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Full-Text Articles in Law
"Christian Traditions, Culture, And Law": An Update And A Few Reflections, Robert F. Cochran Jr.
"Christian Traditions, Culture, And Law": An Update And A Few Reflections, Robert F. Cochran Jr.
Pepperdine Law Review
Using Richard Niebuhr’s description of Christian approaches to culture, this Article examines the way Christians approach law, focusing on developments over the last 20 years. During that time, synthesists have continued to develop natural law, seeking an understanding of law based on shared human goods and reason, an approach that can generate a common approach among people of all faiths and no faith. Conversionists, including those on both the political left and right, argue for changes in law that will reflect Christian understandings of the good. Separatists (including many former conversionists) argue that American culture and law have become so …
One Step Enough, Steven D. Smith
One Step Enough, Steven D. Smith
Pepperdine Law Review
The growing divide between contemporary law and culture and Christianity forces Christians both in general and in the academy to confront difficult choices. The difficulty of those choices was manifest in the most recent presidential election. In this situation, some Christians take an aggressive or triumphalist stance; others are more inclined to a retreatist approach sometimes labeled “the Benedict Option.” What the right response is poses both prudential and theological questions about which Christians disagree, and about which confident answers are elusive. In this context, Professor Bob Cochran’s distinguished career exemplifies a path of humility in which the Christian citizen …
Jesus Came "Not To Abolish The Law But To Fulfill It": The Sermon On The Mount And Its Implications For Contemporary Law, David Vandrunen
Jesus Came "Not To Abolish The Law But To Fulfill It": The Sermon On The Mount And Its Implications For Contemporary Law, David Vandrunen
Pepperdine Law Review
This Article interprets Matthew 5:17–48 and argues that, because Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the law and the prophets, the Old Testament law takes on a new form for New Testament Christians. The law of God has been refracted through the ministry of Christ. While Matthew 5 does not address contemporary human law directly, its teaching does have radical implications for it. These implications flow particularly from the fact that Matthew 5 marks a decisive shift from the Mosaic theocracy to the worldwide new-covenant church that has no civil jurisdiction.
Divided By The Sermon On The Mount, David Skeel
Divided By The Sermon On The Mount, David Skeel
Pepperdine Law Review
This Essay, written for a festschrift for Bob Cochran, argues that the much-discussed friction between evangelical supporters of President Trump and evangelical critics is a symptom of a much deeper theological divide over the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus told his disciples to turn the other cheek when struck, love their neighbor as themselves, and pray that their debts will be forgiven as they forgive their debtors. Divergent interpretations of these teachings have given rise to competing evangelical visions of justice. One side of today’s divide—the religious right—can be traced directly back to the fundamentalist critics of the early …
Comparing Literary And Biblical Hermeneutics To Constitutional And Statutory Interpretation, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.
Comparing Literary And Biblical Hermeneutics To Constitutional And Statutory Interpretation, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.
Pepperdine Law Review
Interpreters determine the meaning of language. To interpret literary and biblical texts, scholars have developed detailed rules, methods, and theories of human understanding. This branch of knowledge, “hermeneutics,” features three basic approaches. First, “textualists” treat words as directly conveying their ordinary meaning to a competent reader today. Second, “contextualists” maintain that verbal meaning depends on generally shared linguistic conventions in the particular historical and cultural environment of the author—and that therefore translations or commentaries are necessary to make the writing intelligible to a modern reader. Third, “hermeneutic circle” scholars argue that texts have no objective meaning. Rather, a person’s subjective …
The Metaphorical Bridge Between Law And Religion, John Witte Jr.
The Metaphorical Bridge Between Law And Religion, John Witte Jr.
Pepperdine Law Review
This Article explores the role of metaphors in shaping our thought and language in general, and in the fields of law and religion in particular. Drawing on modern cognitive theorists like George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, the Article distinguishes and illustrates the roles of “orientation,” “structural,” and “ontological” metaphors in everyday life and language. Drawing on jurists like Robert Cover and Steven Winter, it shows how metaphors work both in describing the law in terms like “the body,” and in prescribing the foundational beliefs and values on which the legal system depends. Finally, the Article explores the ample use of …
The Dutch Effect: Kuyper And Neo-Calvinism In Professor Cochran's Scholarship, David S. Caudill
The Dutch Effect: Kuyper And Neo-Calvinism In Professor Cochran's Scholarship, David S. Caudill
Pepperdine Law Review
One of the obvious influences on Bob Cochran’s scholarship is the Dutch Calvinist tradition, especially as represented in the writings by or about Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920). Even though Cochran was neither Dutch nor a member of a Reformed church, Cochran found inspiration and compelling insights (with respect to legal processes and institutions) in the Dutch Calvinist tradition. This interest reflected Cochran’s generous ecumenism and his well-known respect for religious diversity. Three prominent conceptions—the trilogy of sphere sovereignty, antithesis, and common grace—provide a guide to Cochran’s recourse to Kuyper and Calvinism in his scholarly writing. Following a brief explanation of the …
Celebrating Robert Cochran And The Future Of "Embodied" Christian Legal Scholarship, Barbara Armacost
Celebrating Robert Cochran And The Future Of "Embodied" Christian Legal Scholarship, Barbara Armacost
Pepperdine Law Review
The occasion for this Article is a festschrift for Professor Robert (“Bob”) Cochran. I celebrate Bob’s significant scholarly contributions to the maturing of Christian Legal Scholarship. He applied a Christian perspective to legal issues, hosted conferences, mentored Christian Legal Scholars, and edited books of essays featuring Christian perspectives on law. Bob’s work in this area had a huge influence on the flourishing of Christian Legal Scholarship. This Article considers the future of Christian Legal Scholarship. It enters an ongoing conversation (disagreement) between law Professors David Skeel and David Caudill. In a 2008 article, Skeel defined Christian Legal Scholarship so narrowly …
Bob Cochran On Law And Lawyering: A Catholic Perspective, Stephen M. Bainbridge
Bob Cochran On Law And Lawyering: A Catholic Perspective, Stephen M. Bainbridge
Pepperdine Law Review
This Essay is a contribution to a festschrift honoring Pepperdine law professor Robert Cochran. In addition to his many other professional accomplishments, Professor Cochran is a leading figure in the study of Law and Christianity. One strain of Law and Christianity scholarship focuses on normative critiques of substantive legal issues based on Christian theology. In other words, it seeks to make the civil law more moral; i.e., to conform Man’s Law to God’s Law. A second strain seeks to help lawyers deal with the difficulties inherent in being a Christian and a lawyer. As Cochran has put it, one might …
The Communitarian Work And Vision(S) Of Robert Cochran (And Thomas Shaffer), Richard W. Garnett
The Communitarian Work And Vision(S) Of Robert Cochran (And Thomas Shaffer), Richard W. Garnett
Pepperdine Law Review
Professor Robert Cochran’s work and thought were powerfully shaped by those of his friend, mentor, and teacher, the late Professor Thomas Shaffer, a towering figure in the religious lawyering movement. A leading theme in Shaffer’s writing, one that has continued through and been developed in Cochran’s, is “community.” This Essay explores and unpacks this theme and highlights several ways that the idea of “community” functions in their vision of the lawyer’s role and vocation.
Abraham Lincoln And The Cardinal Virtue Of Practical Reason, Brett G. Scharffs
Abraham Lincoln And The Cardinal Virtue Of Practical Reason, Brett G. Scharffs
Pepperdine Law Review
Practical wisdom is an elusive concept. This Article focuses on a case in which Abraham Lincoln, prior to his election as President, participated (or more accurately did not participate) to frame a discussion of what practical wisdom means and how it makes a difference for lawyers.
The Practice Of Law As Christian Discipleship, Nathan S. Chapman
The Practice Of Law As Christian Discipleship, Nathan S. Chapman
Pepperdine Law Review
“Can the ordinary practice of law be a religious calling?” In a number of scholarly books and articles, as a teacher, and as a mentor, Robert Cochran has answered this question with a resounding “yes.” This Essay, part of a festschrift published in Bob’s honor by the Pepperdine Law Review, engages with his work to propose a framework of Christian ethics for reconceiving the practice of law as a form of Christian discipleship. It argues that Christians should understand the practice of law as participation in government-as-judgment, participation that is always fraught with the risks of deceit, injustice, and abuse …
The Beatitudes, Lawyers, And Bob Cochran, Amelia J. Uelmen
The Beatitudes, Lawyers, And Bob Cochran, Amelia J. Uelmen
Pepperdine Law Review
Written on the occasion of a celebration of the work and scholarship of Bob Cochran, this reflection draws on his scholarship and also on his teaching and work to build vibrant communities of commitment, service, and scholarship at the intersection of religion, law, and professional life. Working with the text of the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew, the essay highlights the value of how Bob Cochran has aimed not only to “do good,” but also to “be good” in a world and in a profession where it seems increasingly difficult to do so. His legacy offers a powerful inspiration …
"Agape" And The Life And Work Of Robert F. Cochran, Jr., Angela C. Carmella
"Agape" And The Life And Work Of Robert F. Cochran, Jr., Angela C. Carmella
Pepperdine Law Review
The life and work of Robert Cochran can be summed up in one word: discipleship. Professor Cochran’s work reflects deeply on Jesus’s words and ministry—His agapic love for all humanity—as they relate to the substance of law and its administration. Professor Cochran’s work establishes two important principles: the need to focus on Jesus’s love as the starting place for analysis and the need to reclaim justice as a central Christian concept. His many volumes help us to understand how it is possible to comprehend lawmaking as an act of agapic love. Further, they provide a roadmap for the Christian’s journey, …
The Professor As Institutional Entrepreneur, Roger P. Alford
The Professor As Institutional Entrepreneur, Roger P. Alford
Pepperdine Law Review
Law professors are all about ideas, and the creation of an institute, clinic, or center within a law school is the instantiation of an idea. Ideas embodied in law school institutions become crystallized in the fabric of a school, changing its culture, internalizing its values, and reflecting its priorities. Robert Cochran has helped to establish multiple institutes, centers, and clinics at Pepperdine Caruso Law School, and in so doing he has become the law school’s great serial entrepreneur. The institutes Cochran helped to establish have become laboratories to give expression to his ideas about the relationship between faith, ethics, and …
Ecumenical Evangelical Legal Thought: The Contributions Of Robert F. Cochran, Jr., William S. Brewbaker Iii
Ecumenical Evangelical Legal Thought: The Contributions Of Robert F. Cochran, Jr., William S. Brewbaker Iii
Pepperdine Law Review
This Essay organizes an assessment of Robert F. Cochran’s scholarly contributions around the theme of “ecumenical evangelical legal thought.” Professor Cochran’s work bears the hallmarks of evangelicalism in its emphasis on the Bible, its practical focus, and its willingness to cross institutional and theological lines. The Essay recounts some formative influences on Professor Cochran, discusses his methodology as a Christian scholar and specifically his use of the Bible in thinking about law, his work in legal ethics, and his work as a movement-builder. It concludes with some observations about the reconciliation of ecumenism and evangelicalism in Cochran’s work and its …
Festschrift Response: "With A Grateful Heart", Robert F. Cochran Jr.
Festschrift Response: "With A Grateful Heart", Robert F. Cochran Jr.
Pepperdine Law Review
No abstract provided.
Celebrating The Work Of Professor Bob Cochran: An Introduction, Derek T. Muller
Celebrating The Work Of Professor Bob Cochran: An Introduction, Derek T. Muller
Pepperdine Law Review
No abstract provided.
Celebrating The Work And Life Of Bob Cochran, Paul L. Caron
Celebrating The Work And Life Of Bob Cochran, Paul L. Caron
Pepperdine Law Review
No abstract provided.