The Natural Law Study Center began around the kitchen table of its founders with debates on universal truth and the meaning and purpose of life. It opened its doors to the public in 1984 with conferences and debates on the ways and means to achieve practical happiness and spiritual fulfillment. The Study Center soon became active in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, providing educational conferences, awards dinners, library resources, speaker's lists, and research under the direction and support of the late Bishop John Keating. Monsignor Richard Burke was the original mentor and spiritual director of the Study Center. Leadership awards have been given over the years to a diverse variety of men and women who have been fearless witnesses in the advancement of Natural Law first principles.
We believe that deep in the heart of the human person is the desire to know truth. But how? And why do we evade truth? In that interior place of solitude, we can encounter truth individually, and with others. It is a force quite real, but at times mysterious. Truth is provocative and yet universal, something far greater than mere personal taste differing from one person to the next. When we take time to listen to the heart's contemplation, we find the call to unravel Truth's beauty and mystery as we discover that, indeed, only truth can set us free.
The mission of the Natural Law Study Center is to provoke many dialogues on universal truth as we ponder the design and purpose innate to creation. In this adventure, entirely unique to human reason, we understand that nature makes nothing in vain. Even more, that the human person has the capacity to reason, test, and probe. Our life's purpose, or telos, waits to be discovered and explored leading us to a joy that we miss if we fail to enter into the exploration.
We are keenly aware that this search for truth is not merely for scholars or professors. Rather, after more than three decades in this work, we have been intrigued, heartened and graced by the insights and contributions from ordinary men and women from all walks of life. They are drawn by the primordial ache of the heart to know more as they become dauntless in this interior search, awakening to truth as something objective and dependable.
The search for truth is not difficult. We see that a flower grows reaching for the sun. We observe that a fish cannot live without water, just as a bird is meant to fly. Through the gift of reason, we begin to uncover truths that are self-evident. We see that there are rules of nature that have a nexus to our ability to make moral judgements. If we are honest and open, we see the places where we have attempted to make truth subjective to a momentary whim leading to unexpected and unhappy consequences.
In the innate desire to know truth, we ponder and want to know more, even in the midst of all the distractions of modern life. The Natural Law Study Center gives witness to the reality that Truth is timeless and knowable. It is our desire to provide a forum for these discussions in the sure knowledge that truth is not dependent upon social constructs any more than it is changeable for the sake of convenience. We focus with particularity on those truths that pertain to the human person, uniquely set apart in creation, gifted with reason and the distinctive ability to think, ponder and choose.
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In this exploration of universal truth, we come to realize the innate dignity of each person, regardless of human differences. Therein lies the only sure path to authentic unity and mutual respect. We invite each unrepeatable person to find the place of mutuality where we can enter into a thrilling dialogue of a lifetime. It is in fact a dialogue of a love story far more unifying for mankind than can be imagined.