Recorded October 22, 2021 at the 2021 Fall Forum in Moscow, Idaho. The George Buchanan Forum was created to further develop consistent Christian thought through the integration of theology, Natural Law, and history.

Would there have been political authority had Adam and Eve never fallen? St. Augustine famously said “no,” while St. Thomas Aquinas argued “yes,” with later thinkers being somewhat divided on the issue. A common temptation, however, is to dismiss the question as a point of idle speculation. How can we know? And who cares, anyway? While dogmatic certainty on such a point is perhaps not possible, the question of pre-fall civil government can nevertheless be quite valuable, even practical, as it challenges us to think hard about and to make careful distinctions in regard to what we take the nature and purpose of civil government to be. This presentation will canvas some of the historical positions on this question, will make a case for thinking there was no pre-fall civil government, and give a sense of just what is at stake in this issue.