Daily Archives: May 28, 2026

Office and Person: The Distinction That Defenders Collapse and Should Restore

Posted on May 28, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper argues that the great majority of illegitimate defenses of authority depend upon a single move — the fusion of the honor due an office with immunity for the person who holds it — and that Scripture consistently … Continue reading →

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Why the Defender Is Suspected: A Typology of the Self-Serving Tell

Posted on May 28, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper argues that there is a finite and namable set of rhetorical moves that make a defense of authority sound self-serving to fair-minded hearers, and that naming these moves is the necessary first step toward avoiding them. Building … Continue reading →

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The Whole Counsel on Obedience: What a Balanced Account of Biblical Authority Requires

Posted on May 28, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper, which opens the second suite, argues that a fair and biblically faithful account of authority must present the texts commanding obedience together with their qualifications and their reciprocal duties, rather than isolating the command, and that an … Continue reading →

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From Failure Mode to Credibility Gap: How the Biblical Catalog of Priestly Abuse Maps the Suspicions of Fair-Minded Audiences

Posted on May 28, 2026 by nathanalbright

Abstract This paper occupies the structural center of the present work, joining the exegetical typology of priestly abuse developed in the first suite to the rhetorical analysis of authority and its defense developed in the second. Its thesis is that … Continue reading →

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