Hopeful Realism

A Natural Law Framework for Evangelicals Today During a time when political conversations are marked by deep polarization and difficult decision-making, what resources do evangelicals have to think critically and theologically about public life? For political theorists Bryan T. McGraw, Jesse Covington, and Micah Watson, a crucial resource is to be found in natural law, a rich tradition of Christian political thought often neglected by evangelicals. Grounded in thehope and realism of the gospel, their evangelical natural law theory is deep in moral conviction yet oriented toward practical political decision-making. Relevant to all dimensions of political life, they show how an evangelical natural law framework can speak into debates about the economy, family life and marriage, violence and war, and religious freedom. Hopeful Realism is a generous guide for evangelicals concerned with bringing their theological commitments to bear on theirpolitical judgments. A volume that brings together robust theory with practical cases, Covington, McGraw, and Watson show how evangelicals can participate as evangelicals in a pluralistic, often polarized, democracy.

Jesse Covington (PhD, Notre Dame) is professor of political science and director of the Augustinian Scholars honors program at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He teaches and writes in the fields of political theory, political theology, and constitutional law, with particular interest in the interrelation of religion and government. Bryan T. McGraw (PhD, Harvard University) is dean of social sciences and education and associate professor of politics at Wheaton College, where he also directs the Aequitas Fellows Program. He is the author of Faith in Politics and has published articles on pluralism, liberal democratic political thought, and the place of religion in public life. Micah Watson (PhD, Princeton University) is the Paul Henry Chair for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin University, where he also directs the politics, philosophy, and economics program.

Acknowledgments Introduction Part I-Foundations 1. The Bible and Politics 2. Hopeful Realism: An Evangelical Theory of the Natural Law 3. Hopeful Realism's Political Principles 4. Making Hopeful Realism Practical Part II-Application 5. Economics 6. Marriage, Sex, and the Family 7. Coercion, Violence, and War 8. Religious Liberty Conclusion Bibliography General Index Scripture Index