University of Tasmania
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

Book Review: Jean Porter, Ministers of the Law: A Natural Law Theory of Legal Authority Porter Jean , Ministers of the Law: A Natural Law Theory of Legal Authority (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010). xvi + 368 pp., £19.99/US$30 (pb), ISBN 978-0-8028-6563-2

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-23, 01:30 authored by Rufus BlackRufus Black
Jean Porter has written an important book. The last decade has taught us that the secular jurisprudence of today, which underpins the contemporary understanding and practices of the law and political authority, is inadequate. Under the utilitarian pressure to secure the state from terrorist threats, courts struggled to find grounds to hold back authority that reached beyond what many saw as its moral boundaries, legislatures handed over sweeping powers to the executive, and then that authority was used to license even torture. If ever there was a time for a renewed engagement with a tradition that could ground the limits to authority, it is now. Porter provides such an account but also far more.

History

Publication title

Studies in Christian Ethics

Volume

26

Pagination

254-256

ISSN

0953-9468

Department/School

Vice-Chancellor's Office

Publisher

Sage Publications Ltd

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Religion and society

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC