Slaying Leviathan: Limited Government and Resistance in the Christian Tradition

Written by Glenn S. Sunshine

Narrated by Joshua Marchlewski

"How are we to respond to the threats to liberty we are facing? Starting to answer that question begins with this book. We are remarkably unaware of our own Christian history." ~From Slaying Leviathan
Leviathan is rising again, and the first weapon we must recover is the Christian tradition of resisting governmental overreach. The bloated bureaucratic state we have now would have been unrecognizable to the Founders, and our acceptance of its encroachments on liberty would have infuriated them. But here is the point: our Leviathan would not have surprised them. They were well acquainted with the tendency of governments to turn tyrannical. A popular quote in the nineteenth century was "Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty."
In Slaying Leviathan, Glenn S. Sunshine surveys some of the stories and key elements of Christian political thought from Augustine to the Declaration of Independence. Specifically, the book introduces theories of unalienable rights, resistance, and limited government that were synthesized into a coherent political philosophy by John Locke. It was Locke who influenced the American founders and was, like us, fighting against the spirit of Leviathan in his day. Christians first expressed these political truths under Caesars, kings, popes, and emperors. We need them in the age of presidents.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Canon Press
• Release date: Sep 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664993297

Glenn S. Sunshine

Glenn S. Sunshine (PhD University of Wisconsin, Madison) is professor of history at the Central Connecticut State University and a faculty member of the Centurions Program at Breakpoint, the worldview training ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Previously, he taught at Calvin College and was a visiting professor at the Universität der Bundeswehr-Hamburg (now Helmut Schmidt University) in Germany. He is author of The Reformation for Armchair Theologians, and Reforming French Protestantism, and contributor to the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, and the Encyclopedia of Protestantism.

Reviews for Slaying Leviathan

[Jonathan Kyser · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book is arranged chronologically, and the older political philosophy is important to understanding the newer.

[Cassie Troja · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Glenn Sunshine never disappoints! I have always appreciated his witty and thoughtful analyses of how history informs and influences modernity. I’m also grateful for the biblical worldview which informs his understanding of historical events. Highly recommend this book, especially to all American patriots!

[Gregory Taylor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sp much fitted into a short book. I learnt plenty about Western political traditions and the necessity to keep govt limited.