LAW AND FAITH IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AND IN MODERN DEMOCRATIC STATEHOOD AS SEARCH FOR SOCIO-POLITICAL WELLBEING

  • Christo Lombaard University of Pretoria
Keywords: Relationship between law and faith, Sacralisation, Secularisation, Cultural relativity, Freedom

Abstract

In this contribution, the argument pits two cultural reflexes against one another. In modern democracies, religion is removed from the socio-political sphere; in ancient Israel, religion was inserted into the socio-political sphere. In both cases, the intention was the same: the socio-political wellbeing of the citizenry. Such a cultural comparison puts to question the false assumption in modern democracies, that a public sphere emptied of religion constitutes greater freedom.
Published
2021-10-22
Section
BIBLE INTERPRETATION IN SECULAR CONTEXTS