The Divine Right Of Resistance

What would Jesus do under tyranny? Well, what did Jesus do under tyranny? In this book, you'll see how Jesus and countless heroes of the faith navigated unjust judges, illegal arrests, civil rights violations, weapons bans, street-preaching bans, being forbidden to meet together, and more. See over 200 Scriptural examples of resistance to these age-old challenges, and the saints' legacy of overcoming "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony" (Rev. 12:11). Discover Scripturally-based resistance tactics for individuals, churches, and magistrates. See why Romans 13 proves that tyrants are not ministers of God, and what makes a ruler a tyrant. Learn what the Great Commission says about your responsibilities to your magistrate, in good times, bad times, and everything in between. And get a peek at the Bible's grid for individualized decision making, so that you can know "when to hold and when to fold" in exercising your Divine Right of Resistance.

"Figgis sets his analysis in Europe beginning from the early Middle Ages, with how nobles would often elect fellows to act as king (lord of lords), and who were bound to the customary laws of the land. Through a series of theocratic power struggles originating in the Holy Roman Empire, and the transformation of being a king of a people to being king over a land, and the eventual resolution of those power struggles (in England), Figgis gives a thorough account of the development of Divine Right as it came to be stated by James VI. You will find a thoroughly researched work which traces step-by-step the evolution of DROK, taking the time to demonstrate the nuances of moral laws and adherence to them which are counterintuitive to modern interpretations of pre-modern ideas (such as resisting a king who has contradicted God's law, in order to serve that king), and its different expression and application by Catholics, Protestants and Presbyterians. The in-depth account of DROK will give you an excellent picture of the historical and political landscape occurring right at the birth of humanity into modernity. The book is a vital companion to anyone studying ideas of sovereignty, power, political doctrines, theocracy, or the events and ideas which led up to the execution of Charles I; referencing Marsilius of Padua, Jean Bodin, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Likewise, Figgis' work is vital for wider reference towards other philosophical works which were themselves discussing DROK (such as Hegel's Philosophy of Right), or of political responses to ideas of sovereignty, such as the school of Karl Marx (Including Giovanni Gentile, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler); utilitarians; or the post-modernists (Agamben) and post-structuralists (Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida)" --Amazon.com

The seventeenth century was England's century of revolution, an era in which the nation witnessed protracted civil wars, the execution of a king, and the declaration of a short-lived republic. During this period of revolutionary crisis, political writers of all persuasions hoped to shape the outcome of events by the force of their arguments. To read the major political theorists of Stuart England is to be plunged into a world in which many of our modern conceptions of political rights and social change are first formulated. David Wootton's masterly compilation of speeches, essays, and fiercely polemical pamphlets--organized into chapters focusing on the main debates of the century--represents the first attempt to present in one volume a broad collection of Stuart political thought. In bringing together abstract theorizing and impassioned calls to arms, anonymous tract writers and King James I, Wootton has produced a much-needed collection; in combination with the editor's thoughtful running commentary and invaluable Introduction, its texts bring to life a crucial period in the formation of our modern liberal and conservative theories.

This volume of essays covers themes which are central to the work of Brenda Bolton as a scholar and teacher: Innocent III, the city of Rome, the medieval Church and the urban context of the Italian peninsula in the late Middle Ages.

This book provides a bridge between Shakespeare studies and classical social theory, opening up readings of Shakespeare to a new audience outside of literary studies and the humanities. Shakespeare has long been known as a “great thinker” and this book reads his plays through the lens of an anthropologist, revealing new connections between Shakespeare’s plays and the lives we now lead. Close readings of a selection of frequently studied plays—Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, and King Lear—engage with the texts in detail while connecting them with some of the biggest questions we all ask ourselves, about love, friendship, ritual, language, human interactions, and the world around us. The plays are examined through various social theories including performance theory, cognitive theory, semiotics, exchange theory, and structuralism. The book concludes with a consideration of how “the new astronomy” of his day and developments in optics changed the very idea of “perspective,” and shaped Shakespeare’s approach to embedding social theory in his dramatic texts. This accessible and engaging book will appeal to those approaching Shakespeare from outside literary studies but will also be valuable to literature students approaching Shakespeare for the first time, or looking for a new angle on the plays.

Jeffry H. Morrison offers readers the first comprehensive look at the political thought and career of John Witherspoon—a Scottish Presbyterian minister and one of America’s most influential and overlooked founding fathers. Witherspoon was an active member of the Continental Congress and was the only clergyman both to sign the Declaration of Independence and to ratify the federal Constitution. During his tenure as president of the College of New Jersey at Princeton, Witherspoon became a mentor to James Madison and influenced many leaders and thinkers of the founding period. He was uniquely positioned at the crossroads of politics, religion, and education during the crucial first decades of the new republic. Morrison locates Witherspoon in the context of early American political thought and charts the various influences on his thinking. This impressive work of scholarship offers a broad treatment of Witherspoon’s constitutionalism, including his contributions to the mediating institutions of religion and education, and to political institutions from the colonial through the early federal periods. This book will be appreciated by anyone with an interest in American political history and thought and in the relation of religion to American politics.