Christian Reconstruction and its Social Implication

[Michael Sei Davis; July 30, 2003; English 104]

(Modified for Internet August 5, 2003)

As a movement, Christian Reconstructionism is largely made up of ideas and ideologies held by a minority in the Christian Faith. Seemingly insignificant, this grassroots movement is experiencing rapid expansion. In light of this growth, Christian Reconstructionism is being noticed, evaluated, and criticized by many members of different denominations within the Christian Faith and by [mostly liberal] social activists outside of the Faith. There are many critics and fierce opponents of Christian Reconstructionism. Although the Christian Reconstructionist Movement is severely opposed by some and misunderstood by many, Christian Reconstructionism is achieving greater influence in the American culture and society (particularly through the home schooling movement).

Christian Reconstructionists trace their intellectual origins back into the beginning of history. They claim to worship the God that the Jews worshipped before the incarnation of Jesus Christ. In fact, this is the claim of the Christian Religion itself, of which Christian Reconstructionism is only a part. However Christian Reconstructionists rely more heavily upon the theology of the Old Testament Jewish Religion than most Christian denominations generally do. Christian Reconstructionists especially hold the Mosaic Law in high regards as applicable in this modern age. Christian Reconstructionists believe that during the first Advent, Jesus Christ re-established the Mosaic Law, clearly defining it and adding further insight. Christian Reconstructionists also consider the teachings of the Apostles of Jesus Christ as a continued development of how men ought to live according to God’s law-word and of how the Church of Christ ought to be ordered. During the ministry of the Apostles, the Canon of Scripture was sealed. Consequently, there can be no “new” revelations from God, as he himself has ordained it. Nevertheless “progressive revelation” is in effect. This is the concept that what is not easily understood or explicitly stated in Scripture, “by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations from the Spirit, or the traditions of men (Westminster).” Subsequently, the early church fathers and the early church councils guided the intellectual development of orthodox Christianity. It was during these early years that the orthodox doctrine of Christ and his divinity was established. This is a clear example of progressive revelation. It took the Christian Church over four hundred years to ‘deduce’ and affirm the orthodox dogma of Christ (Council of Chalcedon 451 A.D.). The Reformation is the next step in the intellectual development of Christian Reconstruction. Among the Reformers, John Calvin is singled out and highly regarded for his scholarly contribution, “The Institutes of the Christian Religion.” What Calvin believed and taught has come to be known as ‘Calvinism,’ ‘Reformed Theology,’ and/or ‘Covenant Theology.’ Following the Reformation, the Puritans carried on the rigorous and consistent hermeneutic, method of interpretation, of the Reformers (or specifically, John Calvin). It is upon the basis of this intellectual heritage that Cornelius Van Til develops his philosophical defense of the Christian Faith. And upon the basis of Van Til’s philosophy, John Rousas Rushdoony, the “father of Christian Reconstruction,” writes, “The Institutes of Biblical Law (1973).” “This was his magnum opus, a book of over 800 pages. It was the footnoted version of five years of sermons, 1968-72 (North/Lew).” With the publishing of this book the intellectual movement began.

“Rushdoony’s Institutes of Biblical Law consciously echoes a major work of the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin’s Institute of the Christian Religion. In fact, Reconstructionists see themselves as the theological and political heirs of Calvin. The theocracy Calvin created in Geneva, Switzerland in the 1500’s is one of the political models Reconstructionists look to, along with Old Testament Israel and the Calvinist Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (Clarkson).”

Furthermore the beliefs and doctrines of Christian Reconstructionists are consistent with the orthodox Christian Faith.

Christian Reconstructionists have a solid theological heritage. “Christian Reconstruction is an extension of Christianity (North/ICE).” It is also consistently

Reformed in its theology. Christian Reconstructionism is a movement founded on the principle of applying a proper interpretation of all of God’s law-word to life. Christian Reconstructionists believe that the entire Bible is relevant to their daily lives. The term “Reconstructionist” denotes the fact that they believe it is their responsibility to ‘reconstruct’ their lives as well as their culture in terms of God’s law-word.

“A Christian Reconstructionist believes the Faith should apply to all of life, not just the “spiritual” side. It applies to art, education, technology, and politics no less than to the church, prayer, evangelism, and Bible study…The Christian Reconstructionist believes the earth and all of its fullness is the Lord’s—that every area dominated by sin must be “reconstructed” in terms of the Bible. This includes, first, the individual; second, the family; third, the church; and fourth, the wider society, including the state. The Christian Reconstructionist therefore believes fervently in Christian civilization (Sandlin).”

As a result, Christian Reconstructionists are found in politics, business, economics, Christian education, and other positions of influence. They are currently engaged in reforming the arts, education, politics, economics, the church, et cetera, to bring these areas of life into conformity with what the law-word of God teaches. There are five points to Christian Reconstructionist doctrine: Calvinism, Theonomy, Presuppositionalism, Postmillennialism, and Dominion Theology. As a Calvinist, a Christian Reconstructionist believes that God is sovereign over all of creation and over personal salvation (Thibodeau). Christian Reconstruction also “borrows heavily from the Calvinistic legacy not only in its high view of Scripture, but also in its view of Church-State relations, and the complementarity of law and gospel (Duncan).” As a theonomist, a Christian Reconstructionist believes that

“God’s revealed standing laws are a reflection of his immutable moral character and are absolute in the sense of being non-arbitrary, objective, universal, and established in advance of particular circumstances; thus they are applicable to general types of moral situations (qtd. in Stoners).”

As a Presuppositionalist, a Christian Reconstructionist believes that all of thought

is based upon presuppositions, assumptions. Christians assume that God exists and think in terms of that model, while non-Christians assume that God does not exist and they think in terms of that model (McAuliffe). As a Postmillennialist, a Christian Reconstructionist has an optimistic view of the future, including the progress of the kingdom of God in history (Thibodeau). Jesus Christ’s resurrection being a declaration of victory, his command that the church disciple all nations cannot fail (Matthew 28:19). As a Dominionist, a Christian Reconstructionist takes seriously God’s mandate for man to subdue the whole earth, nations as well as the creation (Genesis 1:26ff cf. Matthew28: 18-20). Christian Reconstructionists believe that gaining dominion will be a steady and progressive process rather than dominating by violence. Christians who hold all five of these points are Christian Reconstructionists. However many Christians hold some of these beliefs. Yet opponents of Reconstructionist ideologies categorically refer to these Christians as Reconstructionists. “I believe much confusion and bad feelings have arisen over the attempt to combine all people who call themselves “Christian Reconstructionists” into one group (Political).” Christian Reconstructionists are a specific group of Christians scattered throughout various denominations who hold to reformed teachings, who affirm and assert the authority of God’s law-word, and who have an optimistic view of the future based upon their interpretation of prophecies found in the Bible and the Dominion Mandate. What is more, Christian Reconstructionists are ardent defenders of God’s law-word, the Bible.

Christian Reconstructionists first point to the Bible (as any other belief system associated with the Christian Faith would) as their ultimate source. That is, Christian Reconstruction finds its roots in the “Jewish Scriptures,” Old Testament, and the New Testament. Christian Reconstructionists adhere to early church creeds and councils (i.e. Apostle’s Creed & Council of Chalcedon) as authoritative in the Christian Faith. They also study the writings of the early church fathers, the reformed confessions (i.e. Westminster Confession of Faith),

and “Puritan” Theology. The “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” written by John Calvin, contains the theological framework that all Christian Reconstructionists think in terms of. There is much literature written by Christian Reconstructionists that are authoritative in the movement as well. Although Cornelius Van Til was not a Christian Reconstructionist, his works on Presuppositional Apologetics laid the philosophical foundation upon which Christian Reconstruction is built.

“Not only to ‘prove’ biblical Christianity but to make sense of any fact in the world, Van Til holds that one must presuppose the reality of the ‘self-contained’ triune God and the self-attesting revelation of the Scripture. From this basis, the redeemed person then reasons ‘analogically,’ attempting ‘to think God’s thoughts after him.’ This means humans may know reality truly (for God, in whose image they are created, knows it truly), but not exhaustively (for God is infinite and they are finite) (Ferguson).”

The “Institutes of Biblical Law,” written by R.J. Rushdoony, is considered the Christian Reconstructionists handbook or Bible. Other works such as, “Theonomy in Christian Ethics,” by Greg Bahnsen and “Days of Vengeance,” by David Chilton are highly esteemed. In fact, the books/literature penned by Christian Reconstructionists serve to introduce the movement’s ideologies to intellects outside of the movement. As a result, the Christian Reconstructionist movement has been exceptionally influential in spite of its recency.

Prior to Rushdoony publishing his Institutes he established the Chalcedon Foundation in 1965. “In grounding the movement physically, [Rushdoony] established the Chalcedon Foundation as an institution to continually perpetuate the movement in every realm (Christian).” In 1973, Rushdoony published his Institutes. This piece of literature revived the ancient practice of casuistry, the application of case law to real life circumstances (North/Lew). Since then, many bright scholars have joined the movement and have even started their own organizations. Gary North established the Institute for Christian Economics (I.C.E.). Gary Demar established American Vision. Greg Bahnsen established the Southern California Center for Christian Studies. James B Jordan

established Biblical Horizons. “The movement networks primarily through magazines, conferences, publishing houses, think tanks, and bookstores (Clarkson).” What had started, as a movement of ideas is now a social and political influence that cannot be ignored.

The two principal founders of the beliefs of Christian Reconstructionism are Cornelius Van Til and Rousas John Rushdoony. Cornelius Van Til was born in 1895 at Grootegast in the Netherlands. His family migrated to America in 1905. He studied at Calvin College, Calvin Seminary, Princeton Seminary, and Princeton University, where he got his doctorate. In 1928, Van Til taught apologetics at Princeton University and in 1929 he became the Professor of Apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary. At Westminster, Van Til fully developed the idea of Presuppositional Apologetics (Ferguson). Van Til researched and developed this method of proclaiming the Gospel as a reaction to the “traditional” method of presenting evidence and allowing the listener to “choose” to believe or reject God. This troubled Van Til since this method denied the very truth that he was asserting. That truth was that in this life “there is no such thing as neutrality. A person cannot be neutral about God, nor can he be neutral in his thinking or living. There are only two options: for or against, God-centered or man-centered (Duncan).” In his Credo, Van Til wrote that

“we appeal to man as man, God’s image. We do so only if we set the non-Christian principle of the rational autonomy of man against the Christian principle of the dependence of man’s knowledge on God’s knowledge revealed in the person and by the Sprit of Christ (Van Til).”

Rousas John Rushdoony is responsible for transforming the Presuppositional philosophies of Cornelius Van Til into consistent theonomic ethics and the beginning of the Christian Reconstructionist movement (Christian). R.J. Rushdoony was born in 1916 in New York City to Armenian refugees. He studied at the University of California in Berkeley and at the Pacific School of Religion. He was ordained a minister in the newly formed Orthodox Presbyterian Church and also worked as a missionary to the Chinese in San Francisco and

the Western Shoshone tribe in Idaho. Rushdoony is “acknowledged as the intellectual leader of the [Rconstructionists] social and political agenda (Christian).” He is credited as the “father of Christian Reconstructionism.” Other leaders of Christian Reconstructionism, now deceased, were Greg Bahnsen and David Chilton. Greg Bahnsen was a student of Van Til, as was Rushdoony. He greatly influenced the Christian Reconstructionist movement in his development of Theonomy and in his coherent style of debate/writing. David Chilton was also prominent. He was affectionately referred to as a walking thesaurus by one of his colleagues.

The Christian Reconstructionist’s leaders today are Gary North (Rushdoony’s son-in-law), Mark Rushdoony, Ray Sutton, Andrew Sandlin, Gary Demar, James B. Jordan, and Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. These men are responsible for the furtherance of the movement across social and political spheres. Christian Reconstructionist ideas have filtered into social and political activists, church congregations, and the minds of young developing thinkers.

As a movement of ideas, Christian Reconstruction is instrumental in theological reformation. Christian Reconstructionism has followers in Reformed Presbyterian, Orthodox Presbyterian, Reformed Anglican/Episcopalian, and Reformed Baptist denominations. However, most evangelical Christians reject Reconstructionist ideas as a whole. Conversely however, many of the Christian Reconstructionist ideologies have singularly filtered into many churches. For example, many Evangelical Christians today are embracing the idea of a transformational worldview, a hallmark of Christian Reconstructionism. Christian Reconstructionism has also greatly influenced the home schooling movement. The homeschooling movement has used many books that have been published by Christian Reconstructionists. So great has been the influence that the Christian Reconstructionist movement is accused of infiltrating the home school movement (Political). In reality, the accusation may be true. Many home schoolers believe that it is their duty to get politically active and stand up for the

Faith. Christian Reconstructionism has also influenced the Religious Right, which in turn has impacted society. Christian Reconstructionists have been or are instrumental in such organizations as the Coalition on Revival, Rutherford Institute, and the National Reform Association. The political influence Christian Reconstructionism is exerting is not small. “For instance, in California, backed by wealthy Christian Reconstructionists and effected by brilliant radical Christian strategists, the extremist religious right has taken control of the GOP state party platform (Political).” It is views like this that make the social implications of Christian Reconstructionism extremely controversial.

The opponents of Christian Reconstruction perpetuate the myth that Christian Reconstructionists will impose their beliefs on a non-Christian populace. This could not be further from the truth. Christian Reconstructionists are waiting for God to move in the hearts of the American people to bring them to a point where they will not only accept but demand a society ‘reconstructed’ in terms of God’s law-word.

“First, the realm of the individual is celebrate as the essential building block of the new society, since without the changes within the individual, no institution consisting of individuals can change. The second sphere of government is the family which makes visible God’s sovereignty as well as the modicum for dominion—God over his family. The third element is the church, which strangely enough is not placed in a higher position over the state. Rather, the usefulness of the church is visible in its attention to both individuals within but also extending a charitable hand to the community, the poor and needy. The final sphere of government, which oversees and maintains order in the new society, is the State. The Reconstructionist State offers a decentralized control, as well as a free-market economy (Christian).”

The individual who is committed to Reconstruction is also committed to Jesus Christ. Therefore he should not live a life of moral debauchery. If he were truly saved, he would submit himself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In a word God is important to every aspect of his life and lifestyle choices. Next, the family will be

reconstructed to mirror the Biblical family. It I the belief of many conservative Christian families that they must dedicate their lives to the Lord and function in terms of God’s law-word. This includes the wife being a keeper of he home while the husbands are to be the providers. Parents are responsible to properly train their children and to teach them (academically). In an interview, Mrs. Victoria Lewis stated that she believed women ought to be keepers at home and that she “had a desire to be at home. I am contented to be submissive to my husband.” Accordingly, husbands are to love their wives, honoring them. After becoming a “keeper of the home” Mrs. Lewis felt a desire to home school her children. At first she did so to keep her children from the evil influences so prevalent in the public education system. In time she found out that she enjoyed her children’s company and it didn’t take long for the entire family to see the benefits of home schooling. Bringing her children home unified the family; it made them a unit. A family that believes God’s law-word applies to our daily lives and believes in dominion also believes that “academics is secondary (Interview).” The family first emphasizes a personal relationship with Jesus Christ followed by an emphasis on the relationships between family members. God does not care if a child can figure out the slope of a tangent line at a particular point on a curve if he does not have love (charity) for another. Moreover since such a great emphasis is placed on living for God’s glory, academics is one of those areas where home schoolers can bring glory to God in. It is also the parent’s responsibility to train their children. This involves the conditioning of their children’s attitudes and behaviors to conform to Biblical standards. Home education should follow the early years of training. However some parents opt to send their children to Christian schools. Subsequently, the goal of such a family is to develop a multi generational vision of Christian patriarchy. Furthermore, when a family is functioning according to God’s law-word, opportunities of ministry will present itself; “education, health, and welfare would be returned to the family and the institutional church where they belong (qtd. In Stoners).” The church as a social

institution needs to be ‘reconstructed’ as well as the family. The theological beliefs of the established church need to be challenged and be brought back to the traditional orthodox views espoused by the Scriptures. For example, the church has lost its long-term vision as a result of erroneous teachings regarding eschatology, end times beliefs as a future reality. Down through the ages, the church held an optimistic view of history. But most Evangelicals today have a pessimistic outlook on the future. Church practice also needs reformation. One of the greatest errors is in regards to negative sanctions. Local congregations need to practice church discipline if they want to operate according to the standards in the Bible. However the church has no backbone when it comes to enforcing God’s law-word. From the outside, criticism comes when the church is being “judgmental.” From the inside, punishment is seen as something that was a part of law keeping; they do not believe in observing the laws of God. Consequently, churches stopped imposing negative rewards on continued disobedience by the children of God. Hence, the Christian Reconstructionist movement exists to call Christians to a life worthy of the calling wherewith they have been called. Finally, society including the state needs to be reconstructed in terms of God’s law-word. Opponents of Christian Reconstructionism mistakenly assume that Christian Reconstructionists would impose an oppressive social order upon the American society if given the chance. This is only partly true. From a non-Christian perspective, the Law of God is oppressive. And if given the chance they would establish a theocracy based upon the Old Testament blueprint for a godly society. However, they will not be given a chance unless a majority of Americans demanded a reconstruction of society. Inherently, the change would be from a democratic republic to a theocratic republic. The Christian Reconstructionist believes that evangelism is the first step towards reclaiming a lost culture. The Christian Reconstructionist hopes to eventually change the civil laws of America to reflect those found in the Mosaic Law. They would restore the government to its Biblical two-fold purpose: to

punish lawbreakers and to protect its citizens. Welfare would not be the government’s responsibility. “Governments would have balanced budgets. Income taxes would be eliminated. The prison system would be eliminated. A just system of restitution would be established for some crimes. The death penalty would be practiced for many other crimes. There would be little need for warehousing criminals (Religious).” In summary, the individual, the family, the church and society (including the state), ought to mirror the teachings of Scripture.

Many people hate Christian Reconstructionism and are intolerant of Reconstructionist ideologies. However Christian Reconstructionism is having a positive influence in our society by calling all people everywhere to repentance. “The movement…can be boiled down to a single outline of their ideals: dominion theology, theoretical foundations, and worldview (Christian).” Christian Reconstruction is a movement with long-term vision and will eventually overcome all obstacles. For that is what God’s Word teaches.

Works Cited

“Christian Reconstructionism.” New Religious Movements. 3 June 2003

http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/ChRecon.html

Clarkson, Frederick. “Christian Reconstructionism.” The Public Eye. 22 July 2003

http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre1.html

Duncan, J. Ligon, III. “Moses Law for Modern Government:” Center for the Advancement of Paleo Orthodoxy. 14 July 2003 http://capo.org/premise/95/may/ssha2.html

Ferguson, Sinclair B. “Cornelius Van Til.” Westminster. 22 July 2003

http://www.wts.edu/resources/vt.html

Lewis, Mrs. Victoria Interview. 25 July 2003

McAuliffe, Joseph. “An Interview with R.J. Rushdoony.” The Second American Revolution. 22 July 2003 http://www.forerunner.com/revolution/rush.html

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North, Dr. Gary. Ice Cover Letter. 22 July 2003

http://reformed-theology.org/ice/newslet/coverletters/cover96.10.htm

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http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/norht33.html

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http://www.politicalamazon.com/cr.html

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Sandlin, Rev. Andrew. “The Creed of Christian Reconstruction.” 9 July 2003

http://www.dabney.com/charles/Sandlin-CR.html

Stoners; An Appraisal of Christian Reconstruction. 22 July 2003

http://www.bartbyl.com/ramblings/stoners.htm

Thibodeau, Paul. “What is Christian Reconstructionism?” Christian Reconstruction 14 July 2003 http://www.serve.com/thibodep/cr/whatis.htm

Van Til, Cornelius. “My Credo.” Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics. 3 June 2003 http://www.reformed.org/apologetics/My-Credo-van-til.html

Westminster Confession of Faith. Chapter 1, Article VI

http://reformed.org/documents/westminster_conf_of_faith.html#chap1