The theocratic basis of John Calvin's social philosophy

Abstract

The main emphasis of the thesis is the importance of theocracy as a form of government. This is studied in the light of God's universal sovereignty as Calvin understands it in the word "delegation." This is different in form from the ideas of: "pure" theocracy - the sole rule of God, or "incarnate" theocracy - the presence of a ruler descended from a divine being; in that it is ordained, empowered, appointed by God and universal in concept even though different in form. The method of study is that of studying basic doctrines of each position; analyzing the particular governmental form; and finally, contrasting Calvin's position with the Old Testament, Aquinas' monarchical and Locke's democratic theocracies. [TRUNCATED]