Religion and Law

The legal and political scenario of Calvin's day involved upheavals deriving from the force of religion upon law. Whole cities, provinces, and states came under Reformation influence, ranging from quiet individual conversions to Protestantism to the hysteria of community iconoclasm. The transformation of these societies, however, was not moving away from a religious worldview; rather, the transformation was a movement of one religion to another. In Calvin's day, secularism, pluralism, and religious toleration were nonexistent. Europe was not in the thrall of the question "Should religion in public life be tolerated?" but rather "Which religion should be enforced, to the banning of all others?" Calvin was a driven man, but a valid question drove him: "What is the true religion?" And deriving from the central question were corollaries: "What law is right law?" and "What government is right government?" Calvin's trek would lead him to answers. Calvin concluded that, substantively, a correct political and legal system derives from the Bible, and procedurally, the system is applied by democratically elected officials, checking and balancing one another--and his views were consistent with a Reformation consensus.

The Puritans, who settled in America in the early 1600s, believed that if they followed God's laws as individuals and as a society, God would prosper them. America would become "the new Israel," God's light for the rest of the world. The Rev. Dr. George Gatgounis wrote The Puritan View of Substantive Biblical Law both as a constitutional attorney and a biblical scholar. He did much of the research at Harvard, which was founded by the Puritans to train their clergy. Despite its outward appearance of harshness-such as the dozen transgressions that merited the death penalty in the Massachusetts Bay Colony-Puritan society was founded on the consent of the citizens. At the center was individual spirituality. That spirituality was to be maintained by a strict observance of the Sabbath, which centered around biblical preaching. Certainly there is no going back to a Puritan society in this postmodern era. But perhaps there is something to be learned to guide our way forward.

Christians have been debating for centuries what Jesus meant at the Last Supper when he held out a piece of bread to his disciples and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Christians regularly celebrate the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, based on those words of Jesus, with some form of bread and wine. Most Christians believe that Christ is somehow present but disagree on what that actually means. The Law of the Eucharist: Radbertus vs. Ratramnus-Their Controversy as to the Nature of the Eucharist by the Rev. Dr. George Gatgounis, Esq., examines the issue from the writings of two ninth-century monks. Their arguments can be illuminating to modern exegetes who have to answer the same questions.

The American government is in a state of crisis--a crisis of integrity. Law is not what holds nations together; rather, cultural values and prevailing social conditions sustain an undergirding belief in the legitimacy of law. Moral and religious consensus must come before a legal order. This book discusses several cases of the erosion of credibility as examples--Gorbachev's failed attempt to modernize Russia, the deceptions of the Vietnam War, and the Iran-Contra arms scandal. Next comes a study of how civil religion and governmental integrity interplay. The final chapter is a well-documented historic overview and examination of the Supreme Court's challenging task of constitutionally defining religion, especially in cases of conscientious objections and religious exemptions to state mandates. The issues are timely, and Gatgounis is uniquely qualified to examine them as both a constitutional lawyer and religious scholar.

In International Law Afloat on a Sea of World Religions, the Rev. Dr. George J. Gatgounis, Esq., examines common denominators in the major religions that undergird state policies. Confucianism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam are based on worldviews that bear upon the formation of law, including international law. Gatgounis, both a religious and constitutional scholar, provides extensive footnotes to support his research and hope for the future.

Exegesis and Sermonic Development: The Path from Text to Sermon, by the Rev. Dr. George Gatgounis, Esq., provides in-depth guidance to producing sermons that are true to the biblical text so as to bring nourishment to our failing and feeble Church. It's one of the few exegetical works that starts with the spiritual consecration of the preacher, since the exegetical process must first begin with communion with the Holy Spirit. This work is an encyclopedia of sermonic development.

The Interrelation of the Great Awakening and Harvard College by the Rev. Dr. George Gatgounis, Esq., examines the history of Harvard College from its founding as a training center for Puritan preachers in 1642, through the Great Awakening and its gradual decline as a major spiritual force at Harvard. Gatgounis, a Harvard alumnus, relies on documents in the college's archives to document how evangelist George Whitfield, concerned about the decline in spirituality among the student body, stirred up the campus on his first visit in 1741 but was denounced by the administration as a dangerous zealot on his return in 1744.