Modern Protestantism and Positive Law
The Contours of a Continental Theological Tradition
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
The nature and role of positive law has largely been neglected in recent Protestant theology and social ethics. Modern Protestantism and Positive Law introduces and critically summarizes a tradition in Continental Protestant thought about human law, drawing on writings of Barth, Brunner, Ellul, Thielicke, Wolf, Pannenberg, Huber, and Kreβ, many of which have not been translated into English. The book argues that law is an essential political and social institution within developed societies, one that is normative and dependent on an encompassing vision of justice but that also necessarily reflects the contemporary pluralism of those societies. Modern Protestantism and Positive Law argues that theological and ethical perspectives on positive law developed by Protestant thinkers have a place in reflection on positive law, provided they are conceived and expressed in a manner appropriately respectful of the diversity of contemporary opinion regarding the expression of religious perspectives in the public arena.
Bradley Shingleton is an independent scholar and attorney. He is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School and Duke Law School and is the author of several articles and book chapters on law, ethics, and religion.
“This is the work of a first-rate intellectual assessing an often-overlooked intersection of law and theology. Shingleton is comprehensive without being wearying. His analysis not only sheds light on legal and religious history but is also a welcome insight into cultural norms that influence our world.”
—Timothy Fort, University of Indiana
“Shingleton, in his fine new book, displays the importance of recovering the wisdom found in a group of thinkers—mostly German and Swiss—who stressed the theological significance of positive law. . . . Do we not in our day see similar pressing concerns—the rise of nationalist movements, Brexit convulsions, and the need for a global response to climate change—that similarly demand that we recover a theological interest in positive law, civil society, and institutions that sustain and protect all communities and nations? Shingleton’s book is important and timely. It is extremely clearly written and offers a compelling account of an important Continental theological tradition.”
—William French, Loyola University Chicago