A Question from a Reader about Theonomy

Mr. Rogers,

First of all, I wanted to thank-you for the blessing that your ministry at The Forerunner website has been. I was very pleased to find that website a few weeks ago and I've been since learning through your ministry and enjoying the articles. I know this is rather presumptuous, but when I had some questions regarding theonomy, you immediately came to mind. If you're too busy to answer that's completely understandable. I hope I'm not out of line by asking.

I guess my main question is: What is the primary difference between the theonomic view and the typical evangelical understanding of the law? All evangelicals are agreed that the ceremonial law was abolished with the fulfillment of the "types and shadows" in Christ's atoning work. When it comes to the moral law, however, I confess I don't see that theonomists have much disagreement with typical evangelicals. I don't see any Christians claiming that they are no longer under an obligation to keep the Ten Commandments, that it is morally permissible to commit adultery, murder, steal, etc. However, if the main difference between the theonomic and traditional camps is on the matter of the civil law, then why is it that we find most of the defenses of theonomy directed against those who would claim that the moral law is no longer in effect? I haven't found anything that argues specifically for the current application of the Old Testament civil laws.

Also, I've heard it said by many theonomists that the Old Testament civil law is not to be imposed from the top down; rather the establishment of a theonomic government will come about through revival, and changed hearts, as the majority of people willingly submit themselves to God's law. Is the theonomic view of the civil law that it is a type or shadow of what will be established in Christ's Kingdom? Just as the ceremonial law was a shadow of Christ's work? Also, would you consider it to be wrong to try to enforce those laws now, from the top down? Again, thank-you so much for your ministry at The Forerunner; it's truly been a blessing to me. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to read this email. Have a blessed day!

In Christ's Name,

- Q.P.

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Dear Q.P.,

Many evangelicals are operational theonomists. They want to ban abortion, homosexual marriage, allow school prayer and promote family friendly policies because this is in accord biblical law.

It's the issue of biblical sanctions that separate the two groups.

What do we do about abortionists and the parents who kill their children? Should they be executed as murderers or should hey be regulated by a government agency in the same way that the FDA regulates the sale of beef.

That is just one difference.

Theonomists ought to teach that we cannot advance Christ's kingdom through law. This needs to happen through conversion. We cannot emphasize that enough.

But let's say that the majority of voters were converted. Let's say that situation were true today. (For example, there are supposedly 65 million evangelicals in the United States and less than that number voted for Obama in the last election.) Then the question becomes: Whose law should we legislate? God's or man's? If we won't enforce God's law because it no longer applies, then where does man's law derive it's authority?

The homosexual wants marriage rights. We would deny that, but on what basis do we have the authority to deny it?

Someone's law has to rule. Should it be man's law or God's law? Or some combination of the two?

All Christians ought to agree that God's law -- even the capital case laws -- in the Old Testament were put in place by a just and loving God. There is not one God of the Old Testament and another God of the New Testament. There is only one God. However, most evangelicals believe that the laws governing Israel were put to rest under the New Covenant.

The question remains: Whose laws ought we to have on the books?

I personally believe that God's moral law and the sanctions found in the Bible ought to be the basis for our civil code. Judges would have the right to show mercy in capital cases with the exception of premeditated murder. Another thing we can imitate is that ancient Israel had no prisons. The prison system ought to be abolished in favor of a system of double restitution paid to victims of non-violent crimes.

It is important to remember that this has nothing to do with bringing about the salvation of the criminal. We cannot be saved by law. We cannot bring about revival by legislating righteousness. However, revival ought to result in righteousness and the righteous ought to stand for God's morality in every sphere of society -- family, school, business, church, civil government, art, science, etc.

At most, the Law of God acts as a tutor to show us where we have sinned (and in civil cases, where we have become criminals) and it can lead people to Christ by showing His eternal standard of righteousness and our need for grace and forgiveness. Civil judges can model the mercy and compassion of Christ to criminals who are truly repentant and willing to make restitution for their crimes.

But the fact remains, all law is an attempt to impose someone's morality from the top-down. If we are a Christian people, whose law do we want? Do we want Barney Frank imposing laws that govern our economic system and whether homosexuals should have the right to marry?

Someone has to rule and these rulers will decide which laws will be the standard.

See also: God's Law and Society

Flames from John YouKnow

Every once in a while I get flames (hate email) from people I don't know and neither can I tell why they are so upset with me.

Okay, maybe not once in a while, it's actually more like daily.

It could be a response to one of several stances I've taken on abortion, paganism, witchcraft, homosexual politics, and so on -- this time it was my Christian Reconstructionist leanings. But I found out only after several emails went back on forth. It's an example of how to engage a God-hater in the opposite spirit -- something we too often forget. I often can't resist getting in a few little jibes at the expense of the self-professed enemies of God -- as David, Paul and Jesus sometimes did -- but sometimes it's useful to think about the fact that these people are God's enemies, not our own.

Here is the exchange (I have corrected his spelling):

Dude, you are a complete lunatic, you do realize that right?

It would help me a lot to know what you are referring to -- an article I wrote, an article written by someone else on my website, a video?

Lol, you are overly nuts. Let's all live like the bible says. What a dumb@$$ approach to take on life. Listen, I could care less what delusions that you have bu the minute you start trying to enforce your views on anyone else we have a problem. You have no evidence at all for your view on life, none, it is true only because you say it is true. Go live in Iran if you want to live according to strict religious principles. It's funny because you don't even realize it, but you are....just....like.....them.

Where have I tried to "enforce" views on people? No one can control the thoughts or the conscience -- only God can do that.

@$$#*!% You have formed a "political group" that has the aim of turning America into a society governed by laws of the Old Testament. So while you do not have the power to enforce anything on anyone at present, given the opportunity you would force all to submit to a mythical book, written by men more ignorant of the ways of the world then the modern eight year old. God controls nothing. How dense can you be? What evidence do you have that God controls ANYTHING? What a %#*&! You make me laugh.

The goal of Christian Reconstruction is regeneration -- changing people's hearts thorugh true faith and true repentance from sin -- then for a grassroots reformation of society. You cannot change a society by capturing political power and then legislating righteousness from the top-down.

(More to come ...)

God's Law and Society (revisited)

These videos are only a small part of the longer DVD series entitled: God's Law and Society. The DVD is a comprehensive look at how biblical law can be applied to bettering American society.

Since the Obama inauguration, I've had a little run on both God's Law and Society and The Beast of Revelation: Identified DVDs.

Coincidence?

I am also in the process of combining the interview material from the "Second American Revolution" web pages with the YouTube videos at "The God's Law and Society" section of my website. I don't know why I didn't do organize it this way ten years ago, but check out the updated section:

http://forerunner.com/law/law.html

Better late than never!

R.J. Rushdoony's Influence and Legacy

I'll tell you a funny story.

About 14 years ago, I was driven about an hour outside of San Juan, Costa Rica up into the mountains by a missionary friend of mine to speak to a church group of college students.

When I got there I met a guy who happened to be visiting the church. His name was Oscar and he was a young pastor from Nicaragua, which was still communistic at that time.

I told him I was from Florida and he asked me, "I know two pastors, Joseph McAuliffe and Colonel Donor, and they are from Florida. Do you know them?"

I told him that as a matter of fact I had just been at one of several "Florida Reconstructionist Society" conferences we held in the 1990s and they were two of the speakers along with Rushdoony.

(The DVD, God's Law and Society, came about because of the video interviews we did at those conferences.)

Oscar told me he had been reading a book called Law & Liberty by Rushdoony. It was all about neo-platonism's destructive influence and it was challenging his worldview.

I reached into a black leather bag I used to carry with me and guess which book I pulled out?

“Do you mean this one?” I asked.

And then I thought: "Wow, what are the chances of that?"

True story.

In the mountains of Costa Rica no less.

This was probably the only person within miles who had ever heard of Rushdoony. Was it a random coincidence or a divine appointment? You tell me.

A few years after this time, I stated to hear some of the well-known leaders of the Christian Reconstructionist movement publicly say that the movement was "dead." I disagree. I am now discovering more seminary students in their 20s than ever before who are influenced by Christian Reconstructionist thought. We are on the front slope of a tidal wave that will be felt in full force in the next ten to twenty years.

R.J. Rushdoony video with Portuguese subtitles!

I recently wrote a prospectus on The Forerunner and what I hope to accomplish with media within the next year or two. Beginning to get much of our material into Spanish and Portuguese is part of the plan.

An Internet friend in Brazil has been translating some of the articles from our site which you can read at Monergismo.com.

His plan is to get all of God's Law and Society and The Beast of Revelation: Identified dubbed into Portuguese.

I am impressed and excited about this since this is someone who I did not have to recruit to fulfill a dream of mine. I thank God for sovereignly orchestrating His plan.

"But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day."

- Proverbs 4:18

A Revival of God's Law

I sold seven copies of God’s Law and Society in about 12 hours today.

Seven!

This was my first video project with Reel to Real Ministries in 1999. Sales of the video were brisk in those first few months. It filled a niche market for Christians interested in the idea of Revival and Reformation from a practical biblical law based paradigm. It also answered the many objections Christians have about applying biblical law to the civil realm.

However, I never expected it to be a best seller or earn me a full-time working wage. The plan for the long term is to keep producing similar media projects until there is a large enough product base and a clientéle that will enable me to do this on a full-time basis.

Six months ago, we finally remastered God’s Law and Society to DVD and lowered the price from $39.95 to a bargain price of $19.95. It’s two discs and over four hours of teaching. Still I usually sell a few copies of this DVD along with a similar title called The Beast of Revelation: Identified with Ken Gentry.

A good month will net a few hundred dollars of sales. This is without any advertising or promotion on my part except for the web presence of two e-commerce stores where I sell books and DVDs. The small profit earned goes back into ministry-oriented projects.

So the current success streak is gratifying. Yet this is also puzzling. I am getting some free advertising and promotion from someone somewhere. I have a couple of ideas on what the source may be, but I am not 100 percent certain. It could be a recent fundraising mailer I did to promote my upcoming missions trip to Ukraine in July. It could be an unsolicited plug from a theonomist blogger. It could be one or more of the YouTube videos clips from this project. If you can help solve the mystery it would be greatly appreciated.

In any case, there is no time like the peak of a success cycle to do some shameless self-promotion. So here is more information and here is how to order.

God's Law and Society
Now on DVD!

Includes a free on-line Study Guide!

Ten parts, over four hours of instruction!

King David exulted in Psalm 119: "Oh, how I love Thy law! It is my meditation day and night!" Tragically, the testimony of most Christians today is: "How I ignore Thy law because I am under grace!" The result? An America where over 40 percent of the population (including the President) claim to be born-again, where babies are being sacrificed in the name of "choice," homosexuality is protected, even celebrated, where good is called evil and evil good.

God's Law and Society features 16 noted Christian leaders and scholars, each an expert in applying the Ten Commandments to American life!

This presentation gives biblically sound teaching in a four-hour series, divided into ten parts - a perfect format for group instruction as well as personal Bible study!

This series provide a fascinating introduction to these critical issues and serves as a primer on the biblical worldview that gave rise to the American experiment in liberty and self-government. Perfect for group instruction as well as personal Bible study, this presentation series is strong meat for anyone who is ready to understand the true difference between good and evil! (Heb. 5:14)

This provocative presentation will help you form a comprehensive biblical worldview on God's Law. The ten short 20-minute programs feature answers to thought provoking questions, such as:

# Are we under Law or under Grace?

# How does the Old Testament Law apply today?

# Can we legislate morality?

# What about the separation of church and state?

# Was America founded as a Christian nation?

# What would a Christian America look like?

Speakers include: George Grant, Howard Phillips, R.C. Sproul Jr., Kenneth L. Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony, Andrew Sandlin, Stephen McDowell, Robert Schenk, Steve Schlissel, Phillip Vollman, Monte Wilson, Doug Wilson, and Jeff Ziegler.

God's Law TV

In a recent post, I predicted that my God's Law and Society channel on YouTube would get noticed fast and fan a smoldering controversy into flames. Today, I noticed that a libertarian same-sex marriage advocate, lawyer, and university professor had written a blog entry on the fact that I had put these videos on YouTube. This guy knows more about theology than the average Christian, but it is difficult to tell exactly where he is coming from except that he thinks we advocates of God's Law in civil politics are "scary."

http://jonrowe.blogspot.com/2007/01/christian-recon-tv-or-why-i-believe.html

This is the best thing he says about us:

These Christian Reconstructionists, like many of Muslim fundamentalists, are not stupid people; these spokesman are well-educated, well-spoken and quite Biblically literate. They simply differ in their "literal" interpretation of the Bible with those other Protestant fundamentalists who have made their peace with liberal democracy and interpret the Bible to no longer require the execution of homosexuals, adulterers, recalcitrant children, and those who openly worship "false gods."

It's interesting. None of the "Christian Reconstructionists" interviewed in the God's Law and Society video told us that they held the view that God requires the execution of these capital offenders mentioned here. Steve Schlissel explains that even in Old Testament times, with the exception of murder, these were probably the worst case offenders that received the death penalty. We see in several passages in 1 and 2 Kings that homosexual temple prostitutes were banished rather than executed. King David was pardoned by God himself. Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery. And so on.

What we do believe is that God's Law is just. If God commands execution for a capital crime, then it is a just punishment. We can't be squeamish about these Old Testament capital laws. This is what our God commanded.

Now whether our society today ought to enforce these laws "lock, stock and tablets" is another argument. There has been a change under the New Covenant regarding certain Old Covenant Laws. Every theonomist we interviewed agreed with this idea. I have always found it strange that people who are opposed to Christian Reconstruction always jump to the claim that we want to stone incorrigible children. No Reconstructionist has argued that we ought to do that.

God's Laws are the basis for just civil laws. In fact, all conservative Christians are theonomists to some degree. If you think rape ought to be severely punished on the basis that it violates God's Law, then you are a theonomist. If you believe that we ought to look to the Bible as a model for reforming the humanistic mess that we are in today, then you are a theonomist of sorts.

The Second American Revolution

I recently uploaded most of my God’s Law and Society videos to YouTube. This is otherwise known as the Second American Revolution website.

At YouTube the same content is on the God’s Law and Society Channel.

I had all of these in RealPlayer streaming format for many years. But it was low bandwidth dial-up quality. With the higher bandwidth videos, it would likely cost hundreds of dollars per month to store and stream files of this size. The purpose of using YouTube was to take advantage of free server space and expose the many people who just mindlessly surf YouTube to the tenets of Reformed theology and Christian Reconstruction (otherwise known as Neo-Puritan social theory). I also hope to get a larger audience and sell a few more DVDs by advertising some of the content.

It was an incredibly time consuming task. I still have to upload about twenty more. The main problem of course will be that once I start getting tens of thousands of views per month, it will be hard to keep up with the comments. It will be a good problem to have. I set each video podcast up for me to approve comments before they are posted. Some of the comments can be extremely profane and blasphemous. I am somewhat liberal though in allowing for free expression of thought and even some mild profanity. My thinking is that it exposes the true spirit of my opponents.

I now have a total of about 50 short videos on YouTube all with a Christian theme. The videos I uploaded over a month ago have anywhere from 1000 to 2000 views. So I am expecting to have a larger audience of tens of thousands of people within a few months.

I have a few video projects in the works that are absolutely sensational. I’ll write more on that in upcoming blog entries. It will be interesting to see where the tally will be in a few months. I think I’ll have anywhere between 50,000 to 100,000 total views by the next two months. And the amazing thing to me is that this is free. Google actually makes money off me through advertising.

YouTube comments are a great way of getting feedback from an audience. Of course, my videos are a little bit esoteric and designed for a specific audience. I wrote in an earlier blog entry that I was interested to find out that my YouTube videos are extremely polarizing. They love me and they hate me. But what amazes me is the low level thinking of the average skeptic. Just to give an example, here is one response to a George Grant interview on Grace vs. The Law. This person obviously thinks he is clever, but is mistaken:

"Paul" was Shaul". All the rest written there is based on a bad translation of a man who spoke Hewbrew and his words were more or less correctly translated and viola, the Christian religon which has changed forms until its not, and never was. How did you expect a bunch of Gauls and Celts to stop tearing bites out of an uncooked rabbit? Not only could they not sit and learn the Law, but they would not follow it either. Christianity is all based on bad translations. Ask King James.

Let alone the fact that this is a syntactical train wreck, it shows that the average non-Christian has been fed objections based on false knowledge. Even a cursory reading of the New Testament tells us that "Saul" was born in Tarsus in Asia Minor and was a Greek speaking Jew. As a Roman citizen he also bore the Latin name of Paul. It was usual for the Jews of that time to have two names, one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek. All of Paul’s letters were written to Greek speaking people.

But if you read your Bible, you already know that. The point is that the average person has no knowledge of scripture and rejects Christ based on foolish lies as in the example above. It is amazing how ignorant people are. (One of my blog friends tells me that I need to be more gracious and stop calling these people “stupid.” I’ll admit it’s a hard habit to break.)

I had another comment to the Abortion 911 Emergency Calls videos that claimed that an unborn child was no different than a mass of cancerous cells. I get frequent comments from people who have been fed the lies of Planned Parenthood that abortion is "ten times safer than childbirth and seven times safer than having your tonsils removed." That we show statistics to the otherwise infuriates them. These just have to be lies. Having owned a house and lived across the street from an abortion clinic for seven years, I saw the injured women being taken out in ambulances.

See the video Abortion Clinic 911 Emergency Calls (1 of 4). You can always argue with our statistics, but seeing is believing. It's interesting that I haven't had anyone try to refute this video, because it is just 911 Calls overlaid with video footage of the ambulances arriving at the abortion clinic to take away the injured women.

Perhaps people are so stupid (Oops! There I go again!) because the television media has been controlled by the liberal elite for the past 50 years. The good news is that Christians have it within their power to take it back. Let truth contend with the lies hand to hand on the battlefield of ideas. If God is truly God in a short time we will win.

God's Law and Society testimonies

I almost forgot I had these testimonies from people who have used God's Law and Society as curriculum. This is from when the video appeaered on VHS. It's now on DVD at a reduced price.

http://forerunner.com/law/law.html

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I used God's Law and Society for a Sunday School class I taught. The videos are very well focused on specific issues regarding a Biblical view of civil government. As one who lobbies on the Second Amendment, I am well aware of the need for Americans, and particularly Christians, to understand that if we are to remain free, we must stand on the unalterable word of God.

- Larry Pratt
Gun Owners of America
Springfield, Virginia

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Good Stuff! Profound theology packaged for the illiterate.

- Ryan Kidd
North York, Ontario, Canada

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I have been viewing the videos for my own instruction, but also with a view to sharing it with my co-workers in China. It is very well done and the 20 minute sections are well suited to group instruction.

- William Moore
Little Rock, Arkansas

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I have aired this video on local public access cable. I am starting a church with the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States (RPCUS) and love the study guide for teaching the video series.

- Val Finnell
El Paso, Texas

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I thought the video was brilliant. I plan on using it for a small group setting. This is a very important subject matter. The application of the Law in a Christians' life must be understood and it shines throughout the video. I really think you have produced one of the most important videos on Christian living.

- Steve Thomasma
Grand Rapids, Michigan

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I am also looking forward to showing them with people do not yet understand the importance of God in the totality of our lives, including our government, our workplace, the education of our children and the whole of society. I am in hopes that they will begin to understand. Again, thank you very much for your work.

- Marti Goodson
Tonotosassa, Florida

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We have only just begun viewing and discussing your video God's Law and Society! Our adult cell group has for some time been studying the founding of our nation and what our forefathers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights has had to say about our relationship and the nations when it comes to our worship and service to God. Your video addresses many of these same issues that we have been discussing and will help us to better identify what God's Law is and how we as Americans and individual citizens and Christian church members can better serve Him in our churches and community.

- Terry Jennings
St. Augustine, Florida

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I enjoyed the video tapes. It's refreshing to see a work that takes the 10 Commandments (the heart of the moral Law of God) seriously. Those who believe that Old Testament law is invalid need to honestly answer this question. When we read the New Testament do we find the ethical standard changed from the Old Testament? Did Christ and the Apostles reveal a brand new, comprehensive, ethical system? The answer is, No, they assume one. They list sins which are merely asserted as being obviously evil. If we look for a brand new ethical system in the New Testament, we surely will be disappointed. The New Testament everywhere points us back to the Old Testament.

- Dennis Nenadov
Merlin, Ontario, Canada

God's Law and Society is now available on DVD

I just wanted to let you know that the video God's Law and Society is now available on DVD.

This is a much better format for teaching classes than the VHS version.

There is also a free on-line study guide available for teaching classes and Bible studies.

http://forerunner.com/law/law.html

If you've never heard of this video, then please check out the above link. It is the only four-hour long treatment of Christian Reconstruction on DVD featuring many of the movement's leaders (including Rushdoony, DeMar, Sandlin, Gentry, Wilson) and others associated with Reformation of society from a biblionomic approach. The presentation attempts to answer the question, "What would a Christian nation look like?"

From a perpective of historical importance, the DVD has a rare and extensive interview with R.J. Rushdoony.

For a limited time, it will be available at 25 percent off the regular retail price.

Let your biblinomic-minded friends know about this. Or give it to a dispensational premillennialist for Christmas.

He will thank you ... eventually.

Christianity Today article on same-sex marriage has wrong premises

In a recent entry, I wrote how I rarely read popular evangelical magazines because most of the articles on social issues come from the very pietistic-dispensational doctrine that led to the downfall of American Christian culture in the first place. A good example of this is David Aikman’s article on same-sex marriage in Christianity Today, “Train Wreck Coming” (October 2006).

Aikman writes, “American Christians need to take a careful look at what is already happening. Looming ahead through a blurry fog of impending lawsuits and court decisions on gay (sic) marriage is a train wreck of epic proportions.”

It’s an oxymoron for any pietist to argue for a Reformation of culture. All he can do is cover his head and rue the inevitable collapse of Christian culture -- or as Francis Schaeffer termed it: our post-Christian culture.

Ironically, Schaeffer is popular among evangelicals. He is given significant space in Christianity Today’s 50th anniversary issue. They like his conclusions about the demise of culture, but they almost ignore his Kuyperian covenantal theology.

Aikman is correct in describing the problem. In framing the same-sex marriage debate in terms of civil rights the goal is to establish it as a no different than the battle to repeal discriminatory laws against Black Americans prior to the civil rights movement.

Aikman counters this stance by writing that “the issue is now the freedom of religious people and organizations to criticize that lifestyle.”

And he is correct. Once homosexual behavior gains the status of a basic human right, then the right to discriminate against those who practice the lifestyle in the public sphere becomes illegal. Churches are forced to perform same-sex marriages. Catholic hospitals must hire openly homosexual chaplains. Christian businesses must provide benefits to homosexual “married” couples.

The sad thing is that most 21st century Christians are already in partial agreement with this policy. Even Aikman acquiesces to the legitimacy of “sexual freedom” as long as it is kept in the proverbial “privacy of one’s own home.”

He concludes his op-ed piece with these anemic words, “Sexual freedom? Why not, as long as it doesn’t bother me. But when it affects religious freedom, it bothers us all.”

Freedom, equality, rights, liberty. These are all powerful words that ring in the history of American culture. We find them in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence as promises given by the One “Creator” God of Scripture. However, homosexual behavior is not wrong because Christians have the “right” to criticize and find fault. That is just an opinion, not an immutable truth.

Francis Schaeffer’s mentor, Cornelius Van Til, wrote extensively about the “myth of neutrality.” Van Till explained that one cannot maintain a neutral stance on any issue without acquiescing to one side of the issue or another. To be “pro-choice” is to be in favor of legalized abortion, whether or not you are personally in favor of killing unborn children. Remaining neutral on “private” homosexual behavior ironically pushes us into the corner of those who would paint such civil unions as a “God given right.”

We Christians simply have to ask ourselves: Is homosexual behavior wrong? If the answer is yes, then why is it wrong? Only the moral absolutes of Scripture can comment on why homosexual behavior is wrong. This is why some of our conservative brothers such as David Aikman, although correct in 90 percent of what he says, have cornered themselves on the same-sex marriage issue.

If you do not adhere to the Law of God as being the only legitimate source of right and wrong that is unchanging, absolute, transcendent, given to us by God, then ultimately, you cave in on the homosexual issue, because “these are two consenting adults who say that they love each other. It's a free country.” And so on.

This is why so many Christian leaders have been silent on the advance of the homosexual agenda: recruiting our children, propagandizing our schools, homosexual rights, and now homosexual marriage. If the Christian community does not return to its roots of loving the Law of God, we are going to be steam rolled not just by the homosexual movement, but also by groups that want to lower the age of consent and legalize pedophilia and even polygamy (already legal in parts of Europe).

And God only knows what is right on the heels of that. The answer is not a “rights” based argument. The answer is legislating the Law of God in the public sphere. That is the only moral code that tells us what is right and wrong: the Law of God stated clearly in scripture.

How to Vote?

The following Blog entry is not copyrighted and may be reproduced in any form and forwarded to anyone.

How should I vote? I got my absentee ballot in the mail the other day. I recommend doing this to everyone because you can take your time, research and vote in the privacy of your own home. Just call the number on your voter I.D. card and request an absentee ballot. You can even order one on the internet in many places.

Okay, I have my ballot. Now how should I vote? I used to rely a lot on voter guides such as those put out by the Christian Coalition. The problem with these guides is that they are often incomplete and many Republican candidates know how to answer the questions to court Christian conservatives even though their voting record doesn’t match the voter guide. I want to know how politicians will vote on the issues. I already know how skillful they are at lying.

I never know how to vote on judges. I knew that the Florida Supreme Court is pro-euthanasia and pro-abortion because it is filled with Lawton Chiles appointees. The problem is that I can never remember their names when I get to the voting booth. Florida has periodic retention elections for Supreme Court and Appellate Court Justices. But judges won’t fill out voter guides or answer questions on potential cases because it is a violation of the principle of unbiased jurisprudence to announce their stance to the public. So it’s often difficult to know how to vote on a judge.

The answer is simple. Use the world-wide-web to research candidates you are unsure of. With each election cycle the abilities of search engines are getting more specific in finding quick information on candidates. Just type in the name of a candidate, their office and the name of an issue that is important to you.

For instance, I wanted to know how to vote on whether Justices R. Fred Lewis and Peggy A. Quince should be retained.

So I typed “R. Fred Lewis Florida Supreme Court pro-life” in Altavista.com and immediately found a good article on these justices. These are pro-abortion, pro-euthanasia justices that should not retained. Peggy A. Quince and Harry Lee Anstead are also anti-life. I found out that the only pro-life justice is Charles Wells.

These judges have been retained for many years mainly because the conservative voting base of Florida just doesn’t see the importance of getting rid of judicial activists who strike down laws that are the will of the people. I plead guilty to being part of the problem in not even knowing the names of all these judges and how they stand on pro-life issues. Today I remedied that.

I also found out information on Appellate Court Justices and even the district school board candidates. Most people don’t know anything about local candidates because these campaigns have less money and the media doesn’t give a lot of coverage. A lot of people leave these choices blank. That is a huge problem because as someone once said, “All politics is local.” If you have your absentee ballot and a few minutes to search the Internet, you can become part of the solution.

Columbine victim's father responds to Amish shootings

LifeNews.com featured the following item:

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A father of a victim of the Columbine shootings responded to the recent shooting at an Amish school, said abortion has cheapened people's view of life.

CBS News featured Denver resident Brian Rohrbough, whose 15-year-old son Daniel was killed in the Columbine massacre. In his interview, aired nationally on the program, Rohrbough said abortion has caused a dimmer view of the sanctity of human life. "This country is in a moral free fall.

For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum," he explained. "We teach there are no absolutes, no right or wrong. And I assure you, the murder of innocent children is always wrong, including by abortion." "Abortion has diminished the value of children," Rohrbough, who is a member of the board of directors of Colorado Right to Life, said

Theonomists and the Gospel

Since 1993, I have posted hundreds of articles on my website concerning Christian Reconstruction. I've even written the highest ranked article on "Theonomy" on the Internet. (Google search "theonomy" if you don't believe me.) I've also produced several video presentations from a Christian Reconstructionist viewpoint.

While there are a lot of other theological passions that drive me, I am more known on the world wide web by quotes from my Theonomy FAQ than any other piece of writing I've done. It's quoted in hundreds of places. It's far from my best work, and I am not one of the major Reconstructionist writers, so I am surprised at the attention paid to this piece. Since I've received more than my allotted 15 minutes of unlikely fame (or infamy?) as a mere chronicler of the Reconstructionist movement, I have a few observations to make.

1. One of the reasons I first became interested in Christian Reconstruction in the first place was because of the distortions by Christians and non-Christians alike. There is a lot of animosity toward postmillennial (that is, optimistic and victorious) eschatology and God's Law. I understand why non-believers feel threatened by the oracles of God, but I've never understood why Christians are so afraid of this association. If I see a theology that is within the pale of orthodoxy which I don't agree with, I study it so that I can decide exactly why I don't agree. Often we are most afraid of what we don't understand.

2. There is little understanding about Christian Reconstruction (and especially theonomy and postmillennialism) among Christians. The most popular refutation is that imposing the Old Testament penal sanctions in capital cases would be "cruel, barbaric and harsh." Christians often don't stop to think that the God of the Old Testament who gave these Laws is Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, who was present in the Godhead when the Law was given to Moses. These Christians don't stop to think that they are impugning Jesus as "cruel, barbaric, and harsh" when they reject the Law out of hand. A more fitting objection would be that the application of the Law has changed under the New Covenant. Ironically, this an aspect of the theonomy upon which virtually all theonomists agree!

3. The other objection is that Reconstructionists are people who want to use politics to enforce the Gospel or that theonomists believe that God's kingdom can be brought about by killing who we think are "God's enemies." Usually a few choice quotes (including some by me) are wrenched out of context in order to make theonomists appear to be the "Christian equivalent of the Taliban." I even had a former pastor tell me that a society run by biblical law would be no different than an Islamo-fascist dictatorship. How low a view of God's Law! In fact, Christian Reconstructionists believe that the Law of God is only a tutor to point people to Christ. The Law can never save people. However, we do measure our growth in sanctification by the Law. Codifying the Law of God in a converted society would add glory to the Gospel because it would reflect God's character in the civil realm.

Below is a more accurate view of theonomy and the Gospel in the words of the leaders of the Christian Reconstuctionist movement.

[Quotes complied by David Field]

"It must be stressed that the creation of a Christian nation could
be accomplished only as a result of the widespread work of the Holy
Spirit, not through some bureaucratic top-down, coercively imposed
order on a non-Christian majority by a Christian minority. --G.
North, Healer of the Nations" [p.34]

"It is the missionary ... who is best equipped to begin the bottom-
up process of evangelism that ultimately leads to the establishment
of a covenanted confederation of Christian nations." --Healer [p.157]

"We must seek reform first in the Church, not in the State. The
focus on the State as the primary institution of life is the
humanist myth of the age. It must not become the myth of Christian
reconstruction." --Healer [p.287]

"What is God's historic means of making the world better ? The
preaching of the gospel." --Gary North, Reduction of Christianity
[p.xx]

"One of the distinctives of Christian reconstruction is its aversion
to the use of politics as the method to bring about social
change .... But why all the attention to politics in
reconstructionist literature ... ? The answer is very simple.
Politics has become the saviour of the people. Reconstructionists
write about politics and civil government in order to call
Christians and non-Christians back to their only Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ." --Gary DeMar, Reduction [p.21f]

"Christian reconstructionists are looking for the transformation of
all of society, including families, churches, business
establishments, the legal profession, education, economics,
journalism, the media and civil government through personal
redemption and adherence to the Bible as the standard for godly
rule." --Reduction [p.23]

"Dominion comes through service ... It is idolatrous to seek
dominion primarily by political means, whether by domination or
anarchic revolution." -- Reduction [p.25]

"Evangelism is the starting point of social transformation." --
Reduction [p.189]

"The key to remedying the [present] situation is ... regeneration.
There is no hope for man except in regeneration ... True reform
begins with regeneration and then the submission of the believer to
the whole law-word of God."
--R J Rushdoony, Institutes of Biblical Law, [pp.113, 449, 627]

"The chief blessing of the kingdom is forgiveness of sins"
--Reduction [p.217]

"It is through the Spirit-filled church, proclaiming the gospel,
that the kingdom of Christ extends throughout the world."
--Reduction, [p.220]

"The negative reaction to social reform comes from secularized
attempts to do what only the gospel can do. This reaction is
legitimate but it should not deter Christians from being truly
evangelical in their attempts at reform."
--Reduction, [p.286]

"If we really do need a graduate school in theology, let us finance
one. But let us no longer fool the donors into believing that this
sort of rarified academic institution is necessary or even useful
for training pastors ... For now, let us get on with the task at
hand: the evangelization of the world."
--Gary North, Theonomy: An Informed Response, [p.340f]

"The authors of this book ... know very well that Christian faith
centers on the saving work of Jesus Christ. They profess to love the
Savior with all their heart. They know that their new life in Him,
their new status of being right with God, and their hope of eternal
life have been granted to them by the grace of God. They have
nothing of which to boast. With Paul they would say, 'Far be it from
me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through
which the world has been crucified unto me and I unto the world'.
Having been saved from the world, their concern is to love their
Lord with all their heart, soul, strength and mind. They now want to
walk in those good works which God intends for them. They make a
sincere effort to heed the words of Christ to 'seek above all the
kingdom of God and His righteousness'. They know that this kingdom,
for which they pray regularly, will not be consummated until after
the return of Jesus Christ and the final judgment, when all
believers will then rejoice in a new heaven and earth wherein
righteousness dwells. In the meantime they seek to perfect personal
holiness in the fear of God and to make all the nations disciples of
their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is only in the light and
context of these beliefs and practices that they see and understand
their Reconstructionist position in ethics and eschatology."
--Greg Bahnsen, House Divided, [p.3f]

"It must be understood the Reconstructionists believe that
evangelism is the absolute pre-condition to worldwide,
postmillennial, theocratic success ... We insist that cultural
influence and change are to be promoted by God's people - who are
saved by grace alone - at large in their callings, not by the
institutional Church as such."
--Ken Gentry, House Divided, [p.194]

"Evangelism, leading to baptism, comes first".
--Ken Gentry, House Dived, [p.194]

"Christian Reconstructionists do not believe that man can be
fundamentally changed by changing the conditions of society. Instead
we believe that society will be changed when men are first changed
inwardly by the Gospel and then seek to apply that change to the
spheres of life in which they are involved."
--Tony Baxter, "Theonomy" article in "Calvinism Today" magazine I.4
17

"First and foremost, our emphasis is on the proclamation of the
saving power of God through Jesus Christ; and then the regenerate
man applying the whole word of God to every sphere of life."
--R J Rushdoony, "Calvinism Today" II.1 14

"The message of the kingdom of God rests on a concept of salvation
which is supernaturally imparted, not politically imparted."
--Gary North, Tools of Dominion, [p.38]

"The primary need today, as always, is the need for widespread
personal repentance before God."
--Gary North, Tools of Dominion, [p.39]

"The basis for building a Christian society is evangelism and
missions that lead to a widespread Christian revival, so that the
great mass of earth's inhabitants will place themselves under
Christ's protection, and voluntarily use His covenantal laws for
self-government. Christian reconstruction begins with personal
conversion to Christ and self-government under God's law, then
spreads to others through revival and only later does it bring
comprehensive changes in civil law, when the vast majority of voters
voluntarily agree to live under Biblical blueprints."
--Gary North, Tools of Dominion, [p.55]

"The key to cultural transformation is the gospel."
--David Chilton, Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt
Manipulators, [p.234]

"My slogan is 'politics fourth' ... it is my concern after
individual salvation, church membership and family membership."
--Gary North, Westminster's Confession, [p.158]

"The goal of Christian political action then is not to usher in a
theocracy but to acknowledge the theocracy that already exists ....
Christian political action is not supposed to impose a messianic
kingdom from the top down. Only God can lawfully control the hearts
of men by imposing His rule .... Christian political action is
therefore a bottom-up and inside-out process."
--George Grant, Changing of the Guard, [p.11]

"The orthodox Christian faith cannot be reduced to personal
experiences, academic discussions, or culture-building activity - as
important as all these are in varying degrees. The essence of
Biblical religion is the worship of God .... True Christian
reconstruction of culture is far from being simply a matter of
passing Law X and electing Congressman Y. Christianity is not a
political cult. It is the divinely ordained worship of the Most High
God." --David Chilton, Paradise Restored, [p.215]

"I forthrightly reject any reduction of the sacred message to
moralism or politics ... the central thrust of the bible is
recognized to be the accomplishment and application of salvation to
God's people." --Greg Bahnsen, Theonomy, [p.33f]

"I don't disagree that the issues taken up in Theonomy are of
subordinate importance in the Christian life, preaching of the
church, range of theological loci etc ... Surely the fact that some
Christians take up the question of God's law and its relation to
modern penology - and that some write on the subject - does not mean
that they believe that subject is the most vital issue for all
believers (or even for themselves)."
-- Greg Bahnsen, No Other Standard, [p.43]

"We may readily grant that socio-political reconstruction has less
urgency than personal spirituality or the church, but this does not
bear whatsoever upon the truth or error of the theonomic standard
for politics." -- Bahnsen, No Other, p.51

These are the books and magazines from which the quotations come. Most of these can be gotten cheaply as used copies on Amazon.com.

The Changing of the Guard - George Grant
Calvinism Today (magazine)
Healer of the Nations - Gary North
House Divided - Greg Bahnsen & Kenneth Gentry
Theonomy: An Informed Response - ed. Gary North
Inherit the Earth - Gary North
The Institutes of Biblical Law - R.J. Rushdoony
No Other Standard - Greg Bahnsen
Paradise Restored - David Chilton
Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt-Manipulators - David
Chilton
The Reduction of Christianity - Peter Leithart & GaryDeMar
Theonomy in Christian Ethics - Greg Bahnsen
Tools of Dominion - Gary North
Westminister's Confession - Gary North

Pope's lecture causes uproar in the Muslim world

Christianity is the only reasonable religion and only "reason" (LOGOS) can show us that advancing the truth by the force of violence negates the truth that we are trying to demonstrate.

That is what I got out of the Bishop of Rome Benedict XVI's lecture on "Faith, Reason and the University Memories and Reflections." This is the speech that has caused an uproar in the Muslim world. On the most basic level, it's an interesting history lesson about a dialogue that occurred in the 14th century between a leader of Persia and the Byzantine Emperor, even while the city of Byzantium was under seige by Muslims.

As a result of the declaration that "reason" (LOGOS) is supreme, and violence cannot advance truth, riots have erupted in the Muslim world and churches have been bombed.

I read the first part to the speech (and skim read the remainder) and I think it is a good example of "reasonableness." Of course, the speech's rendering by the very unreasonable drive-by-media has blown it up into a fiasco that has angered many Muslims to violence. Of course, most of those reading the media reports have not actually read the speech itself.

I am interested in other responses to the speech -- especially from my truly Reformed and Roman Catholic friends. Benedict makes some thought provoking comments about the Reformed faith and Kantian philosophy that have gone uncritiqued in the light of the Islamic uproar.

It's ironic that Muslims would respond to criticism of Islam as a violent religion with violence. It would be even more ironic if the truly reformed did not provide a reasonable response to the implied statement that many Protestants have "set aside thinking in order to make room for faith."

Here is the link to the pope's lecture:

Faith, Reason and the University

God's Law and Society Study Guide available for free download

A few years ago, I produced a video series called, God's Law and Society with Eric Holmberg and Reel to Real Ministries.

The video was an outgrowth of a web site I created with on-line streaming interviews with ten Christian leaders, we called it: The Second American Revolution.

Once the website was created, I wrote brief introductions and conclusions to each "program." We added a half dozen more participants to our "panel of experts" and produced a ten part, four hour long video presentation. It wasn't too difficult to put together a study guide after that. For the past few years, the guide has existed only in electronic text format as a Microsoft Word file. I've emailed this people who bought the video when they requested it.

Last month, I bought the Adobe Creative Suite which has enabled me to offer this in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. The Study Guide can be used as a companion to the video series or by itself.

Download your free copy at: http://forerunner.com/law/glsbook.pdf

The Spirit of Massachusetts

About 20 years ago, the state of Massachusetts launched a campaign to compete with "I Love New York" and "Virginia is for Lovers." Since then, I haven't seen too many "The Spirit of Massachusetts is the Spirit of America" bumper stickers and t-shirts. Nevertheless, that statement is a profound truth. For good or evil, the spiritual trends that have taken place in Massachusetts since 1620 have influenced the rest of the nation and even the world. While Massachusetts is thought of as one of the most liberal and therefore Godless states in the union, there are several signs that a Christian Awakening is under way.

A few years ago, Christianity Today published an article on Boston's "Quiet Revival" -- a growing church movement has doubled the number of evangelicals in Massachusetts even while the population of the state has remained the same. The article notes that it is a "quiet revival" mainly because it is occurring among Hatian, Brazilian, Korean and other Asian churches in inner city Boston and Cambridge -- ethnic churches that few in the white mainstream are aware of.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/104/32.0.html

Soon after that the liberal Boston Globe published an article called "The God Squad" about the growing number of evangelical students at Harvard and MIT. One observer noted that there is a higher percentage of evangelical students at Harvard than at any time since the 17th century. While I think that is an exaggeration (the Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century had a great influence too)even my native Bostonian skepticism is forced to take leave and I admit that God is up to something in Boston.

God On The Quad

The Harvard Crimson has been running a lot of articles on the topic in the past few years. Understand that with a student population of only a few thousand, just a few hundred evangelicals at Harvard is a phenomenon. Contrast this with ten years ago, when the total number of professing conservative Christians was less than one hundred and you see what some have called an "Awakening" of evangelical Christianity. Some say it is a precursor to something major akin to the Awakenings of past centuries.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=357109

In order to really shake the nation, any type of student led revival will have to deviate from the pietistic movements that have characterized "revivals" in the past 100 years. In fact, every revival that has led to a Great Awakening (The Puritan movement, the First and Second Great Awakenings) have been Puritan or "Neo-Puritan" in character. It was when the majority of American churches rejected Calvinism in the mid-1800s that "revival" began to focus more on individual blessings rather than how the revived saints can be salt and light in the society. But even that is changing. Christianity Today this month ran an article about how more and more Christian youth are getting interested in theology and are rejecting the "seeker sensitive" and "emergent" models of church growth. They are looking for something of more substance and are finding it in Calvinism. After all, America was founded not just on Christianity, but on a Protestant model influenced more by the theology and social theory of John Knox and Oliver Cromwell than any other figures.

The Christianity Today article is not on-line yet, but check back at their site to see it eventually -- or pick up a copy at your local Christian book store. I'll be reviewing the article in a few days.

See a review of : Young, Restless and Reformed

Last month also marked the 200th anniversary of the "Haystack Revival" -- a prayer awakening at Williams College in Western Massachusetts led by three students helped to launch the World Missions Movement in America. Students around the world are being asked to fast and pray for a revival of missionary vision among college students. What is strange about the anniversary is not that Christian groups such as InterVarsity are promoting it, but that it is getting favorable mention even from many liberal groups. That secularists would celebrate the positive influence of Christian Missions inthe world needs some explanation that I cannot explain other than a sovereign act of God.

http://haystack.williams.edu/

Haystack Awakening '06

Of course, I've written about these phenomena since 1989 in The Forerunner, so it is actually exciting to see these movements gain a beach head and get noticed by the national press. It's happening at a time when I had almost despaired of ever seeing an Awakeing in the northeast in my lifetime. In 1989, I started a project called The Northeast Invasion. The plan was calculated to flood the Norteast College campuses and especially the Ivy League where future leaders are studying, with Christian literature.

This month we plan to continue this strategy with The Boston Awakening magazine. I was initially hesitant to take on the project, my skeptical nature rising to the forefront, but then I realized a simple truth. When one aims for great things, we only fail when we do not try.

The Coming Fall of the Islamic State and Western Humanism

The basic rule of Reformation is as follows: Wherever the Bible has become available in the language of the people, revival and reformation follows. Most Muslims are not fanatics who want to kill all Christians, but are like most nominally religious people in third world countries. They want stable families and a lawful social order. When they see that Christ can give that to them, little by little they will be converted in each generation. We can offer the tools to help them to that end.

The Gospel cannot be stopped anywhere in the world now because of the fiber-optics revolution. We do not have to smuggle Bibles and sound teaching into these countries. It is already there. Much of the current fanaticism is a response against the new "openness" because unfortunately they see only the depravity of the West and not the Christian foundation.

In the West, we have had the Bible for 500 years, but then we had liberalism in the church and the wrong strategy of countering liberalism with fundamentalism which had its roots in pietism and dispensationalism. Both of those movements robbed us of the vision to be cultural revolutionaries.

At the same time that Islamic dictatorships are falling into turmoil, Western humanism has had its day. People in our own Western culture can see that its values are bankrupt and there is a whole generation of people coming up that are open to a Christian Reformation -- or as I prefer to call it: "a Second American Revolution."

Most adult Christians are straining in hope that there will be a Revival, but they think of "revival" as a highly personal and pietistic experience. The truth is that there is already a type of awakening happening, but most adults don't know how to lead the younger generation. What we should do is to systematically get more and more teaching materials with a correct Christian worldview to the younger generation in order to equip them to be Reformers. That is why the teaching videos and the pro-life presentations we want to produce are potentially more powerful than jihad.

Did William Bradford, the first governor of Plymouth Colony, ever experience a mid-life crisis? He was too busy taming the wilderness, converting Indians and building the New Jerusalem to think about himself. The Pilgrims and Puritans who came to this country in the 1620s and 1630s were looking for results three generations ahead. They too had their time of apostasy a few decades later. Then there was the Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s. The birth of the first republic in the world governed by constitutional law did not occur until 40 years after that. What we should be thinking about now is not the immanent jihad apocalypse, but how we can be used 40 years from now and after we are dead.

John Wesley and George Whitefield, leaders of the First Great Awakening, couldn't work within the framework of the established church. They had to go to the coal miners. And that is what we must do as well. It may not come as an explosion in the way we are used to thinking about "revival." It will come little by little as we are faithful.

Islam -- In its death throes?

Islam as a dictatorial government structure is in its death throes. It cannot sustain itself on its own. The current conflict in the Middle East is the reaction of a small minority of people to changes in the world that are irreversible. It's similar to what happened with communism 15 years ago. Former communist countries are still struggling toward self-government today, but they can never go back to what once was -- even though in the 1990s, the conspiracy buffs were warning that they would. In 15 years Islam will still be a major world religion, but there won't be any more terrorist states whose sole purpose is to destroy the "infidels." In the meantime, we have to fight terrorist states for a few more years. They will be as dangeorous as a rabid dog -- but one that is in its death throes. It's better to have leaders who realize that the time of collapse is inevitable and that sooner is better. We can't compromise with governments that are bent on America's destruction anymore than appeasement worked with Hitler or the Soviet Union.

Van Tillian Presuppositional Theonomic Ethics

Cornelius Van Til was a 20th century protégé of the Dutch Reformed theologian and president of the Netherlands, Abraham Kuyper. Van Til created a school of Christian apologetics and an ethical system based on Kuyperian presuppositionalism. Although Van Til had some disagreements with Kuyper, the two systems are similar.

According to Van Til, presuppositionalism is the idea that all philosophical reasoning is ultimately circular. Every argument begins with an unprovable premise. Given a true premise, one can arrive at a valid conclusion that is equally true. The problem is that one can never be absolutely certain that the premises of an argument are true. Van Til said that scriptural presuppositions are true because the Bible is God’s Word. To Van Til, any other rationalist system was untrustworthy because it must be based on the presuppositions of human beings corrupted by the Fall of Adam.

A “true” premise implies the sufficiency of human reason. One may attempt to prove a premise through argumentation. Yet these arguments will be supported by equally unprovable premises. A true premise implies that one has either consciously or unconsciously arrived at a foregone conclusion. Circular reasoning is inescapable. Furthermore, this is always the reasoning of an imperfect mind. Therefore, only premises that come from a perfect mind, such as those originating from the inscripturated Word of God, are trustworthy and reliable.

Van Til’s system of apologetics states that the Christian ought not to use rational argument to attempt to prove the truth of God’s Word to non-believers. The Christian ought to start all argumentation with scripture as a presupposition. Van Til did not deny that there are rational arguments that prove the validity of the Word of God. On the contrary, nothing exists except proof. Yet human beings have a problem with comprehending the Word of God as truth. The problem is not philosophical in nature, but rather moral. The problem is that our understanding is clouded by original sin and therefore we have a problem with comprehending the truth.

This way of thinking cuts across the grain of modern rational thought which proposes that one must prove something in order to believe it to be true. However, Van Tillian logic has had many forerunners in the medieval and ancient world.

St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury wrote, “For I seek not to understand in order that I may believe; but I believe in order that I may understand, for I believe for this reason: that unless I believe, I cannot understand.”

This is the opposite of the famous maxim, “I think therefore I am.” Rationalists such as Descartes have always wanted to “understand it” or “prove it” in order to believe it. However, Anselm’s statement is undeniably true. All truth is based on certain unprovable presuppositions. We must first have faith in order to know anything.

Theocracy of Ancient Israel: Pattern for Colonial New England

Theonomy is a term for the belief that the moral law of God is to be applied as a standard of righteousness for governing individuals and society. The term comes from the Greek for "God's law" and is the concept that all of the moral laws (those excluding the non-ceremonial and dietary laws) given to Moses and recorded in the Pentateuch are binding on people of all nations forever. Theonomy posits God's law as the only just standard for regulations in every human institution: family, church, and state.

Theocracy is the term for a nation ruled by God and God's law. Theocracy does not imply rule of the state by the church. The proper term here would be an ecclesiocracy. Although the church and the state are separate spheres of government, both are to be ruled by God's law.

Detractors of theonomy and theocracy like to argue that the civil law and its sanctions were limited to Old Covenant Israel because there was no separation of church and state in Israel's theocracy. Even a casual survey of the law of Moses disproves this conjecture. The Old Covenant commands that "alien and sojourners" in Israel, even those who were uncircumcised heathen, were bound to the civil law (Lev. 24:22).

Yet these foreigners were not required to keep most of the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic law (Ex. 12:43,44,48; 9:33; Deut. 14:21). Only the circumcised were allowed to participate in the Passover, the old covenant communion meal. The two "marks of the covenant" separated members of the "church" from members of the "state." There was also a separation between the priests of the ceremonial law, the Levites, and the magistrates of the civil law, the elders and judges (Lev. 14:35; 27:11; Deut. 1:16; 16:18; 19:12; 21:2; 25:1).

In the New Covenant, the primary purpose of the church is to minister God's grace in the world. Christ's commission to the church was to preach salvation to the nations (Matt. 28:18-20). The Apostles were given the keys of the kingdom and the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, in order to carry out the Great Commission. The state is to be a minister of justice (Rom. 13:1-7). It alone is given the sword of power to execute vengeance on those who would violate the law of God as expressed in the laws of the civil sphere. The church is never to control civil government, but may instruct state proceedings with biblical counsel (Deut. 17:8-13). The church is also expected to train godly men for civil leadership.

The problem, of course, with the colonial Massachusetts "theocracy" was that it was not a true theocracy with separation of powers, but an ecclesiocracy. Cotton Mather wrote: "Yet, after all...in this world a Church-State was impossible, whereinto there enters nothing which defiles."

On the other hand, it was this experiment with self-government which finally led to the emancipation of the colonies from the tyranny of the British crown in later years. In all fairness to the Massachusetts Puritans, we must realize that they came to the New World at a time when the Protestant Reformation was still very much in progress in England. A unifying and comprehensive church confession describing the relationship between church and state had not been adopted. Connecticut, Plymouth, and Rhode Island experimented with alternate forms of theocracy.

According to 19th century Harvard historian John Fiske: "The spirit in which the Hebrew prophet rebuked and humbled an idolatrous king was a spirit they could comprehend. Such a spirit was sure to manifest itself in cramping measures and in ugly acts of persecution; but it is none the less the fortunate alliance of that fervid religious enthusiasm with the Englishman's love of self government that our modern freedom owes its existence."

Modern theonomists can neither completely defend the rigidity of the Massachusetts Bay Colony nor completely disparage the attempts towards a godly separation of powers by Roger Williams and the Rhode Island colony. A more honest approach would be to settle on the example of civil liberty found in the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut.

The United States Constitution owes allegiance to Thomas Hooker, more than any other man, for providing a working model of decentralized government, one which had not appeared on the face of the earth since the time of the ancient Hebrews.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first biblical covenant in modern times which founded a federal government. The Mayflower Compact was not a constitution, in that it did not define and limit the functions of government. The Magna Charta had the nature of a written constitution because it described the rights of the people, but it did not create a civil government.

This constitution states that Connecticut is submitted to the "Savior and Lord." There are none of the patronizing references to a "dread sovereign" or a "gracious king" nor the slightest allusion to the authority of British government or any other government over the colony. It presumes Connecticut to be self-governing. It does not describe church membership as a condition for suffrage. In this federation, all powers not granted to the General Court remained in the towns. Each township had equal representation in the General Court. The governor and the council were chosen by a majority vote of the people with almost universal suffrage.

In his sermon to the General Court, May 31, 1638, Hooker said, "The foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people...the choice of public magistrates belongs unto the people by God's own allowance...they who have power to appoint officers and magistrates have the right also to set the bounds and limitations of the power and place unto which they call them."

John Fiske writes: "It was the first written constitution known to history, that created a government, and it marked the beginnings of the American republic, of which Thomas Hooker deserves more than any other man to be called the father. The government of the United States today is in lineal descent more nearly related to that of Connecticut than to that of any of the other thirteen colonies."

________________

John Fiske, The Beginnings of New England or The Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil Law and Religious Liberty , illustrated edition (Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York, 1889), pp. 274, 137, 140.