Glenn Sunshine on Limited Government, Liberty, and Christian Resistance

In this episode of Filter Conversations, author Glenn Sunshine talks to us about his newest book Slaying Leviathan (Canon Press, 2020). This book is a historical exploration of the Christian tradition of limited government and resistance theory. Many Christians might be unaware that the beliefs in limited government and individual liberty in the West have their origins in Christianity. Dr. Sunshine introduces us to Jesus’ profound statement that lays the groundwork for limited government, Augustine’s contributions to Western political theology, Christian resistance theory, and how everyday Christians can resist Leviathan.

Dr. Glenn Sunshine is a Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University and Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is the author of several books including Slaying Leviathan and Why You Think the Way You Do (Zondervan, 2009), which received the 2006 Acton Institute Book Grant.

Show Highlights

  • Jesus’ statement, “Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s,” (Matthew 22:21, CSB) set the foundation for Christian political theology.

  • The early persecuted church laid the foundation for the theory that would later become known as “sphere sovereignty.”

  • “Christianity existed for three hundred years as a persecuted minority religion in the Roman Empire. What that means then is that the Church by definition is separate from the State. The State does not have authority over the Church. If it did, the Church would have disappeared during the persecutions. What this does is it says that there is something that is not under Caesar’s authority. But what this creates is the possibility if that there is a something that is not under Caesar’s authority, then there might be other somethings that are not under Caesar’s authority.” Glenn Sunshine

  • Genesis 1-2 shows us that there are areas of human life that God created before the institution of government; therefore, these areas of life are pre-political and ought not to be regulated by the State.

  • Augustine’s The City of God influenced political theory in the church and outside of the church in the Western world.

  • What can Christian do to resist Leviathan at a local level? Three things:

    • First, prayer. “As American Christians, we tend to underestimate the spiritual dimensions of the world we’re in. So, the first step is prayer. Don’t underestimate the fact that this is ultimately a spiritual battle.”

    • Second, resist the “political illusion.”

    • Third, form intentional communities.

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