The Christian Structure of Politics PDF Download

Author: William A. McCormick (S.J.)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813234489
Category : Christian ethics
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"This book focuses on the question, what is the relationship between Christianity and politics? The author argues that the De Regno of Thomas Aquinas offers an answer; discusses Aquinas's themes in the history of Christian political thought"--

Author: William McCormick
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 0813234476
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The Christian Structure of Politics, the first full-length monograph on Thomas Aquinas's De Regno in decades, offers an authoritative interpretation of De Regno as a contribution to our understanding of Aquinas's politics, particularly on the relationship between Church and State. William McCormick argues that Aquinas takes up a via media between Augustine and Aristotle in De Regno, invoking human nature to ground politics as rational, but also Christian principles to limit politics because of both sin and the supernatural end of man beyond politics. Where others have seen disjoined sections on the best regime, tyranny, and the reward of the king, McCormick identifies a dialogical structure to the text - one not unlike the disputed question format - whereby Aquinas both tempers expectations for the best government and offers a spiritual diagnosis of tyranny, culminating in a sharp critique of civil religion and political theology. McCormick draws upon historical research on Aquinas' context, especially that of Anthony Black, Cary Nederman and Francis Oakley, from which he develops three themes: the medieval preponderance of kingship and royal ideology; the relationship between Church and State; and the intersection of Latin Christianity and Greco-Roman antiquity. While age-old concerns, recent research in these areas has allowed us to move beyond simplistic platitudes. For scholars of political theory and the history of political thought, De Regno will prove fascinating for the interplay of Aristotelian and Augustinian elements, undercutting the conventional wisdom that Aquinas was simply an Aristotelian. De Regno also includes an extended treatment of civil religion, one of Aquinas’ most historically-oriented discussions of politics.

Author: J. Brian Benestad
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 0310517931
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Learn to think deeply about the relationship between church and state in a way that goes beyond mere policy debates and current campaigns. Few topics can grab headlines and stir passions quite like politics, especially when the church is involved. Considering the attention that many Christian parachurch groups, churches, and individual believers give to politics--and of the varying and sometimes divergent political ideals and aims among them--Five Views on the Church and Politics provides a helpful breakdown of the possible Christian approaches to political involvement. General Editor Amy Black brings together five top-notch political theologians in the book, each representing one of the five key political traditions within Christianity: Anabaptist (Separationist: the most limited possible Christian involvement in politics) - represented by Thomas Heilke Lutheran (Paradoxical: strong separation of church and state) – represented by Robert Benne Black Church (Prophetic: the church's mission is to be a voice for communal reform) – represented by Bruce Fields Reformed (Transformationist: emphasizes God's sovereignty over all things, including churches and governments) – represented by James K. A. Smith Catholic (Synthetic: encouragement of political participation as a means to further the common good of all people) – represented by J. Brian Benestad Each author addresses his tradition's theological distinctives, the role of government, the place of individual Christian participation in government and politics, and how churches should (or should not) address political questions. Responses by each contributor to opposing views will highlight key areas of difference and disagreement. Thorough and even-handed, Five Views on the Church and Politics will enable readers to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the most significant Christian views on political engagement and to draw their own, informed conclusions.

Author: Frederick D. Wilhelmsen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351528513
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
Each chapter in Christianity and Political Philosophy addresses a philosophical problem generated by history. Frederick D. Wilhelmsen discusses the limits of natural law; Cicero and the politics of the public orthodoxy; the problem of political power and the forces of darkness; Sir John Fortescue and the English tradition; Donoso Cortes and the meaning of political power; the natural law tradition and the American political experience; Eric Voegelin and the Christian tradition; and Jaffa, the School of Strauss, and the Christian tradition. Wilhelmsen is convinced that mainstream philosophy's suppression of the Christian experience, or its reduction of Christianity to myths, deprives both Christianity and philosophy. He argues that Christianity opened up an entirely new range of philosophical questions and speculation that today are part and parcel of the intellectual tradition of the West. Wilhelmsen remains relevant because political philosophy in America today is following the historic cycle of political philosophy's importance: as things get worse for the nation because it is internally riven by ideological and spiritual conflicts, there is a greater need for the political philosopher to raise and explore profound questions and reassert forgotten truths about man and society, the soul and God, and good and evil, as well as the ground of political order. This is the latest book in Transaction's esteemed Library of Conservative Thought series.

Author: Nils Schnelle
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640278240
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: USA, grade: 1,50, Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, 90 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This thesis will address the political movement of the Christian Right, one of the most controversial movements in the American political system. Its critics have accused it of trying to establish a theocracy in the United States, of trying to strip homosexuals of their civil rights, and called it fascist, to name but a few allegations. Leaders of the Christian Right, on the other hand, have harshly attacked those they made out as advocates of “secular humanism”, have accused them of anti-Christian bigotry, and have repeatedly employed extreme rhetoric when addressing their (political) adversaries. Within about twenty-five years, the movement developed from almost complete political abstinence into a highly organized political force. The subject is appealing for research for several reasons: firstly, it is a good example of how vivid and influential religion and religiously motivated political action still are, in spite of the secularization theory widely adhered to in the respective period of time. It is also still current, as there has been some fluctuation in terms of activity and degree of organization, but so far the Christian Right has not ceased to exist. The goal of the thesis is to explore the emergence of the movement, to portrait the developments that brought theologically conservative Protestants (Evangelicals) – from isolation and retreat into a subculture – to active and organized political involvement. The central questions to be answered are linked to the controversy surrounding the movement: (1) Has the Christian Right been trying to accomplish what its critics fear, a theocracy, and a Christian nation in which there would be no place for dissenters? (2) Is the Christian Right a legitimate movement operating within the frame of the political system, or is it set out to ultimately change that system? Resulting from those questions is the evaluation of the Christian Right’s performance so far (regardless of what can be concluded to answer the above questions): (3) Which of its goals have been achieved, what balance can be drawn?

Author: Nils Schnelle
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640282299
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 133

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Book Description
Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: USA, grade: 1,50, Catholic University Eichst tt-Ingolstadt, 90 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This thesis will address the political movement of the Christian Right, one of the most controversial movements in the American political system. Its critics have accused it of trying to establish a theocracy in the United States, of trying to strip homosexuals of their civil rights, and called it fascist, to name but a few allegations. Leaders of the Christian Right, on the other hand, have harshly attacked those they made out as advocates of "secular humanism", have accused them of anti-Christian bigotry, and have repeatedly employed extreme rhetoric when addressing their (political) adversaries. Within about twenty-five years, the movement developed from almost complete political abstinence into a highly organized political force. The subject is appealing for research for several reasons: firstly, it is a good example of how vivid and influential religion and religiously motivated political action still are, in spite of the secularization theory widely adhered to in the respective period of time. It is also still current, as there has been some fluctuation in terms of activity and degree of organization, but so far the Christian Right has not ceased to exist. The goal of the thesis is to explore the emergence of the movement, to portrait the developments that brought theologically conservative Protestants (Evangelicals) - from isolation and retreat into a subculture - to active and organized political involvement. The central questions to be answered are linked to the controversy surrounding the movement: (1) Has the Christian Right been trying to accomplish what its critics fear, a theocracy, and a Christian nation in which there would be no place for dissenters? (2) Is the Christian Right a legitimate movement operating within the frame of th

Author: Marinos Diamantides
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748697799
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Can secularisation in the legal and political domains settle modernitys scores with religion?Anton SchAtz and Marinos Diamantides provide a genealogical mapping of the universalisation/secularisation thesis that is both widely saluted and mistrusted as master narrative of modern political and normative history. Questions the outdated suggestions of Carl Schmitts political theologyBuilds upon a refined version of Giorgio Agambens close-reading of Christian government as managementIdentifies Western-Christian tensions within jurisprudenceConcludes that what the Wests secular universality is passing off as 'politics' or 'law' is really an attempt to manage its own dwindling primacy

Author: K. Conger
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230101747
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
This book examines the influence and activities of the Christian Right at the state level. One of the first attempts at studying the Christian Right comparatively across states, this book offers a new theoretically-driven perspective on how political context and constraints shape the Christian Right s strategy and influence. Based on evidence from in-depth case studies of three states - Indiana, Missouri, and Arizona - and qualitative and quantitative data from a wide variety of other states, its conclusions demonstrate that the movement s strategies and behavior are based on the political opportunity structure of each state, the movement s internal resources, and its ability to utilize threat-based mobilization.

Author: Allan R Bevere
Publisher: Energion Publications
ISBN: 193843434X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 90

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Book Description
Can a church that is compromised through dependence on temporal, political power speak with a powerful prophetic voice in the world? As the body of Christ, the church has a prophetic role in the world. Prophets have always spoken clearly to people in power. They have been willing to challenge the decisions made by people who thought they were not accountable to anyone. Sometimes the prophets were respected, sometimes persecuted, but they were never ignored or regarded as irrelevant. So why is it that the church today cannot speak truth effectively to power? In The Politics of Witness, Dr. Allan R. Bevere asks these questions and proposes an answer. The church has come to depend too much on temporal power and has thus forgotten its divine authority. In finding this answer he goes back to the founding of the church and how it first became dependent on the state. He examines those who have followed, mostly building a political theory that takes the responsibility of ministry from the church and gives it to the state. You'll find some names in this that might surprise you. Any discussion of Christianity and the state will involve Emperor Constantine, but what about his modern lieutenants, such as Locke, Jefferson, Franklin, and others? While the theology applies to the church in any country, Dr. Bevere takes a particular look at the peculiarly American view that the United States of America is somehow God's chosen people, a nation of destiny in accomplishing the gospel mission. This book balances brevity with a broad intellectual and historical reach. You will be taken from the founding and foundation structure of Christian theology today to a proposal for how we, as the Church can reclaim our prophetic witness. In the current political atmosphere, every Christian needs to read this book.

Author: Eric Voegelin
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
ISBN: 9780826211422
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
The series will publish all of philosopher Voegelin's (1901-1985) works, including the previously unpublished, multi-volume History of Political Ideas, of which this is the second volume. Completed in 1944, it is not a conventional chronological account but an original comprehensive account of the political thought and experiential underpinnings that typified the medieval period. A survey of the structure of the period is followed by analysis of the Germanic invasions, the fall of Rome, and the rise of empire and monastic Christianity, climaxing in a study of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR