which people are encouraged to
uphold the truth has to be engendered in society as
a whole, for the penal code cannot, merely by its
existence, induce correct attitudes. This has to
originate elsewhere—from a source effective
enough to ensure that, in the last analysis, anyone
who perjures himself will not escape self-
