Slaying Leviathan: Limited Government and Resistance in Christian Tradition – A Christian Political Philosophy Book on Civil Authority, Responsibility

Christians first expressed these political truths under Caesars, kings, popes, and emperors. We need them in the age of presidents. Leviathan is rising again, and the first weapon we must recover is the longstanding Christian tradition of resisting governmental overreach. Our bloated bureaucratic state would have been unrecognizable to the Founders, and our acquiescence to its encroachments on liberty would have infuriated them. But here is the point: our Leviathan would not have surprised them. They were well acquainted with the tendency of governments to turn tyrannical: “Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty.” In Slaying Leviathan, historian Glenn S. Sunshine surveys some of the stories and key elements of Christian political thought from Augustine to the Declaration of Independence. Specifically, the book introduces theories of limited government that were synthesized into a coherent political philosophy by John Locke. Locke, of course, influenced the American founders and was, like us, fighting against the spirit of Leviathan in his day. But his is only one of the many stories in this book. Slaying Leviathan is a Christian theology book on Christian political thought of resisting government overreach. From the era of Augustine to the Declaration of Independence, this Biblical Theology book surveys some of the stories and key elements on how Christian political ideas have shaped the theories of limited government and individual liberty over time. A few noteworthy ideas discussed in these Christian history books include the Christian tradition of resisting government tyranny and advocating for individual freedom by staying eternally vigilant. These history of Christian political thinkers and government books also highlight the works of John Locke on synthesizing these ideas into coherent political philosophies influencing American founders to understand the importance of fighting against the spirit of Leviathan.