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Faith and Order (Emory University Studies in Law & Religion)
Faith and Order - Emory University Studies in Law & Religion Author:Harold Joseph Berman The task of this book, Berman states, is to show that despite the tensions that exist in all societies between religious faith and legal order, they inevitably interact, and neither can maintain its vitality independently of the other. "At the highest level," he writes, "surely, the just and the holy are one, and our sense of each rests partly o... more »n our sense of the other. It is necessary to say this because the conventional wisdom has separated them to the point of disaster." Berman develops this thesis in various contexts. Part I is chiefly historical, showing how religious beliefs have shaped Western constitutional law, criminal law, and contract law. Part II is chiefly sociological and philosophical, exposing the fallacies of current theories of law which fail to take into account its religious dimensions. Part III explores theological, prophetic, and educational themes, including the task of law and religion--together--to contribute to the emergence of a new world order. Part IV explores interactions between the secular religion of Marxist-Leninism and the legal structures of the Soviet and post-Soviet state.« less