Lex, Rex, or the Law and the Prince

Published in response to Bishop John Maxwell’s “Sacro-Sanctum Regus Majestas,” Lex, Rex is a comprehensive defense of the Scottish Presbyterian ideal in politics that defends the rule of law and the lawfulness of defensive wars. Advocating for limited government, it supports a “Two Kingdoms” theory of church-state relations and utilizes Scripture and Natural Law arguments. Highly controversial, this book was burned in Edinburgh and St. Andrews, and at Oxford University. Many scholars contend that this work was a major influence in the formation of modern political theory, and it remains one of the most comprehensive expressions of Calvinistic political theory to date.