Power Politics and Moral Order: Three Generations of Christian Realism—A Reader
Ebook
Overview
Christian realism is undergoing a renaissance in both American Christianity and around the world. Caught between globalist liberalism, on the one hand, and pragmatic realism on the other, Christians are in search of international ethics, a standard and tradition in foreign policy, that takes the two great books of life, the Christian Scriptures and the world we live in, seriously. This book is an extended, edited collection that mines the tradition of Christian realism in international relations and finds in it voices and mentors urgently fresh for a new age. With classic authors like Reinhold Niebuhr, Herbert Butterfield, Paul Ramsey, and Jean Bethke Elshtain, and contemporaries like Marc LiVecche, Rebecca Heinrichs, and others, this collection offers for the first time an organization, periodization, and collection of primary Christian realist sources for the initiate and the expert in foreign relations.
“An indispensable introduction to twentieth- and
twenty-first-century Christian realism in international relations.
Well-selected excerpts include familiar voices and new, showing
development among thinkers over time. . . . The volume
implicitly argues for Christian realism as a diverse, ecumenical,
international, and contextual approach to politics. Essential
reading in a world facing multiple threats and disruptions on the
global stage.”
—Debra Erickson, coeditor of Jean Bethke Elshtain: Politics,
Ethics, and Society
“An invaluable and overdue resource, this anthology will be a vital
point of reference for scholars of Christian realism. There is a
deep wisdom at work in this masterfully compiled collection of
essays.”
—Cian O’Driscoll, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs,
ANU
“What has the faith of forgiveness and reconciliation to do with
the cold realities of power that dominate geopolitics? Joustra and
Patterson’s volume traces a tradition of Christian political
thought that studies the realities of power with clear eyes
and a faithful commitment to order and neighborly love. What
emerges is not denominational or partisan doctrine but a plurality
of voices forming a compelling vision of international relations
that is at once sober and hopeful.”
—Joshua Hastey, Regent University
“Power Politics and Moral Order is the definitive reader on
Christian realism. From Butterfield and Niebuhr to Elshtain and
Weigle, the work includes a wide array of Christian realists
addressing a host of topics. Edited by two contemporary and
prominent Christian realists, Eric D. Patterson and Robert J.
Joustra, the book is required reading for every student of
international relations and those involved in making foreign
policy.”
—Mark David Hall, George Fox University
“For anyone interested in coming to a better understanding of
Christian realism as manifested in foreign-policy circles—whether a
scholar, student, policy maker, or the average reader—Patterson and
Joustra’s volume is essential reading. Providing historical context
and conceptual elaboration about Christian realism, the volume
includes key readings from each generation, including works by
greats such as Reinhold Niebuhr, Kenneth Thompson, Paul Ramsey,
George Weigel, Jean Elshtain, and others.”
—Gregory J. Moore, Colorado Christian University
- Title: Power Politics and Moral Order: Three Generations of Christian Realism—A Reader
- Authors: Eric Patterson, Robert Joustra
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781725278868, 9781725278844, 9781725278851, 1725278863, 1725278847, 1725278855
- Resource ID: LLS:9781725278868
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-12-22T05:43:05Z
Eric D. Patterson is executive vice president of the Religious
Freedom Institute in Washington, DC, scholar-at-large at Regent
University (USA), and a fellow of Georgetown University’s Berkley
Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. He has written or
edited fifteen books, including Christianity and Power
Politics Today (2008), The Christian Realists
(2003), and Just American Wars: Ethical Dilemmas in U.S.
Military History (2018).
Robert J. Joustra is Associate Professor of Politics &
International Studies, and founding-Director of the Centre for
Christian Scholarship at Redeemer University. He is author,
co-author, and co-editor of seven books, including Modern Papal
Diplomacy and Social Teaching in World Affairs (2019) and more
recently Calvinism for a Secular Age (2022).