Table of Contents

Introduction Chapter 1: Oliver O’Donovan’s English-language Reception and Theopolitical Influences Chapter 2: Government-as-Judgment: An Exposition of O’Donovan’s Theology of Political Authority Chapter 3: Does Israel Reveal the Essence of Political Authority? Chapter 4: Romans 13: 1–7 and the Christological “Re-authorisation” of Political Authority Chapter 5: Salvation-History, Biblical Theology and Political Authority Chapter 6: The “Providence Thesis” and Its Theodicy Implications Chapter 7: O’Donovan’s (Conservative) Christian Liberalism Chapter 8: Providence and the Created Order: The Ontological Tension in the Accounts of Political Authority in Resurrection and Desire Chapter 9: The Redemption of Political Authority and Its New Historical Bene Esse as the Work of Divine Providence Conclusion Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

Expounds, critiques and refines Oliver O’Donovan’s theology of political authority.

About the Author

Jonathan Cole is Assistant Director at the Centre for Religion, Ethics and Society, Charles Sturt University, Australia.

Reviews

At last, a full-length monograph on Oliver O'Donovan's remarkable theology of political authority. Jonathan Cole does us a great service in this comprehensive, clearly-written and constructively critical account of O'Donovan's political thought. Both seasoned readers of O'Donovan and newcomers to his corpus will find this an invaluable companion.
*Jonathan Chaplin, Institute for Christian Studies, Canada*

This book is no doubt a significant step in the ongoing reception of O’Donovan’s political theology, developing a detailed and carefully argued critique of O’Donovan’s account of political authority. To his credit, Cole does not let his overall sympathy and appreciation stand in the way of critical examination and disagreement.
*Guido de Graaff, St Augustine College of Theology, UK*

The Reign of God provides a clear map of the logic of O’Donovan’s theology of political authority, a lucid understanding of the alternatives that troubled him, and a constructive resolution to his theology's internal contradictions. By thinking with and beyond O’Donovan, this book makes a distinctive contribution to Christian political theology.
*Aristotle Papanikolaou, Professor of Theology, Archbishop Demetrios Chair of Orthodox Theology and Culture, Co-founding director, Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University, USA*