Paul Marshall

It’s funny how easy it is to think you know an author after reading one of his or her books. Paul Marshall wrote a book over 20 years ago that had a big influence on my thinking about politics, Thine Is The Kingdom. It really affirmed my opinion that, in general, the Democrats are closer to having a Biblical approach to politics than the Republicans. (I really do mean in general. I read this book in the months prior to the 2000 elections, and partly as a result of the book, I ended up voting for Nader)

Today I spent some time trying to figure out what Marshall has been doing lately, and I was quite surprised. Based on some online searching, he seems to be working and writing in circles that are quite politically conservative (like the National Review and Claremont Institute). I don’t know if he has changed in the past twenty years, if I apply the ideas in his book differently than he does, or if these are the only places he could find who would support someone who grounds his approach to politics in the Bible.

A few years ago his writing focused on the worldwide persecution of Christians, an issue that evangelicals and liberal Democrats have found some common ground. Even more recently, he has written a lot about Islam and terrorism. I’m not sure that I agree with all of his analysis of Islam, but Thine Is The Kingdom does not really suggest anything one way or that other about how he might approach such as issue.

I guess the surprise comes from his association with groups who, it seems to me, disagree that the government has a role in ensuring that different spheres within creation (like economics, the family, or the church) do not infringe on each other. I have been meaning to blog about sphere sovereignty for a while now. For those who aren’t really sure what I’m talking about with all this “sphere” stuff, stay tuned…