Author: Paul Babie Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1134851227 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 333
Book Description
Increasingly, the modern neo-liberal world marginalises any notion of religion or spirituality, leaving little or no room for the sacred in the public sphere. While this process advances, the conservative and harmful behaviours associated with some religions and their adherents exacerbate this marginalisation by driving out those who remain religious or spiritual. And all of this is seen through the lens of social science, which seems to agree that religion remains important, if not in spiritual sense, at least as a source of folklore and a means of identification: religions remain rooted in the societies from which they emerged, and the legal systems of many of those societies emerged from religious sources, even if those societies remain unwilling to admit that fact. In the modern materialistic world of conformity, religion is less a source of guidance than a label of identification. The world therefore faces two issues. First, the decreasing level of spirituality in the ‘West’ widens the gap between worshippers and those who have left their faith (eg agnostics and atheists, or those who look at religion as a matter of ‘picking and choosing’ from a range of options). And, second, the strong connections to religion which remain in many nations, but which are often misused in the secular public sphere (both in the West and internationally). In such divided worlds, both religious and secular forces tend to lock themselves into closed groupings of ‘pure truth’ and in so doing increase the level of disagreement, in turn producing radicalism. In short, the modern world is divided in two ways: between religious and non-religious (although some have argued that the non-religious secular is itself a form of civil religion), and between those subscribing to divergent understandings of the same religious tradition. While hyperbolic and histrionic, the term ‘culture wars’ nonetheless best captures what we see happening in the public sphere today. The question emerges, then: how best to accommodate the democratic principle which posits that the majority should feel that it lives in a society of its own with the human rights principle, holding that is necessary to ensure the full protection of the minority’s rights? How to balance these seemingly opposed principles? We are very familiar with the differences that appear between secular and sacred in the modern world; yet, what of the similarities amongst scriptures and laws which seek to encourage mutual understanding, cooperation and even cohabitation? Because religion itself is a source of law, a set of exhortations or commands as much as a set of rights, every major religion offers an approach to encountering ‘the Other’ in a positive, constructive, affirming way; and it is here that religions reveal much that they have in common. This book draws together the work of scholars engaged in exploring the possibilities for a ‘utopian’ world in the sense fostered by St Thomas More. The essays explore those dimensions of religious and civil law where ‘love’ – however that is defined by relevant texts – fosters and encourages acceptance of ‘the Other’ and will offer perspectives on the ways in which religious or civil/state law command one to act in the spirit of ‘love’.
Author: Joshua Neoh Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1108427650 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 221
Book Description
Moving from monasticism to constitutionalism, and from antinomianism to anarchism, this book reveals law's connection with love and freedom.
Author: Yochanan Muffs Publisher: Belknap Press ISBN: 9780674539327 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 240
Book Description
Studying the interplay of figurative language, law, and religious thought, Yochanan Muffs brings us a new understanding of both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern cultures. This first single-volume collection of the pivotal writings of this great religious humanist includes his studies of love and joy as metaphors, the laws of war in ancient Israel, the figurative nature of legal language, the role of the prophet and prophetic speech, and the expressions of belonging which united a culture.
Author: Todd Breyfogle Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: 1501314041 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 169
Book Description
Reading Augustine presents concise, personal readings of St. Augustine of Hippo from leading philosophers and religious scholars. Todd Breyfogle's On Creativity, Liberty, Love and the Beauty of the Law introduces readers to Augustine's understanding of law as an arena in which the possibilities of creative freedom are reconciled with the needs of natural and civil order. It places Augustine's conception of law in the broader mosaic of his ideas about how human beings are bound together individually, socially, and spiritually. Seasoned readers of Augustine will see this fundamental element of his thought in a different light, even as those less familiar with Augustine are introduced to the thrill of following how he makes sense of the complexities of nature, history, and the human spirit.
Author: Zachary R. Calo Publisher: Taylor & Francis ISBN: 1000813215 Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 210
Book Description
This book examines how Christian love can inform legal thought. The work introduces love as a way to advance the emergent conversation between constructive theology and jurisprudence that will also inform conversations in philosophy and political theory. Love is the central category for Christian ethical understanding. Yet, the growing field of law and religion, and relatedly law and theology, rarely addresses how love can shape our understanding of law. This reflects, in part, a common assumption that law and love stand in necessary tension. Love applies to the private and the personal. Law, by contrast, applies to the public and the political, realms governed by power. It is thus a mistake to envisage love as having anything but a negative relationship to law. This conclusion continues to govern Christian understandings of the meaning and vocation of law. The animating idea of this volume is that the concept of love can and should inform Christian legal thought. The project approaches this task from the perspective of both historical and constructive theology. Various contributions examine how such thinkers as Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin utilised love in their legal thought. These essays highlight often neglected aspects of the Christian tradition. Other contributions examine Christian love in light of contemporary legal topics including civility, forgiveness, and secularism. Love, the book proposes, not only matters for law but can transform the terms on which Christians understand and engage it. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of legal theory; law and religion; law and philosophy; legal history; theology and religious studies; and political theory.
Author: Ernest Holmes Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 1440650292 Category : Self-Help Languages : en Pages : 273
Book Description
Early lectures and private lessons from celebrated spiritual teacher Ernest Holmes, illustrating the key concepts behind his influential ideas. Ernest Holmes was a beloved teacher and philosopher with a disarmingly simple message: Change your thinking, and you will change your life. There is a creative law in the universe, Holmes reasoned, and it is available to each of us right now through our thought patterns. We can, quite literally, think our way to happiness and contentment. Love and Law is a collection of carefully selected lectures and private lessons that have never before been in print. It is a splendid testament to the living philosophy of this remarkable guide and thinker.
Author: William Stacy Johnson Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing ISBN: 080282966X Category : Law Languages : en Pages : 341
Book Description
As rhetoric continues to heat up on both sides of the debate over same-gender unions, clear, reasoned statements are in short supply. Johnson presents a comprehensive case for acknowledging the legitimacy of same-gender unions in law, politics, and especially religion.
Author: Paul Babie
Author: Nicholas Wolterstorff
Author: Joshua Neoh
Author: Yochanan Muffs
Author: Gerald Friedlander
Author: Harry J. Gensler
Author: Todd Breyfogle
Author: Zachary R. Calo
Author: Ernest Holmes
Author: William Stacy Johnson