The Mighty and Almighty (2012) by Nicholas Wolterstorff

When

I read this around a year ago.

Why

Like his book, Justice in Love (2011), this book explores the constitutive features of social relations from secular and biblical perspectives. Whereas the former focuses on justice, this one focuses more on the role of government institutions in promoting flourishing and wellbeing in ways consonant with scriptural understandings of human worth and dignity.

How

In the context of my scholarship, his work adds a theological dimension to questions concerning superheroes’ relationship to the state, and as such is a good complement to Curtis’ secular examination of such relationship in Sovereignty and Superheroes (2016). As with Justice in Love, The Mighty and Almighty has also influenced my thinking regarding my paper on X-Men and reality beliefs.