The Narnia 3 Book Review Blog

H. Wayne House (editor). The Christian and American Law: Christianity’s Impact on America’s Founding Documents and Future Direction. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998. 301pp., $14.95 (paper).

The relationship between Christianity as a religion and the civil government of the United States is one of constant turmoil, high emotion and seeming endless litigation in the court system. In this book the editor (himself a professor of both theology and law) has brought together a series of essays by lawyers and theologians discussing some of the most pertinent issues in the current discussion. In the introduction House states that “the American experiment was built on the acceptance of law from two sources, both reflecting adherence to divine law. The first was the law of nature, generally known as natural law. The second was the law of Scripture” (p. 9). He then points out that “at the heart of America’s constitutional government lies a third source: the common law tradition” (ibid.). These articles arise out of a series of lectures given at the 1993 National Association of Evangelicals meeting. The essays examine, “the past influence of Christianity on the laws, determined ways in which Christians should relate to current laws, and proposed ways Christians might influence future laws” (p. 11).

This book is not for the faint of heart. The reading is often ponderous and for one who has not waded through legal briefs and tightly wound argumentation, they may very well abandon the effort. However, that would be to their detriment as the various essays contain a wealth of well-thought out and, for the most part, well articulated positions on the various issues of the Christian’s relationship to civil authorities. Herbert W. Titus’ introductory chapter, “God’s Revelation: Foundation for the Common Law” is an excellent presentation of the place of Christian theology in relation to the formulation of America’s civil law. He convincingly demonstrates that “America’s founding fathers embraced a philosophy of law and government explicitly based on God’s revelation in nature and the Holy Scriptures” (p. 41). Other noteworthy chapters are John Eidsmoe’s “Operation Josiah: Rediscovering the Biblical Roots of the American Constitutional Republic,” D. F. Kelly’s “The Religious Roots of Western Liberty: Cut Them or Renew Them?” and Edmund Clowny’s “The Kingdom, The Church, and the Gospel in an Age of Pluralism.”

A couple of the essays are disappointing. the chapter on “The Abiding Value of Biblical Law” is far too brief to adequately cover the issues and the author’s use of “law” as it relates to the Old Testament seems overly broad. The editor’s own chapter on civil disobedience will likely strike many (especially this reviewer, who formerly employed in local law enforcement) as running headlong into Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:13-17.

At the end of the book there is a “Summary Statement” signed by the participants in the conference and introduced in the book by Carl F. H. Henry.

This book is recommended as a balanced and thorough discussion of the issues that currently are engaging many corners of theological, judicial and legislative thought and action. It will be especially helpful to pastors and other church leaders who are thinking through these issues, as the call to political action on the part of Christians becomes more fervent with the seeming re-emergence of evangelical influence in the national political arena.