Thanks!

You know, I might add Preston Graham's survey of Robinson called A Kingdom Not of This World. Here's a taste:


“Whereas individuals are encouraged to invest themselves in ‘things civil,’ the church, as a visible and constitutional organization, ought to be exclusively concerned for ‘things spiritual.’ This apolitical church resists the marginalization of theology and its subsequent realignment around a cultural agenda. The modern apolitical church serves to proclaim a gospel that transcends social restructuring, macroeconomics and political theory…even by Robinson’s own admission and practice, the line distinguishing things sacred from things secular is not always easy to discern, especially in the messiness associated with congregational life in general, especially when her people are called to participate in the world without being of the world. And yet this didn’t eliminate the responsibility of the church to draw the line all the same as from where scripture speaks and where it is left to human wisdom…His polemic was against the church confusing a political agenda after a reading of one or another political or social theory rather than agenda that still holds to things pertaining to God and faith as important in their own right. For example, such a church might preach justice, albeit to congregates who perhaps endorse opposing theories for the accomplishment of justice as derived from the social, economic, legal, and political sciences. Such a church may foster in its people works of mercy directed toward those who are needy, as an expression of true Christian love and witness, and yet be silent as to which particular program for accomplishing mercy is necessarily preferable given one or another reading of city planning….Robinson’s Scoto-American idea of the church would be distinguished as the ‘mediatorial body of Christ’ acting as an agent of special grace for God the Redeemer, in contrast with acting as an agent of common grace along with the state for God as creator.”

There's also Stephen Grabill's groundbreaking book Rediscovering the Natural Law in Reformed Theological Ethics. It shows that the Reformed tradition held firmly to natural law until the 20th century. Surprised to see that VanDrunnen didn't include it.

Samuel Rutherford's Lex Rex (mid-17th century) is also an important historical source.

Hello men . . . I new this post would get a rise out of some.

DVD's bibliography is not comprehensive, as I said, but representative of the basic and essential things he would point a parishioner to.

Thanks for the interaction.

I think your link to Gillespie's Aaron's Rod Blossoming is a copy and paste of the first link to Luther's works.

kazoo

I think you mean Calvin's Institutes 2.2.13-16, not 3.14-16! The latter is wonderful, but it's about justification, not the civil government or natural law.