“In a Prudent Way and without Rashness”: Reclaiming Francisco Suárez’s Theories of Legal Engagement

In this dissertation, I argue that contemporary political theology struggles to hold together a commitment to the rule of law, a conviction that Christians should work to make law more just, the value of individual discernment of conscience, and the promotion of the common good. In answer to this problem, I carry out an historical retrieval of the theological jurisprudence of the early modern Spanish scholar, Francisco
Suárez, in order to present a view of law that holds all four of these commitments together, rather than in tension. I then use Suárez’s theory of law to point out how understanding law as developed in a dialectical process between the sovereign and the people can protect against the abuses that come from any one person or group’s control over the law, and can also provide more possibilities for constructive communal engagement with law.