John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, On Civil Government, IV.XX (John T. McNeill ed., Ford Lewis Battles trans., Westminster Press 1960) (1559).
Book 4, Chapter 20 explores Calvin’s thoughts on who and what Civil Government is, or ought to be, and the interaction between it and the Church. For example, Calvin addresses topics like lawsuits among Christians, and the obligation to submit to civil authority.
Note that Institutes is available online here.
Showing posts with label Seminal Questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seminal Questions. Show all posts
Kingdoms in Conflict
Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict (1987).
From the publisher:
This bestseller tackles the question: “What does the Bible say, and what do learn from history about the proper relationship between faith and culture?”
Note: This book was updated as God and Government (2007) for a post-911 audience.
From the publisher:
This bestseller tackles the question: “What does the Bible say, and what do learn from history about the proper relationship between faith and culture?”
Note: This book was updated as God and Government (2007) for a post-911 audience.
We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition
John Courtney Murray, We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition (Sheed and Ward 1960).
From the publisher: Murray's...disarmingly lucid and accessible prose has caused his book to be widely cited and celebrated, but it still is not well understood. He wanted to show how distinctively Catholic thought could illuminate the authentic American idea of liberty. . . . We Hold These Truths at least offers the hope that Catholic natural-law thinking can bring together the religious devotion and moral concerns of the evangelicals with the devotion to reason and concern for scientific truth of the secular humanists. It offers the hope of getting Americans really arguing again, of holding again the truth that they are capable of engaging in the dialogue about the human good that is the foundation of any civil and civilized moral and political life.
Note: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. published a new edition of this book in 2005.
From the publisher: Murray's...disarmingly lucid and accessible prose has caused his book to be widely cited and celebrated, but it still is not well understood. He wanted to show how distinctively Catholic thought could illuminate the authentic American idea of liberty. . . . We Hold These Truths at least offers the hope that Catholic natural-law thinking can bring together the religious devotion and moral concerns of the evangelicals with the devotion to reason and concern for scientific truth of the secular humanists. It offers the hope of getting Americans really arguing again, of holding again the truth that they are capable of engaging in the dialogue about the human good that is the foundation of any civil and civilized moral and political life.
Note: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. published a new edition of this book in 2005.
A House Divided? Anabaptist and Lutheran Perspectives on the Sword
David M. Smolin, A House Divided? Anabaptist and Lutheran Perspectives on the Sword, 47 J. Legal Educ. 28 (1997).
From Smolin’s introduction:
“Christian law teachers deal with one question that would be no different if we taught history or sociology: what does Jerusalem (our religious faith) have to do with Athens (the academy)? But, because we are law teachers, there is an additional question we must answer: what does Jerusalem have to do with Rome (the state)? . . . We are children of the notion that an entire civilization--including the sword, including government, including force and war--can be Christian, even though we worship a Lord who declined a political kingdom and went to die on the cross. Many theological traditions have wrestled with this dilemma; I will emphasize here the Lutheran and Anabaptist perspectives, and then compare them to Roman Catholic and Calvinistic approaches."
From Smolin’s introduction:
“Christian law teachers deal with one question that would be no different if we taught history or sociology: what does Jerusalem (our religious faith) have to do with Athens (the academy)? But, because we are law teachers, there is an additional question we must answer: what does Jerusalem have to do with Rome (the state)? . . . We are children of the notion that an entire civilization--including the sword, including government, including force and war--can be Christian, even though we worship a Lord who declined a political kingdom and went to die on the cross. Many theological traditions have wrestled with this dilemma; I will emphasize here the Lutheran and Anabaptist perspectives, and then compare them to Roman Catholic and Calvinistic approaches."
Subsidiarity: The “Other” Ground for Limited Government
Christopher Wolfe, Subsidiarity: The “Other” Ground for Limited Government, in Catholicism, Liberalism, and Communitarianism: The Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the Moral Foundations of Democracy 81-96 (Grasso, Bradley, and Hunt eds., 1995).
From the review written by Charles J. Reid, Jr. in the Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 16, No. 2 (2001), pp. 793-796 (review on p. 794): Christopher Wolfe, in Subsidiarity: The ‘Other’ Ground of Limited Government, questions the soundness of Lockean/libertarian notions of limited government and proposes the Catholic idea of subsidiarity—the principle that centralized power should not take from smaller associations those tasks that can be performed by the smaller groups—can provide a more satisfactory grounding for theories of governmental restraint.
Available from JSTOR.
From the review written by Charles J. Reid, Jr. in the Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 16, No. 2 (2001), pp. 793-796 (review on p. 794): Christopher Wolfe, in Subsidiarity: The ‘Other’ Ground of Limited Government, questions the soundness of Lockean/libertarian notions of limited government and proposes the Catholic idea of subsidiarity—the principle that centralized power should not take from smaller associations those tasks that can be performed by the smaller groups—can provide a more satisfactory grounding for theories of governmental restraint.
Available from JSTOR.
Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics
Doug Bandow, Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics (1988).
From the back cover: Beyond Good Intentions brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the question of how Christianity and politics interrelate. Author Doug Bandow believes the key lies in the correct use of the Bible in addressing public policy issues. Too often Christians either ignore or misapply the Bible in the political arena. Beyond Good Intentions is a much-needed corrective which takes the Bible seriously yet avoids proof-texting and questionable interpretive methods.
From the back cover: Beyond Good Intentions brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the question of how Christianity and politics interrelate. Author Doug Bandow believes the key lies in the correct use of the Bible in addressing public policy issues. Too often Christians either ignore or misapply the Bible in the political arena. Beyond Good Intentions is a much-needed corrective which takes the Bible seriously yet avoids proof-texting and questionable interpretive methods.
Caesar's Coin Revisited: Christians and the Limits of Government
Michael Cromartie, ed., Caesar's Coin Revisited: Christians and the Limits of Government (1996).
From Publishers Weekly: “These papers from a conference on the obligation of the Christian citizen to the state explore a variety of responses to Jesus' injunction to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." For example, University of Chicago professor of ethics Jean Bethke Elshtain examines the question of the emperor's sovereignty and the state's power through a reading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reaction to Hilter's state. The Cato Institute's Doug Bandow argues for the necessity of a limited government. Each chapter contains responses from all the conference participants with the end result being that Caesar's Coin constructs a meaningful dialogue among thinkers at all points along theological and political continuums."
Note: Al Mohler has also written an interesting essay addressing a particular angle of this topic.
From Publishers Weekly: “These papers from a conference on the obligation of the Christian citizen to the state explore a variety of responses to Jesus' injunction to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's." For example, University of Chicago professor of ethics Jean Bethke Elshtain examines the question of the emperor's sovereignty and the state's power through a reading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's reaction to Hilter's state. The Cato Institute's Doug Bandow argues for the necessity of a limited government. Each chapter contains responses from all the conference participants with the end result being that Caesar's Coin constructs a meaningful dialogue among thinkers at all points along theological and political continuums."
Note: Al Mohler has also written an interesting essay addressing a particular angle of this topic.
Natural Law and Public Reason
Robert George and Christopher Wolfe eds., Natural Law and Public Reason (Georgetown University Press 2000).
From the publisher: "Public reason" is one of the central concepts in modern liberal political theory. As articulated by John Rawls, it presents a way to overcome the difficulties created by intractable differences among citizens' religious and moral beliefs by strictly confining the place of such convictions in the public sphere. Identifying this conception as a key point of conflict, this book presents a debate among contemporary natural law and liberal political theorists on the definition and validity of the idea of public reason. Its distinguished contributors examine the consequences of interpreting public reason more broadly as "right reason," according to natural law theory, versus understanding it in the narrower sense in which Rawls intended. They test public reason by examining its implications for current issues, confronting the questions of abortion and slavery and matters relating to citizenship. This energetic exchange advances our understanding of both Rawls's contribution to political philosophy and the lasting relevance of natural law. It provides new insights into crucial issues facing society today as it points to new ways of thinking about political theory and practice.
From the publisher: "Public reason" is one of the central concepts in modern liberal political theory. As articulated by John Rawls, it presents a way to overcome the difficulties created by intractable differences among citizens' religious and moral beliefs by strictly confining the place of such convictions in the public sphere. Identifying this conception as a key point of conflict, this book presents a debate among contemporary natural law and liberal political theorists on the definition and validity of the idea of public reason. Its distinguished contributors examine the consequences of interpreting public reason more broadly as "right reason," according to natural law theory, versus understanding it in the narrower sense in which Rawls intended. They test public reason by examining its implications for current issues, confronting the questions of abortion and slavery and matters relating to citizenship. This energetic exchange advances our understanding of both Rawls's contribution to political philosophy and the lasting relevance of natural law. It provides new insights into crucial issues facing society today as it points to new ways of thinking about political theory and practice.
Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality
Robert P. George, Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (1995).
From the publisher: Contemporary liberal thinkers commonly suppose that there is something in principle unjust about the legal prohibition of putatively victimless crimes. Here Robert P. George defends the traditional justification of morals legislation against criticisms advanced by leading liberal theorists. He argues that such legislation can play a legitimate role in maintaining a moral environment conducive to virtue and inhospitable to at least some forms of vice. Among the liberal critics of morals legislation whose views George considers are Ronald Dworkin, Jeremy Waldron, David A.J. Richards, and Joseph Raz. He also considers the influential modern justification for morals legislation offered by Patrick Devlin as an alternative to the traditional approach. George closes with a sketch of a "pluralistic perfectionist" theory of civil liberties and public morality, showing that it is fully compatible with a defense of morals legislation. Making Men Moral will interest legal scholars and political theorists as well as theologians and philosophers focusing on questions of social justice and political morality.
From the publisher: Contemporary liberal thinkers commonly suppose that there is something in principle unjust about the legal prohibition of putatively victimless crimes. Here Robert P. George defends the traditional justification of morals legislation against criticisms advanced by leading liberal theorists. He argues that such legislation can play a legitimate role in maintaining a moral environment conducive to virtue and inhospitable to at least some forms of vice. Among the liberal critics of morals legislation whose views George considers are Ronald Dworkin, Jeremy Waldron, David A.J. Richards, and Joseph Raz. He also considers the influential modern justification for morals legislation offered by Patrick Devlin as an alternative to the traditional approach. George closes with a sketch of a "pluralistic perfectionist" theory of civil liberties and public morality, showing that it is fully compatible with a defense of morals legislation. Making Men Moral will interest legal scholars and political theorists as well as theologians and philosophers focusing on questions of social justice and political morality.
Savior or Servant? Putting Government in its Place
David W. Hall, Savior or Servant? Putting Government in its Place (1996).
From Amazon: David Hall is a rare breed -- a pastor, scholar, activist, and popular communicator. His electronic journal Premise and a wide array of online sources are treasure troves of information, and his several books on church polity are substantial. With Savior or Servant? he turns his eye upon the realm of the state -- and with no less remarkable results. The book may well be the single best volume of Christian thinking on the issue of the increasingly intrusive state... Examining virtually every passage of scripture as well as every historical and theological movement dealing with the proper place and role of civil government, it is encyclopedic in scope. -- George Grant, World, May 11/18, 1996. P. 22.
From Amazon: David Hall is a rare breed -- a pastor, scholar, activist, and popular communicator. His electronic journal Premise and a wide array of online sources are treasure troves of information, and his several books on church polity are substantial. With Savior or Servant? he turns his eye upon the realm of the state -- and with no less remarkable results. The book may well be the single best volume of Christian thinking on the issue of the increasingly intrusive state... Examining virtually every passage of scripture as well as every historical and theological movement dealing with the proper place and role of civil government, it is encyclopedic in scope. -- George Grant, World, May 11/18, 1996. P. 22.
The Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21-23
James B. Jordan, The Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21-23 (1984).
From the inside flap: How relevant are the laws of the Old Testament for today? God said that Israel was to be a light to the nations (Hebrews 42:6). That someday all nations would come to Jerusalem to receive the Law (Micah 4:2). That in His Law, "every transgression and disobedience receives a just recompense" (Hebrews 2:2). That all peoples would marvel at the wisdom and justice of Israel's laws (Deuteronomy 4:6-8). Yet, with the change from the Old to the New Covenant, there are clearly changes in the Law, "for when the priesthood changes, there must also take place a change of law" (Hebrews 7:12). How, then, are we to approach the many laws found in the Old Testament? Some of them are obviously superior to our modern law today (such as restitution instead of imprisonment for theft.) Some of them have obviously been superseded in Christ (such as the sacrificial system). Some of them seem overly harsh (such as the death penalty for "cursing" parents). Some of them seem weird and strange (such as the prohibition on boiling a kid in its mother's milk). In this book, Mr. Jordan provides four introductory chapters of the nature of Biblical law, on the redemptive historical context in which the law was first written, and on the overall changes in the law system which the New Covenant brings. Then, moving to the concrete, Mr. Jordan provides the first truly in-depth commentary on the case laws of Exodus 21-23, the Book of the Covenant. The laws are taken up one at a time. In each case, the question is asked, "What did this law mean to the people of the Old Testament age?" Then the question is asked, "What relevance might this law have for the Christian faith today?" Finally, the question is asked, "How does this law shed light on the work of Jesus Christ, of whom all Scripture speaks? That is, how can we preach Christ from this law?" In his preface, Mr. Jordan states that he has not tried to say the last word on these chapters of Scripture, but that he has tried to say a first word, and to challenge the Church to look further into these verses to find the wisdom for today. No preacher and no student of the Word can afford to be without this study.
Note: This book, published by the Institute for Christian Economics, is a worth-while introduction to a theonomist view towards Exodus 21-23. One should be sure to read the Introduction by John M. Frame. Pages 93 – 130 address Criminal Law, and pages 131 – 144 address Property Law.
The book is available for download here, or here (PDF).
From the inside flap: How relevant are the laws of the Old Testament for today? God said that Israel was to be a light to the nations (Hebrews 42:6). That someday all nations would come to Jerusalem to receive the Law (Micah 4:2). That in His Law, "every transgression and disobedience receives a just recompense" (Hebrews 2:2). That all peoples would marvel at the wisdom and justice of Israel's laws (Deuteronomy 4:6-8). Yet, with the change from the Old to the New Covenant, there are clearly changes in the Law, "for when the priesthood changes, there must also take place a change of law" (Hebrews 7:12). How, then, are we to approach the many laws found in the Old Testament? Some of them are obviously superior to our modern law today (such as restitution instead of imprisonment for theft.) Some of them have obviously been superseded in Christ (such as the sacrificial system). Some of them seem overly harsh (such as the death penalty for "cursing" parents). Some of them seem weird and strange (such as the prohibition on boiling a kid in its mother's milk). In this book, Mr. Jordan provides four introductory chapters of the nature of Biblical law, on the redemptive historical context in which the law was first written, and on the overall changes in the law system which the New Covenant brings. Then, moving to the concrete, Mr. Jordan provides the first truly in-depth commentary on the case laws of Exodus 21-23, the Book of the Covenant. The laws are taken up one at a time. In each case, the question is asked, "What did this law mean to the people of the Old Testament age?" Then the question is asked, "What relevance might this law have for the Christian faith today?" Finally, the question is asked, "How does this law shed light on the work of Jesus Christ, of whom all Scripture speaks? That is, how can we preach Christ from this law?" In his preface, Mr. Jordan states that he has not tried to say the last word on these chapters of Scripture, but that he has tried to say a first word, and to challenge the Church to look further into these verses to find the wisdom for today. No preacher and no student of the Word can afford to be without this study.
Note: This book, published by the Institute for Christian Economics, is a worth-while introduction to a theonomist view towards Exodus 21-23. One should be sure to read the Introduction by John M. Frame. Pages 93 – 130 address Criminal Law, and pages 131 – 144 address Property Law.
The book is available for download here, or here (PDF).
The City of God Meets Anabaptist Monasticism
David M. Smolin, The City of God Meets Anabaptist Monasticism: Reflections on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of Wisconsin v. Yoder, 25 Capital U. L. Rev. 841 (1996).
Some Religiously-Devout Justices, Civil Religion, and the Culture War
Christopher Wolfe, Some Religiously-Devout Justices, Civil Religion, and the Culture War, 81 Marq. L. Rev. 427 (1998).
Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession
Michael P. Schutt, Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession (InterVarsity Press 2007).
While there have been a number of books published exploring Christian beliefs about the nature and role of law in society, law professor Michael Schutt has written a book about the practice of law—about how the law can be honored as a Christian vocation. And his book, called Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession, is not a superficial, moralistic tract about being honest and offering pro bono services from time to time. Rather it raises deep questions about vocation, truth, community, and virtue.
While there have been a number of books published exploring Christian beliefs about the nature and role of law in society, law professor Michael Schutt has written a book about the practice of law—about how the law can be honored as a Christian vocation. And his book, called Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession, is not a superficial, moralistic tract about being honest and offering pro bono services from time to time. Rather it raises deep questions about vocation, truth, community, and virtue.
Schutt realizes that a faithful pursuit of the vocation of law requires more than a sound theology of law: it also requires certain sensibilities, “habits of the heart,” to use Tocqueville’s term. Schutt cites Tocqueville’s description of the sort of orientation that characterizes the best lawyers: “Men who have made a special study of the laws derive from this occupation certain habits of order, a taste for formalities, and a mind of instinctive regard for the regular connection of ideas, which naturally render them very hostile to the revolutionary spirit and the unreflecting passions of the multitude.” Schutt observes that the practice of law both produces those sorts of habits and is enabled by those who possess them.
Schutt, who obtained his J.D. from the University of Texas Law School, is sensitive to the misapprehensions about the nature of the practice of law that most law school graduates are likely to have absorbed. “The prevailing jurisprudence teaches that law is simply a tool for engineering human action and lawyers are social engineers.” With such a presupposition at work, lawyers are often confident that the ends justify any means they can imagine. But just as Christian doctors have been forced to examine their practices more carefully as the culture around them has become more post-Christian, so must Christian lawyers eagerly and humbly strive to renew their minds about how the law can be practiced Christianly.
Despite the great opportunities to use the practice of law as a vehicle for building the Kingdom of God, “most Christians in the law do not know what following Christ really means as a practical matter to their daily work. Some struggle with the concept of vocation as Christian calling in the first place, or are unable to accept that law is an appropriate arena in which to serve God and neighbor. Others believe that law can be a high calling, but nonetheless stop short of appropriating the historical resources of the church for the benefit of their law teaching, study, or practice.” Schutt’s book is a remarkably practical and wise guide for Christians striving to think Christianly about the law.
From Mars Hill Audio, Resources for Clergy
Desire of the Nations
Oliver O'Donovan, The Desire of the Nations: Rediscovering the Roots of Political Theory (1999).
O’Donovan attempts a “systematic approach” to Christian political thought. He “combines biblical interpretation, historical discussion of the Western political and theological tradition, theoretical construction and critical engagement with contemporary views.” (Note from the publisher).
O’Donovan attempts a “systematic approach” to Christian political thought. He “combines biblical interpretation, historical discussion of the Western political and theological tradition, theoretical construction and critical engagement with contemporary views.” (Note from the publisher).
City of God (Books XIX - XXII)
Augustine, City of God (Books XIX – XXII).
The best edition for our purposes is Augustine, Political Writings (Ernest L. Fortin and Douglas Kries, eds., Michael W. Tkacz and Douglas Kries, trans., Hackett 1994). Fortin adds a useful introduction to Augustine’s political thought, and each book of the City of God is edited to bite-sized portions.
The best edition for our purposes is Augustine, Political Writings (Ernest L. Fortin and Douglas Kries, eds., Michael W. Tkacz and Douglas Kries, trans., Hackett 1994). Fortin adds a useful introduction to Augustine’s political thought, and each book of the City of God is edited to bite-sized portions.
From Irenaeus to Grotius
O'Donovan & O'Donovan, From Irenaeus to Grotius: A sourcebook in Christian political thought 100 – 1625 (2000).
More than sixty authors from the second to seventeenth centuries are represented. The editors also provide introductory essays, placing each author in historical and theoretical context. Some of the excerpts are available only in this resource. Its breadth and depth are remarkable. Scripture Index, 838 pages.
More than sixty authors from the second to seventeenth centuries are represented. The editors also provide introductory essays, placing each author in historical and theoretical context. Some of the excerpts are available only in this resource. Its breadth and depth are remarkable. Scripture Index, 838 pages.
Luther: Selected Political Writings
J.M. Porter, ed., Luther: Selected Political Writings.
Porter excerpts important political selections from Luther. The important political works are, of course, available separately, and include: Temporal Authority, To What Extent Should it be Obeyed?; To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation; and The Freedom of a Christian. (Some of these works are also available at http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html).
Porter excerpts important political selections from Luther. The important political works are, of course, available separately, and include: Temporal Authority, To What Extent Should it be Obeyed?; To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation; and The Freedom of a Christian. (Some of these works are also available at http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html).
Justitia as Justice and Justitia as Righteousness
Jaroslav Pelikan, “Justitia” as Justice and “Justitia” as Righteousness, in Law and Theology 87-98 (Andrew J. Buehner, ed. 1965).
An interesting discussion of Luther’s Commentary on Galatians, implicitly shedding light on the issue of the difference between human “justice” and God’s requirements of “justice.”
An interesting discussion of Luther’s Commentary on Galatians, implicitly shedding light on the issue of the difference between human “justice” and God’s requirements of “justice.”
Declaration on Religious Freedom
Paul VI, Declaration on Religious Freedom: Dignitatis Humanae (Second Vatican Council, 1965).
This declaration, arising out of Vatican II, marks a distinct change in the Church’s view of the coercive power of the state in matters of religious belief and practice. The declaration grounds this new view of religious freedom in the dignity of the person and the Church’s theory of the role of the state.
Read this Resource
This declaration, arising out of Vatican II, marks a distinct change in the Church’s view of the coercive power of the state in matters of religious belief and practice. The declaration grounds this new view of religious freedom in the dignity of the person and the Church’s theory of the role of the state.
Read this Resource
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