VanDrunen has produced a clearly written, vigorously argued political theology in the tradition of the Protestant “two kingdoms” separation between this worldly politics and the reign of God. His primary contribution is to develop an analysis of the political implications of the covenant between God and all of creation as set forth in Genesis 9. This Noahic covenant, VanDrunen argues, is universal and intended to preserve the world; as such, the Noahic covenant is distinct from the later biblical covenants that are with specific groups and lead to salvation. In VanDrunen's perspective, the universal Noahic covenant legitimizes religiously diverse political communities and supports the familial, economic, and judicial institutions necessary to preserve humanity in its tasks of filling the earth, attaining sufficient plants and animals to feed this expanding population, and curtailing violence through retributive justice.
VanDrunen persuasively argues that the Bible does not authorize the use of coercive governing authority to enforce Christian beliefs. He contends that there is no sound biblical basis for the project of creating Christian nations, and he argues that such Christendom projects confuse the proper functions of the state with those of the church. Instead, VanDrunen defends a Christian approach to politics that embraces the provisional and limited purposes of political institutions, intended not to redeem humanity but to preserve and assist humanity in its task of filling the earth.
Emphasizing the universality of the Noahic covenant enables VanDrunen to develop a robust biblical defense of religious freedom in a pluralistic society. In fact, the discussion of religious freedom in chapter 7 is perhaps the clearest treatment I have seen of the complex issues involved. This is one section of the book that I would not hesitate to use for teaching undergraduates of any (or no) religious background.
The argument for limited government is thought-provoking and helpfully challenges the common tendency to look to the state to solve all cultural and social problems. However, VanDrunen is inclined to err in the other extreme by allowing too little scope for government action and refusing to allow the search for justice in society to contribute in any way to the eschatological justice and peace of God's reign.
There is much in this covenantal perspective that will seem unpersuasive to many Christian theologians (especially Catholics) and to biblical scholars. VanDrunen's “sola scriptura” approach requires two problematic assumptions: first, that the Bible is intended to provide a general theory of political government and, second, that a political (or any other) theology can be constructed from biblical passages taken from different books of the Bible without attention to their various historical contests. VanDrunen's appeal to the Bible as a source of political theory is uncomfortably close to proof-texting and seeks to make the Bible a source of knowledge in areas other than the revelation of God's self and will for our salvation.
Those informed by Catholic Social Teaching or other forms of politically engaged Christian social ethics will also find VanDrunen's understanding of the common good of the polis to be unduly minimal. His thin account of government as serving primarily to protect against violence depends on many of the same unexamined assumptions as similar libertarian arguments in US public life. He contends that a free market along with private initiatives are better able to solve most social problems, including poverty and environmental degradation. The astute reader will notice that VanDrunen's “conservative liberalism” fails to interrogate the deformations of power (especially in putatively voluntary economic transactions) and ignores the challenges of global climate change or industrial farming in its praise of private enterprise's ability to protect the environment.
Despite these lacunae, VanDrunen is a worthy conversation partner who challenges the assumptions of much political theology today. This book will sharpen the thinking of any political theologian who engages it critically and deserves to be included in graduate courses on contemporary Christian political theology. I would caution against using this book with undergraduates (except for the excellent discussion of religious freedom in chapter 7) because the acontextual approach to the Bible may reinforce the common undergraduate assumption that all Christians are biblical literalists.
