IN THIS LESSON

  • How did medieval Christian politics define community?

  • What is cyclical time vs. linear time?

  • How does St. Augustine’s idea of the two cities address the tension between temporal and eternal authority?

  • What is the importance of order in the medieval Christian worldview?

  • Why did Machiavelli circumvent Christian politics to draw from the values of the Roman world state?

READING

  • Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought. “The Early Christian Era: Time and Continuity” pages 86-95 and 108-126.

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