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Theonomy

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This article is about biblical law within Christian Reconstructionism. For the Christian theo-political movement, see Christian Reconstructionism. For the meta-ethical theory, see divine command theory.

Theonomy, from theos (god) and nomos (law), is the idea that Mosaic law should be observed by modern societies.[1] Theonomists reject the traditional Reformed belief that the civil laws of the Mosaic Law are no longer applicable.[2] This idea is not to be confused with the idea of "theonomous ethics" proposed by Paul Tillich.[3]

Goals

Various theonomic authors have stated such goals as "the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics",[4] exclusion of non-Christians from voting and citizenship,[5] and the application of Biblical law by the state.[6] Under such a system of Biblical law, homosexual acts,[7] adultery, witchcraft, and blasphemy[8] would be punishable by death. Propagation of idolatry or "false religions" would be illegal[9] and could also be punished by the death penalty.[10][11]

According to theonomist Greg Bahnsen, the laws of God are the standard which Christian voters and officials ought to pursue. Civil officials are also not constrained to literally enforce every Biblical law, such as one-time localized imperatives, certain administrative details, typological foreshadows, or those against envy and unbelief. "Rulers should enforce only those laws for which God revealed social sanctions to be imposed"[12]

Origin of modern theonomy

In the terminology of Christian Reconstructionism, theonomy is the idea that, in the Bible, God provides the basis of both personal and social ethics. In that context, the term is always used in antithesis to autonomy, which is the idea that Self provides the basis of ethics .[citation needed] Theonomic ethics asserts that the Bible has been given as the abiding standard for all human government — individual, family, church, and civil; and that Biblical Law must be incorporated into a Christian theory of Biblical ethics.

Theonomic ethics, to put it simply, represents a commitment to the necessity, sufficiency, and unity of Scripture. For an adequate and genuinely Christian ethic, we must have God's word, only God's word, and all of God's word. Nearly every critic of theonomic ethics will be found denying, in some way, one or more of these premises.

— The Theonomic Antithesis to Other Law-Attitudes [13]

Critics see theonomy as a significant form of Dominion theology, which they define as a type of theocracy. Theonomy posits that the Biblical Law is applicable to civil law, and theonomists propose Biblical law as the standard by which the laws of nations may be measured, and to which they ought to be conformed.

Relation to Reformed theology

Theonomists reject the position of traditional Reformed theology that the civil and ceremonial laws of the Mosaic Law are no longer binding on Christians, though useful as guidance. Theonomists, on the other hand, argue that only the ceremonial laws are no longer applicable, and that the civil law code remains in effect in exhaustive detail. Further, theonomists argue that the case law found in the Old Testament is to be applied in a non-circumstantial way, rather than as particularly relevant to the circumstances of Israel.[2] Some in the modern Reformed churches are critical of this understanding,[14] while other Calvinists affirm Theonomy.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ English, Adam C. (2003). "Christian Reconstruction after Y2K". New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press. pp. 113–114.
  2. ^ a b Duncan, J. Ligon, III (October 15, 1994). Moses' Law for Modern Government. Annual national meeting of the Social Science History Association. Atlanta, GA. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Neuhaus, Richard John (May 1990). "Why Wait for the Kingdom? The Theonomist Temptation". First Things. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  4. ^ Chilton, David, Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion, Appendix A
  5. ^ North, Gary, Political Polytheism, p. 87
  6. ^ Bahnsen, Greg, By This Standard: The Authority Of God's Law Today, pp. 346-347
  7. ^ DeMar, Gary, Ruler of the Nations, p. 212
  8. ^ North, Gary, Unconditional Surrender: God's Program for Victory, p. 118
  9. ^ An Interview with Greg L. Bahnsen
  10. ^ Rushdoony, R.J., The Institutes of Biblical Law, (Nutley, NJ: Craig Press, 1973), pp. 38–39.
  11. ^ Schwertley, Brian M., "Political Polytheism"
  12. ^ Bahnsen, Greg L. By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today, p. 10. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1985
  13. ^ Bahnsen, Greg. "The Theonomic Antithesis to Other Law-Attitudes". Covenant Media Foundation. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  14. ^ See, for instance, Theonomy: A Reformed Critique published by the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary and Westminster Seminary California. Also "The Westminster Confession of Faith: A Theonomic Document?" by Ligon Duncan.
  15. ^ See Theonomic Ethics and the Westminster Confession by Kenneth Gentry, The New Puritanism: A Preliminary Assessment of Christian Reconstruction by Robert Bowman, Jr., Theonomy and the Westminster Confession by Martin Foulner, The Theonomic Precedent in the Theology of John Calvin by Christopher Strevel, and Calvinism and the Judicial Law of Moses by James Jordan, and The Theonomic Thesis in Confessional and Historical Perspective by Greg Bahnsen. Biblical Ethics and the Westminster Standards by Dr. W. Gary Crampton

Further reading

Primary sources by theonomists
  • Bahnsen, Greg (2002) [1977]. Theonomy in Christian Ethics (3rd ed.). Nacogdoches, TX: Covenant Media Press. ISBN 978-0-87552-111-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • —————— (1985). By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics. ISBN 978-0-930464-06-6.
  • —————— (1991). No Other Standard: Theonomy and Its Critics. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics.
  • —————— (1989). House Divided: The Breakup of Dispensational Theology. with Kenneth Gentry. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics.
  • —————— (1994). "What is 'Theonomy'". New Horizons (April, 1994).
  • Einwechter, William (1995). Ethics and God's Law: An Introduction to Theonomy. Mill Hall, PA: Preston/Speed Publications.
  • —————— (2010). Walking in the Law of the Lord: An Introduction to the Biblical Ethics of Theonomy. Stevens, PA: Darash Press.
  • Clauson, Marc A. (2006). A History of the Idea of "God’s Law" (Theonomy): Its Origins, Development and Place in Political and Legal Thought. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.
  • Gentry, Kenneth (1993). God's Law in the Modern World. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed.
  • ——————— (2006). Covenantal Theonomy: A Response to T. David Gordon and Klinean Covenantalism. Nacogdoches, TX: Covenant Media Foundation.
  • Jordan, James B (1984). The Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21–23. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics.
  • North, Gary (1990). Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus 21–23. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics.
  • North, Gary, ed. (1991). Theonomy: An Informed Response. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics.
  • Rushdoony, R.J. (1973). Institutes of Biblical Law. Nutley, NJ: Craig Press.
  • ——————— (1978). The Politics of Guilt and Pity. Fairfax, VA.: Thoburn Press.
  • Ritchie, Daniel F.N. (2008). A Conquered Kingdom: Biblical Civil Government. Saintfield, Northern Ireland: Reformed Worldview Books.
  • Halbrook, Stephen C. (2014). God is Just: A Defense of the Old Testament Civil Laws. Theonomy Resources Media. ISBN 9781312158740.
  • Halbrook, Steve C., "Proof that Modern Theonomy Advocates the Historic Understanding of the Judicial Law" (Theonomy Resources, 2015). Retrieved March 13, 2015.
Secondary sources and criticisms
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