The Teachings of Modern Orthodox Christianity on Law, Politics, and Human Nature

The Teachings of Modern Orthodox Christianity on Law, Politics, and Human Nature examines how modern Orthodox Christian thinkers have answered the most pressing political, legal, and ethical questions of our time. It discusses the enduring teachings of important Orthodox Christian 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 Orthodox Christian legal and political thought, this volume underscores the various ways Orthodox Christian intellectuals have shaped modern debates over the family, the state, religion, and society. The book concentrates on Russian philosophers Vladimir Soloviev (1853-1900) and Vladimir Lossky (1903-1958); Russian theologian Nicholas Berdyaev (1874-1948); Russian nun and social reformer Mother Maria Skobtsova (1891-1945); and Romanian theologian Dumitru St?niloae (1903-1993).

John Witte Jr. is the Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. He has published 120 articles and 20 books, includingLaw and Protestantism: The Legal Teachings of the Lutheran Reformation andThe Reformation of Rights: Law, Religion, and Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism. Frank S. Alexander is Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. He has published a dozen volumes, including The Weightier Matters of the Law: Essays on Law and Religion.