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Jordan Ballor Nota Bene

Leibniz on Church and Revelation

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By Pierre Savart – Peace Palace Library, Public Domain
“The Church of God…would probably have existed among men even without revelation, and been preserved and spread by pious and holy men. Its purpose is eternal happiness. And it is no wonder that I call it a natural society, since there is a natural religion and a desire for immortality planted in us. This society of the saints is catholic or universal, and binds the whole human race together. If revelation is added, this bond is not torn, but strengthened.”

— G.W. Leibniz, “On Natural Law,” in The Political Thought of Leibniz, trans. and ed. Patrick Riley (Cambridge, 1972), 79.

By Jordan Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is a senior research fellow and director of publishing at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty. He is author of Get Your Hands Dirty: Essays on Christian Social Thought (and Action) (Wipf & Stock, 2013), Covenant, Causality, and Law: A Study in the Theology of Wolfgang Musculus (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2012), and Ecumenical Babel: Confusing Economic Ideology and the Church's Social Witness (Christian's Library Press, 2010), as well as editor of numerous volumes. Jordan also serves as associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research of Calvin Theological Seminary.