Overview:
Oliver O'Donovan (hereafter OO) argues that the authority of government resides in the act of judgment (3-4). The thrones of the world are subordinated to the task of witnessing to the New Jerusalem. This is commonly, if sometimes misleadingly, called "Christendom." Judgment is an act of moral discrimination that establishes a new public context. Furthermore, judgment must be public in character. Private individuals (e.g., vigilantes) can never speak for the whole. Given the above definition of judgment, we can define punishment as "judgment enacted on the person, property, or liberty of the condemned party" (107).
OO's discussions of judgment and punishment, always in a communal context, necessarily lead to discussions of international judgment. OO ultimately challenges our idols of democracy and the "liberal rights" tradition. We eventually see that all political orders are failing (and fading) and in their dimming light we see the rise of a more lasting--eternal--order of international judgment: the kingdom of God.
Conclusion:
Pros: As always, OO is judicious and balanced, writing from the mountaintops and not troubled with petty disputes. His use of Scripture, while sparse at times, is always timely and refreshing.
Cons: Much of this book will not make sense unless the reader is familiar with OO's other two works, *Desire of the Nations* and *Resurrection and Moral Order,* both of them demanding (but rewarding!) reads. OO can be dense and the reader is tempted to shout, "Just get to the point!" Perhaps. Either way, it does make for slow reading. I had to read this book twice.
Here is another qualm I have with the book. In the chapter on International Government, OO gives a sane discussion on the UN and EU. Contra end-times fundamentalists, the Christian narrative easily allows for the usefulness of international governing bodies. Contra secular liberals, these bodies of international government are often weak, arbitrary, and rest on a shaky foundation of authority if divorced from the Christian narrative. That's good reasoning on Prof O'Donovan's part. He then makes a startling faux pax on the application of International government (and to his credit, I think he realized this argument couldn't stick). On page 222 OO quotes international authorities saying that intervention in the Balkans violated UN resolutions, but that we might have had to make an exception anyway. Fair enough. The problem is, as he realizes, if you start making exceptions, it's hard to stop. But still, an intelligent discussion, nonetheless.
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