Political Theory and Christian Vision: Essays in Memory of Bernard Zylstra

by Jonathan Chaplin, Paul Marshall

Overview

Political Theory and Christian Vision explores the field of Christian political theory-a discipline to which Bernard Zylstra devoted his life's work. His particular interests lay in the philosophical and methodological questions that underlie the study of empirical political systems. In his view, the neglect of rigorous critical reflection on the presuppositions of the discipline left many of its current practitioners lacking direction and their output lacking coherence. It was his aim to demonstrate the necessity for and the potential fruitfulness of an integrated, philosophically self-conscious and inter-disciplinary practice of political theory. The essays in this book, all written by former students or colleagues of Zylstra, are illustrative of this concern with issues arising at the foundations of the discipline. Those in the first section address questions immediately related to the normative character of those foundations. Further essays explore the nature of the state, the challenges of pluralism, and the nature of political economy. Co-published with the Institute for Christian Studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780819195296
Publisher:	UPA
Publication date:	09/27/1994
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Chaplin is a Tutor in Politics at Plater College, Oxford, and a member of the Steering Group of the British Movement for Christian Democracy. Paul Marshall is Senior Member in Political Theory at the Institute for Christian Studies.

Editorial Reviews

Its clearly articulated religious vision, its imposing theoretical rigor, its serious grappling with the plural nature of modern society, and its willingness to engage the full range of political reality arguably make it one of the most important traditions of political reflection.

Christian Scholar's Review