How a Christian Encounter with the Hebrew Bible and Talmud Led to the American Rejection of Monarchy

Thanks to the Protestant Reformation, many Christian scholars began to approach the Old Testament with a newfound seriousness, and an interest in its political lessons. Their investigations, explains Eric Nelson in conversation with Ari Lamm, led to an interest in the Talmud and other rabbinic works. From these scholars, Nelson draws a line through the poet John Milton to Thomas Paine and the American Founders’ radical decision to create a political order without a king. (Audio, 55 minutes.)