One of the things that offends modernist sensibilities is the law in Deuteronomy 21 that requires the stoning of incorrigibly rebellious children. On the other side we face the theonomic call to reinstitute some version of this law in post-canonical civil law. John Fesko offers an alternative to both. The WSC chapel talks are free and online here and in iTunes.
Listened to it and was blessed by it.
“Theonomy” is too simplistic an approach to OT penology to be biblically valid.
Theonomists fail to recognise that the Mosaic penology is interlinked to the ceremonial sacrificial system and the altar and that those who broke the 10C in a gross, flagrant and presumptious manner were deemed to be in despite of the grace of God revealed in the penal substitutionary sacrifices of the ceremonial law. See e.g. Numbers 15 particularly vv. 30-31, also with Hebrews 10:26-29.
It was both just and equitable that someone who despised Moses’ law by presumptiously breaking one of nine of the 10C in the grossest manner should pay with his/her life own blood when not having the blood of an animal with which to pay, having been deemed to have trampled on God’s Old Covenant grace revealed in the sacrifices.
This is not the case today. But once this is recognised, better progress can be made towards a Reformed and biblical approach to civil penology.
For more on this, see my comments in the Theonomy section of the Puritan Board (Dr McMahon’s)