In the midst of intense religious conflict in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, theological and political concepts converged in remarkable ways. Incited by the slaughter of French Protestants in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Reformed theologians and lawyers began to marshal arguments for political resistance. These theological arguments were grounded in uniquely religious conceptions of the covenant, community, and popular sovereignty. While other works of historical scholarship have focused on the political and legal sources of this strain of early modern resistance literature, The Immortal Commonwealth examines the frequently overlooked theological sources of these writings. It reveals how Reformed thinkers such as Heinrich Bullinger, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and Johannes Althusius used traditional theological conceptions of covenant and community for surprisingly radical political ends.
Les mer
Introduction; 1. The covenanting God; 2. The law of the covenant; 3. Breaking covenant; 4. The unaccountable sovereign; 5. Consociational politics; 6. Resisting the devil.
'In The Immortal Commonwealth, David P. Henreckson navigates the oft-inordinately voluminous literature on Calvinist covenant theologies with the requisite dexterity, interpretive savvy and skills, not to mention much-needed patience to plow through these mostly forgotten and putatively esoteric treatises from an era, again, allegedly known for arid and atrophying Protestant scholastic discourses. Henreckson shows how the central theo-political idea of God as the covenanter has contributed to and ushered in the transformations of political theologies that pertain to Self, Society, and Savior in a refreshing way. It is truly worthy of the Augustinian dictum tolle lege!' Paul C. H. Lim, Vanderbilt University, author of Mystery Unveiled: The Crisis of the Trinity in Early Modern England
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Reveals how early modern religious conceptions of covenant and community were deployed for surprisingly radical political ends.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781108470216
Publisert
2019-07-04
Utgiver
Vendor
Cambridge University Press
Vekt
440 gr
Høyde
234 mm
Bredde
156 mm
Dybde
15 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
218

Biographical note

David P. Henreckson is Assistant Professor of Theology at Dordt College, Iowa, and serves as director of the Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service. His research interests include early modern religion and politics, resistance theory, secularity, and Christian ethics. His work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, Studies in Christian Ethics, and the Journal of Reformed Theology, as well as magazines such as Comment and Political Theology Today. He is a contributing editor at Comment.