Covenant, constitutionalism, and Christian liberty: An exploration of Wang Yi’s early political theology and later reformed political theology

Abstract

This article explores how Wang Yi lays the foundation for considering a political theology based on the ways in which covenant and related ideas were transformed into concrete social and political realities manifested in the American experiment. It further explores how the concept of covenant points Wang toward embracing the Reformed tradition and constructing his Reformed political theology to tackle problems he sees with current church-state relations in mainland China. This exploration shows that Wang’s construction of political theology is based on a misreading of the covenant concept and its relation to American constitutionalism. Wang also overlooks some biblical and theological meanings of covenant and draws on a particular reading of the Bible to justify his sociopolitical arguments. This misreading indicates that Wang’s approach to political theology is questionable because it is rooted in his misinterpretation of American constitutionalism and covenant.