A Theological Interpretation of American Order

 

 

PART ONE: Statement of Crux

 

I.          The Claims of Faith.

 

II.        The Nature of Contemporary Politics.

 

III.       The Election of 1980 and Its Aftermath.

 

 

PART TWO: Antecedents from the Middle Ages

 

I.          The City of God.

            A.        After the Fall of Jerusalem

B.         Ecclesiology in the ante-Nicene Fathers.

            C.        Constantine: the Emperor as Friend of God.

            D.        Augustine: the heavenly City Survives the Earthly City.

            E.         Justinian, Clovis, and Charlemagne: rival visions of royal and imperial power.

F.         Muhammad: combining religion and politics in the mass movement.

 

II.        The Papacy.

            A.        Mission of the Anglo-Saxons: Christianity from outside the Latin West.

            B.         The Papal Revolution: Investiture, Offices, and the Dictates Papae.

            C.        Great Schism and Crusades: A new idea of the West.

D.        Lateran IV: The Compromise.

 

II.        The Fall of the Church and the Rise of the State.

            A.        Aristotelianism: Aristotle through Judeo-Arabic to Aquinas.

            B.         Boniface VIII and Marsilius of Padua: the rejection of political Augustinianism.

            C.        Conciliarism.

            D.        Florence: The Renaissance and the School of the Ages.

 

IV.       The Reformation.

            A.        Previous Reform Movements and the Northern Renaissance.

            B.         Luther

            C.        Anabaptists

            D.        Calvin.

            E.         Trent.

            F.         Elizabeth.

           

V.        The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, Westphalia, and England.

            A.        The Thirty Years' War: the end of international Calvinism.

            B.         The Crisis across Europe.

            C.        Crown, Covenant, and Regicide.

            D.        Cromwell.

            E.         The Glorious Revolution.

            F.         Early Modern Philosophy.

 

 

PART THREE: Events in the New World.

 

I.          Colonies.

 

II.        Revolution.

 

III.       Constitution.

 

IV.       Jackson.

 

V.        The War Between the States.

 

VI.       Industrialization.

 

VII.     New Deal.

 

VIII.    The Warren Court, the Great Society, and the Counterculture.

 

IX.       Reagan and Bush.

 

 

PART FOUR: Institutions.

 

I.          The Church and the Denomination.

            A.        The Ecumenical council.

            B.         The Papacy.

            C.        The religious orders.

            D.        The failure of the Reformation.

E.         Erastianism, Latitudinarianism, and Denominations.

F.         First and Second Great Awakenings.

G.        Social Gospel and Fundamentalism.

I.          The Jesus Movement.

 

II.        The Family.

            A.        Review of ancient and medieval forms.

            B.         Early modern economies.

            C.        Victorianism and the invention of the Home.

            D.        Feminism and the escape of the Individual from Home.

 

III.       The Corporation.

            A.        The Utility of Enterprise for Early Modern States.

            B.         Intellectual Property.

            C.        Limited Liability.

            D.        Lassez-faire and Social Darwinism.

            E.         Marxist critique.

            F.         The Administrative State.

            G.        Multinationals.

H.        Taxation without representation.

 

IV.       The Judiciary.

            A.        Antecedents.

            B.         Marbury and Judicial Review.

            C.        [19th century somethings]

D.        Professionalization.

            E.         Roosevelt and the Court.

            F.         The Warren Court and Civil Rights.

            G.        Federalism?

            H.        Litigation and superstition.

 

V.        The State.

            A.        Moral autonomy after 1688.

            B.         Moral autonomy until 1789 (in Europe) and 1861 (in America).

            C.        The eclipse of State constitutional law.

            D.        Federalism.

 

VI.       The Federal Government.

            A.        Hamilton and Federalism.

            B.         Territorial expansion.

            C.        Civil War and the triumph of the Union.

            D.        The end of territorial expansion.

            E.         The new party politics and the administrative welfare state.

            F.         The military-industrial complex.

            G.        The Great Society.

 

VII.     International Law.

            A.        Ancient and medieval antecedents.

            B.         From Machiavelli to Grotius and Westphalia.

            C.        Colonialism.

            D.        The French Revolution.

            E.         The World Wars and the United Nations.

            F.         Superpowers.

            G.        The European Union.

            H.        Kosovo and Iraq.

 

PART FIVE: Prospects.

 

I.          Terrorism.

            A.        Effect on International Law regime.

            B.         Effect on Federal, State, and Judicial regimes.

            C.        Effect on Family, Denomination, and Corporation.

 

II.        The Quest for Personal Autonomy.

A.        Gay Rights.

B.         Health Care.

            C.        The Internet.

 

III.       The Next Revolution.

            A.        Rosenstock-Hussey on the cycle of Revolutions.

            B.         Germany, Japan, or Italy are especially ripe.

            C.        Next revolution will find solution to personal autonomy problems.

 

IV.       What would Jesus do?