Slaying Leviathan: Limited Government and Resistance in the Christian Tradition

"How are we to respond to the threats to liberty we are facing? Starting to answer that question begins with this book. We are remarkably unaware of our own Christian history." ~From Slaying Leviathan Leviathan is rising again, and the first weapon we must recover is the Christian tradition of resisting governmental overreach. The bloated bureaucratic state we have now would have been unrecognizable to the Founders, and our acceptance of its encroachments on liberty would have infuriated them. But here is the our Leviathan would not have surprised them. They were well acquainted with the tendency of governments to turn tyrannical. A popular quote in the nineteenth century was "Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty." In Slaying Leviathan, Glenn S. Sunshine surveys some of the stories and key elements of Christian political thought from Augustine to the Declaration of Independence. Specifically, the book introduces theories of unalienable rights, resistance, and limited government that were synthesized into a coherent political philosophy by John Locke. It was Locke who influenced the American founders and was, like us, fighting against the spirit of Leviathan in his day. Christians first expressed these political truths under Caesars, kings, popes, and emperors. We need them in the age of presidents. This book is published by Canon Press. At Canon Press, we’re gospel no matter who you are or what you do, you’re called to be increasing in Biblical faithfulness. That’s because Jesus’s death and resurrection changed All of Christ, for all of life, for all the world. As the wisest man said, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works” (Eccl. 9:7). We believe reformation and revival start from faith in the Lord with joyful obedience to the Bible, and that is what makes everyday tasks significant and transforms culture. Because of these beliefs, we offer books on Christian living, encouragement, contentment, raising kids, healthy marriages, educational choices, classical education, homeschooling, politics, government, feminism, identity, manhood, womanhood, singleness, virtue, and so much more.