Full Description
In a provocative essay, philosopher Jeffrie G. Murphy asks: 'what would law be like if we organized it around the value of Christian love, and if we thought about and criticized law in terms of that value?'. This book brings together leading scholars from a variety of disciplines to address that question. Scholars have given surprisingly little attention to assessing how the central Christian ethical category of love - agape - might impact the way we understand law. This book aims to fill that gap by investigating the relationship between agape and law in Scripture, theology, and jurisprudence, as well as applying these insights to contemporary debates in criminal law, tort law, elder law, immigration law, corporate law, intellectual property, and international relations. At a time when the discourse between Christian and other world views is more likely to be filled with hate than love, the implications of agape for law are crucial.
Contents
Foreword; Introduction Richard Mouw; Part I. Biblical Foundations: 1. Jesus, agape, and law Robert F. Cochran, Jr; 2. Love calls us to the things of this world: the Pauline tradition and 'the law of Christ' Darryl Tippens; Part II. Modern Perspectives on Agape, Justice, and Law: 3. Agape, humility, and chaotic good: the challenge and risk of allowing agape a role in the law Linda Ross Meyer; 4. Javert and Jihad: why law cannot survive without love and vice versa Timothy P. Jackson; 5. Love, justice, and law Nicholas Wolterstorff; 6. Justice tempered by forbearance: why Christian love is an improper category to apply to civil law David VanDrunen; Part III. What's Love Got to Do with It? Applications of Agape to Law: 7. Christian love and criminal punishment Jeffrie G. Murphy; 8. Be instructed, all you who judge the earth: law, justice, and love during the world Charles Mathewes; 9. Justice, love, and duties of care in tort law Michael P. Moreland; 10. The when and the where of love: subsidiarity as a framework for care of the elderly Lucia Silecchia; 11. Agape, grace, and immigration law: an Evangelical perspective Jennifer Lee Koh; 12. Law, agape, and the corporation Lyman Johnson; 13. Agape, gift, and intellectual property Thomas C. Berg; 14. That vast external realm: the limits of love and law in international politics Alberto Coll; Afterword: agape and reframing James Boyd White.
