Finding Locke's God
Subtitle: the theological basis of John Locke's political thought
By: Nathan Guy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 244
ISBN-13: 9781350103542; 9781350103528
Subjects: Religion; Christianity and politics; History; Philosophy
Description: "The portrait of John Locke as a secular advocate of Enlightenment rationality has been deconstructed by the recent 'religious turn' in Locke scholarship. This book takes an important next step: moving beyond the 'religious turn' and establishing a 'theological turn', Nathan Guy argues that John Locke ought to be viewed as a Christian political philosopher whose political theory was firmly rooted in the moderating Latitudinarian theology of the seventeenth-century. Nestled between the secular political philosopher and the Christian public theologian stands Locke, the Christian political philosopher, whose arguments not only self-consciously depend upon Christian assumptions, but also offer a decidedly Christian theory of government. Finding Locke's God identifies three theological pillars crucial to Locke's political theory: (1) a biblical depiction of God, (2) the law of nature rooted in a doctrine of creation and (3) acceptance of divine revelation in scripture. As a result, Locke's political philosophy brings forth theologically-rich aims, while seeking to counter or disarm threats such as atheism, hyper-Calvinism, and religious enthusiasm. Bringing these items together, Nathan Guy demonstrates how each pillar supports Locke's Latitudinarian political philosophy and provides a better understanding of how he grounds his notions of freedom, equality and religious toleration. Convincingly argued and meticulously researched, this book offers an exciting new direction for Locke studies."--Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Table of contents: title: Acknowledgements; title: List of Abbreviations; title: Introduction; title: Part I: In Defense of the Religious Turn; title: 1. The New Perspective on Locke: The Religious (Re)Turn in Locke Scholarship; title: 2. Life in the Areopagus: Secular Echoes, Religious Refrain; title: 3. Locke and the Latitudinarians: Locke's Religious Experience and Theological Influences in the Context of Seventeenth-Century England; title: Part II: From A "Religious" to a "Theological" Turn: Tracing Locke's Theological Argumentation; title: 4. The God of Christianity and the Foundations of Morality; title: 5. Natural Law, the Law of Nature and a Theology of Creation; title: 6. Revelation, Reason and Scripture; title: Conclusion; title: Bibliography; title: Index.