LEGAL POLYCENTRISM: A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGICAL AND JURISPRUDENTIAL EVALUATION
Legal theorists have long debated whether law originates from a single source (the actions of state officials) or from multiple sources (including the innumerable communities and associations that constitute broader civil society). In recent years, proponents have defended polycentrism-and its criti...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal of law and religion
Year: 2017, Volume: 32, Issue: 3, Pages: 383-405 |
| Further subjects: | B
Customary law
B Legal positivism B law and theology B Christian jurisprudence B Polycentrism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Legal theorists have long debated whether law originates from a single source (the actions of state officials) or from multiple sources (including the innumerable communities and associations that constitute broader civil society). In recent years, proponents have defended polycentrism-and its critics have tried to refute it-from various moral, economic, and historical angles. But no contemporary writer has examined polycentrism from a Christian perspective. In the absence of such a study heretofore, this article attempts to evaluate legal polycentrism from a Christian theological and jurisprudential perspective. The Christian scriptures and Christian theology do not directly address whether law is polycentric or monocentric. Nevertheless, appealing to a number of biblical-theological issues-including the image of God, the Noahic covenant (Genesis 8:21-9:17), wisdom, and the purpose of civil government-I argue that Christians have good reason to regard polycentrism as a more satisfactory view of law. |
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| ISSN: | 2163-3088 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of law and religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/jlr.2017.37 |