Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Statement of Principles

This document is an Executive Summary of a more in-depth document titled LONANG: What Is the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God?” Authored by attorneys Kerry L. Morgan and Gerald R. Thompson, it articulates LONANG as divine law, emphasizing its theological, legal, and historical significance. The entire document can be found *HERE*.

In essence, the authors present a detailed exposition on the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” (LONANG), a foundational concept invoked in the American Declaration of Independence. The document rejects modern interpretations influenced by deism or Enlightenment philosophy, instead grounding LONANG in Biblical creation, revelation, and six divine covenants between God and specific peoples. Structured as a statement of principles, it delineates the unwritten and written components of LONANG, their universal applicability, and their implications for human governance, while critiquing reconstructionist views that conflate Mosaic law with universal obligations. The document affirms God’s sovereignty over all human affairs and denies absolute human authority, positioning Gods law as expressed by Him in the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” as the ultimate standard for judging individuals, nations, and governments.

Introduction and Core Principles

The introduction establishes LONANG as law authored directly by God, characterized by its fixed, uniform, and universal nature – subject to the separate applicability of the divine covenants to distinct people groups. It binds all people globally across time and circumstances, serving as an impartial judge of thoughts and actions according to a divine standard expressed in both unwritten (natural) and written (revealed) forms. LONANG upholds God’s supreme authority over human conduct, thought, souls, and eternal destinies, while limiting human, governmental, and institutional authority to only what God delegates. It mandates that all civil governments-whether established by consent or imposed-adhere to principles of equality, government by consent, and unalienable rights, including the right to institute, alter, or abolish governments.

The document clarifies that the Declaration of Independence referenced LONANG not as deistic rhetoric or revolutionary propaganda, but because it was already a binding universal law among nations. This invocation provided legal justification for America’s independence and equal standing in the international community, aligning the new nation with divine order rather than human innovation.

The Unwritten and Written Laws: Creation, Nature, and Revelation

LONANG is bifurcated into two interdependent parts. The “Laws of Nature” refer to unwritten universal laws established by God at creation, governing the entire cosmos, including humanity and civil institutions. These are inherent in the fabric of existence, discoverable through observation of nature and reason, and binding without exception.

The “Laws of Nature’s God” encompass God’s verbal and written laws as recorded in the Bible, some restating the unwritten laws in explicit form. Primarily, these consist of divine covenants with humanity and accompanying statutes. However, not all such laws are universal; some apply broadly to all people, while others are peculiar to specific groups or nations, determined by the covenant’s original recipients and their descendants. For instance, all of the Mosaic covenant is peculiar only to Israel, but some portions may reflect or agree with the law of nature, which is universal.

Key Distinction: “Laws of Nature” vs. “Laws of Nature’s God”

By way of further detail, a central feature of the document is the careful differentiation between the two components of LONANG, highlighting their sources, forms, and scopes while affirming their complementary unity under divine authorship.

Laws of Nature

These refer exclusively to the unwritten universal laws established by God at the creation of the world. They are embedded in the structure of creation itself-discoverable through observation of nature, reason, and conscience-and govern the entire cosmos, including human beings and the civil institutions they form or endure. These laws are inherent, self-evident, and universally binding without need for verbal articulation. They predate any written revelation and apply equally to all people in all ages. Examples include the prohibition against murder (evident in God’s judgment of Cain for killing Abel, even before any written command) and foundational human obligations such as dominion over creation, marriage as a male-female union, procreation, and labor (from the Adamic covenant). These laws are fixed and unchanging, reflecting God’s design in the natural order.

Laws of Nature’s God

In contrast, these refer to God’s verbal and written laws as contained in the Bible (Scripture). This category includes divine covenants between God and humanity, along with the statutes and implementing rules issued under each covenant. Some of these written laws restate or elaborate on the unwritten laws of nature in explicit verbal form (e.g., the biblical prohibitions against murder, theft, and adultery that echo universal natural prohibitions). However, others express laws not found in the unwritten natural order and may be either universal (applicable to all people) or peculiar (limited to specific groups or nations). The applicability depends on the covenant’s original recipients and whether it extends to all humanity or only their descendants.

Thus, while the “Laws of Nature” are unwritten, created-inherent, and always universal, the “Laws of Nature’s God” are written/revealed, covenant-based, and selectively universal or particular. Together, LONANG encompasses only the universal elements from both-excluding peculiar provisions-forming the divine standard that binds all mankind, nations, and governments.

Divine Covenants and Their Scope

The text systematically examines God’s covenants to distinguish universal from particular laws:

• •   Adamic Covenant: Made with Adam and Eve, it includes universal mandates like human dominion over creation, marriage as a one-flesh union between man and woman, procreation, and labor. These bind all humanity as descendants of Adam.
• •   Noahic Covenant: Established post-Flood with Noah and his descendants (all current humanity), it universally prohibits murder, mandates capital punishment for murderers, and affirms human dominion over animals with permissions for meat consumption (excluding blood). It includes God’s promise never to flood the earth again, symbolized by the rainbow.
• •   Abrahamic Covenant: Primarily peculiar to Abraham’s physical descendants (Israelites/Jews), involving land promises and circumcision.
• •   Mosaic Covenant: Delivered exclusively to the Israelites at Sinai, it is peculiar to Jews based on ancestry, not universally binding. In other words, all of the Mosaic covenant is peculiar only to Israel, but some portions may reflect or agree with the law of nature, which is actually universal such as the Ten Commandments (which restate universal laws like prohibitions on murder, theft, and adultery). But in the Mosaic covenant these commandments are given as part of a unified national code for Israel’s governance in their own land with God as their chosen King. The document rejects “reconstructionist” or “theonomic” views that divide Mosaic law into moral, civil, and ceremonial categories for selective enforcement, insisting it applies wholly or not at all. Scriptures affirm covenants cannot be annulled or modified once ratified (Gal. 3:15), so the Mosaic covenant remains intact for Jews.
• •   Church Covenant: Based on faith in Christ, it applies to individuals (the Church) universally, coexisting with the Mosaic covenant without interference. It does not supersede or annul prior covenants.

The summary stresses that LONANG excludes peculiar laws, focusing solely on universals from creation and revelation.

Key Acknowledgments and Critiques

Several acknowledgments reinforce the principles:

• •   Scriptures prohibit annulling or altering ratified covenants.
• •   The Mosaic and Church covenants operate simultaneously without conflict.
• •   God promises eternal faithfulness to Israel despite disobedience (Rom. 11:1), rejecting replacement theology that substitutes the Church for Israel.
• •   Prophecies like the 144,000 sealed Jews (Rev. 7:4-8; 14:4) and a future new covenant with Israel (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-12) are literal and exclusive to physical descendants, irrelevant to the Church.
• •   Hebrews 8:13 describes the Mosaic covenant as “becoming obsolete” in future tense, indicating unfulfilled prophecy tied to Jewish salvation, not past abrogation.
• •   God’s gifts and calling to Israel are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29), with all promises to literal Israel remaining valid.

The document critiques efforts to impose Mosaic law universally, arguing it distorts LONANG by conflating national peculiarities with global norms.

Relevance to American Founding

Finally, the text connects LONANG to U.S. founding documents, noting the founders’ recognition of universal divine laws from creation (“Laws of Nature”) and scripture (“Nature’s God”). These form the nation’s legal framework but exclude the Mosaic covenant’s national specifics, which were for Israel’s governance alone.

In total, the 8-page document found at the www.lonang.com link champions a Biblically grounded understanding of LONANG as God’s unchanging universal law, essential for just governance and individual accountability. It serves as a theological-legal manifesto, urging adherence to divine principles over human constructs, while safeguarding against misapplications that erode covenantal distinctions.