Introduction to 'Modern Christian Teachings on Law, Politics, and Human Nature'

Witte, John; Alexander, Frank S.

Introduction to 'Modern Christian Teachings on Law, Politics, and Human Nature'

“Introduction,” to John Witte, Jr. and Frank S. Alexander, eds., Modern Christian Teachings on Law, Politics, Society, and Human Nature (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 1-23

Emory Legal Studies Research Paper 15-369

15 Pages Posted: 6 Dec 2015 Last revised: 7 Mar 2020

See all articles by John Witte

Modern Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians alike produced original teachings on law and politics, constructing them on the foundations of their theology, particularly their theology of human nature. But, until recent years, these Christian legal teachings did not penetrate Western legal education, given its pervasive devotion to legal positivism. With the rise of interdisciplinary legal studies, however, these teachings have begun to influence the law both in the West and beyond. This chapter introduces a score of major modern Christian thinkers whose views on law, politics, and human nature deserve closer study by jurists and theologians alike.

Keywords: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Legal Positivism, Interdisciplinary Legal Studies, Law and Religion, Grant Gilmore, Christianity, Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, Modernity, Legal Teachings and Social Teachings, Secularism, Globalization, Natural Law Theory

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Witte, John and Alexander, Frank S., Introduction to 'Modern Christian Teachings on Law, Politics, and Human Nature' (2006). “Introduction,” to John Witte, Jr. and Frank S. Alexander, eds., Modern Christian Teachings on Law, Politics, Society, and Human Nature (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 1-23, Emory Legal Studies Research Paper 15-369, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2699311