Author | Rousas John Rushdoony |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject | Theonomy |
Publisher | The Craig Press |
Publication date | 1973 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Pages | 890 |
ISBN | 978-0875524108 |
The Institutes of Biblical Law is a 1973 book by the philosopher and theologian Rousas John Rushdoony. It is the first volume of a three-volume work, also referred to by the same title, which is modeled after John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536). Together with Rushdoony's other writings, the book is the basis of Christian reconstructionism.
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Rushdoony expounds on the Ten Commandments which is central to his work. He interprets these commandments, as found in the Old Testament of the Bible, as the foundation of moral and ethical principles for both individual behavior and the governance of societies. He advocates for a theonomic perspective, which means that he believes God's law, as revealed in the Bible, should be the standard and authority for civil law and government. [1] Rushdoony provides an outline of a program for establishing a Christian theocracy. He envisions a society in which civil governance is directly guided by biblical principles and underpinned by a Christian worldview. In this theocratic model, religious and political authority would be closely intertwined, with civil laws derived explicitly from biblical teachings. [2]
Christianity Today listed The Institutes of Biblical Law among its "Significant Books for 1973", calling it "the most impressive theological work of 1973", and "a monumental work that should give invaluable help for constructive thinking and practical conduct". [3]
The theologian John Frame gave The Institutes of Biblical Law a mixed review in Westminster Theological Journal , writing that the book convinced him that "Rushdoony is one of the most important Christian social critics alive today", but also criticizing it on various grounds. Frame credited Rushdoony with cogently arguing against attempts to replace scripture with natural law, with showing a broad and deep knowledge of scripture, and with "a remarkably detailed grasp of the historical background and present condition of human culture." However, he found the book "a bit rough-hewn", noting that it "began as a series of lectures" and in some respects still resembles one, and that it contained "considerable repetition". Overall, Frame concluded that the book had "great strengths and great weaknesses", noting that he had tried "to keep this review balanced between strong praise and strong criticism." [1]
The journalist M. Stanton Evans described The Institutes of Biblical Law as "a work of prodigious scope and erudition" and a "thoughtful book" in National Review . [4] Joe Bageant suggests that if the United States experiences a fourth "Great Awakening", historians may one day "document it as beginning in 1973 with the publication of R. J. Rushdoony's seminal The Institutes of Biblical Law." [5] Peter Montgomery of the Public Eye Magazine describes The Institutes of Biblical Law as Rushdoony's "magnum opus", and identifies it and Rushdoony's other writings as providing the basis for Christian reconstructionism. [6]
Gary Kilgore North was an American writer, Austrian School economic historian, and leading figure in the Christian reconstructionist movement. North authored or coauthored over fifty books on topics including Reformed Protestant theology, economics, and history. He was an Associated Scholar of the Mises Institute.
Francis August Schaeffer was an American evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He co-founded the L'Abri community in Switzerland with his wife Edith Schaeffer, née Seville, a prolific author in her own right. Opposed to theological modernism, Schaeffer promoted what he claimed was a more historic Protestant faith and a presuppositional approach to Christian apologetics, which he believed would answer the questions of the age. Schaeffer was the father of the author, film-maker, and painter Frank Schaeffer.
Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible "is without error or fault in all its teaching"; or, at least, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact". Some equate inerrancy with biblical infallibility; others do not.
In Christian eschatology, postmillennialism, or postmillenarianism, is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the "Millennium", a Golden Age in which Christian ethics prosper. The term subsumes several similar views of the end times, and it stands in contrast to premillennialism and, to a lesser extent, amillennialism.
Pauline Christianity or Pauline theology, otherwise referred to as Gentile Christianity, is the theology and form of Christianity which developed from the beliefs and doctrines espoused by the Hellenistic-Jewish Apostle Paul through his writings and those New Testament writings traditionally attributed to him. Paul's beliefs were rooted in the earliest Jewish Christianity, but deviated from this Jewish Christianity in their emphasis on inclusion of the Gentiles into God's New Covenant, and his rejection of circumcision as an unnecessary token of upholding the Mosaic Law.
Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics or what is true about God and His universe. It also builds on biblical disciplines, church history, as well as biblical and historical theology. Systematic theology shares its systematic tasks with other disciplines such as constructive theology, dogmatics, ethics, apologetics, and philosophy of religion.
Christian reconstructionism is a fundamentalist Calvinist theonomic movement. It developed primarily under the direction of Rousas Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen and Gary North and has had an important influence on the Christian right in the United States. Its central theme is that society should be reconstructed under the lordship of Christ in all aspects of life. In keeping with the biblical cultural mandate, reconstructionists advocate for theonomy and the restoration of certain biblical laws said to have continued applicability. These include the death penalty not only for murder, but also for idolatry, open homosexuality, adultery, witchcraft and blasphemy.
Rousas John Rushdoony was an American Calvinist philosopher, historian, and theologian. He is credited as being the father of Christian Reconstructionism and an inspiration for the modern Christian homeschool movement. His followers and critics have argued that his thought exerts considerable influence on the evangelical Christian right.
Dominion theology, also known as dominionism, is a group of Christian political ideologies that seek to institute a nation that is governed by Christians and based on their understandings of biblical law. Extents of rule and ways of acquiring governing authority are varied. For example, dominion theology can include theonomy but does not necessarily involve advocacy of adherence to the Mosaic Law as the basis of government. The label is primarily applied to groups of Christians in the United States.
Theonomy is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law. Theonomists hold that divine law, particularly the judicial laws of the Old Testament, should be observed by modern societies.
The Hebrew Bible makes reference to a number of covenants with God (YHWH). These include the Noahic Covenant, which is between God and all living creatures, as well as a number of more specific covenants with Abraham, the whole Israelite people, the Israelite priesthood, and the Davidic lineage of kings. In form and terminology, these covenants echo the kinds of treaty agreements in the surrounding ancient world.
The Chalcedon Foundation is an American Christian Reconstructionist organization founded by Rousas John Rushdoony in 1965. Named for the Council of Chalcedon, it has also included theologians such as Gary North, who later founded his own organization, the Institute for Christian Economics.
Gary DeMar is an American writer and lecturer. A former student of Greg Bahnsen, and protégé of Gary North, he has written several books on Christian reconstructionism, as well as books targeting the homeschool movement.
David Harold Chilton (1951–1997) was an American pastor, Reconstructionist, speaker and author of several books on economics, eschatology and Christian Worldview from Placerville, California. He contributed three books on eschatology: Paradise Restored (1985), The Days of Vengeance (1987), and The Great Tribulation (1987).
Biblical law refers to the legal aspects of the Bible, the holy scriptures of Christianity and Judaism.
The Mosaic covenant or Law of Moses – which Christians generally call the "Old Covenant" – played an important role in the origins of Christianity and has occasioned serious dispute and controversy since the beginnings of Christianity: note for example Jesus' teaching of the Law during his Sermon on the Mount and the circumcision controversy in early Christianity.
In Christianity, the term biblical authority refers to two complementary ideas:
Cornelius Van Til was a Dutch-American reformed philosopher and theologian, who is credited as being the originator of modern presuppositional apologetics.
The Pillars of Adventism are landmark doctrines for Seventh-day Adventists. They are Bible doctrines that define who they are as a people of faith; doctrines that are "non-negotiables" in Adventist theology. The Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that these Pillars are needed to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ, and sees them as a central part of its own mission. Adventists teach that the Seventh-day Adventist Church doctrines were both a continuation of the reformation started in the 16th century and a movement of the end time rising from the Millerites, bringing God's final messages and warnings to the world.
Christopher R. Seitz is an American Old Testament scholar and theologian known for his work in biblical interpretation and theological hermeneutics. He is the senior research professor of biblical interpretation at Toronto School of Theology, Wycliffe College. He is also an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, and served as canon theologian in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas (2008-2015).