​The Teachings of Modern Protestantism on Law, Politics, and Human Nature

Coeditor, The Teachings of Modern Protestantism on Law, Politics and Human Nature (New York/London: Columbia University Press, 2007) (with Frank S. Alexander)
Description

The Teachings of Modern Protestantism on Law, Politics, and Human Nature examines how modern Protestant thinkers have answered the most pressing political, legal, and ethical questions of our time. It discusses the enduring teachings of important Protestant intellectuals of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Leading contemporary scholars analyze these thinkers' views on the nature and purpose of law and authority, the limits of rule and obedience, the care of the needy and innocent, the ethics of war and violence, and the separation of church and state, among other themes. A diverse and powerful portrait of Protestant legal and political thought, this volume underscores the various ways Protestant intellectuals have shaped modern debates over the family, the state, religion, and society. The book focuses on the work of Abraham Kuyper (1827-1920); Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906); Karl Barth (1886-1968); Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945); Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971); Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968); William Stringfellow (1928-1985); and John Howard Yoder (1927-1997).
Table of Contents

  • Introduction, John Witte, Jr.
  • Introduction to Modern Protestantism, Mark A. Noll, Wheaton College
  • Abraham Kuyper (1827-1920), Nicholas P. Wolterstorff, Yale University                 
  • Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), Mary D. Pellauer, University of Chicago
  • Karl Barth (1886-1968), George Hunsinger, Princeton University                     
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Milner Ball, University of Georgia                                                         
  • Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971), Davison M. Douglas, College of William and Mary              
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1965), Timothy P. Jackson, Emory University                                            
  • William Stringfellow (1928-1985), Frank S. Alexander, Emory University
  • John Howard Yoder (1927-1997), Duncan B. Forrester, University of Edinburgh        
Reviews

"Rarely have the riches of modern theology and theological anthropology been so incisively analyzed for their insights into the fundamentals of our modern political condition."
-- Jean Bethke Elshtain, University of Chicago

"Crisp, informative, even-handed, and, above all, interesting. It is a joy to learn what riches there are in modern times in the major Christian traditions."
-- Robert N. Bellah, University of California, Berkeley

"A useful resource and a powerful inspiration."
-- Rebecca S. Chopp, President, Colgate University; Former President, American Academy of Religion

“These essays and excerpts address an extraordinary range of essential theological and political concerns.”
-- Choice

“Liberating and dangerous stuff.”
-- John E. Coons, University of California, Berkeley