ABOUT THE EPISODE

A curated survey of ten seminal works in Christian political theology—from Justin Martyr and Augustine to Calvin, Rutherford, and Oliver O’Donovan—highlighting the development of theological reflection on church, state, and authority across the centuries.

Resources to Click

• “Do the Reading: Selections in Political Theology” – Brad Green
• Theme of the Month: Do the Reading: Selections in Political Theology
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• From Irenaeus to Grotius: A Sourcebook in Christian Political Thought – Oliver O’Donovan
• Apostolic Fathers – J.B. Lightfoot ed. Michael Holmes
• City of God – Augustine of Hippo
• Summa Theologica – Thomas Aquinas
• The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso – Dante Alighieri
• Luther: Selected Political Writings – Martin Luther; ed. J.M. Porter
• Institutes of the Christian Religion – John Calvin ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles
• Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos: A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants – Stephen Junius Brutus
• Politica – Johannes Althusius
• Leviathan – Thomas Hobbes
• Lex Rex: The Law is King – Samuel Rutherford
• The Emergence of Liberty in the Modern World: The Influence of Calvin on Five Governments from the 16th-18th Centuries – Douglas F. Kelly
• The Oxford Guide to the Historical Reception of Augustine – eds. Karla Pollman and Willemien Otten
• The Desire of the Nations: Rediscovering the Roots of Political Theology – Oliver O’Donovan