Theonomy

Moses’ Law for Modern Government: The Intellectual and Sociological Origins of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement

by on July 1, 2019

By J. Ligon Duncan, III A paper presented to the Social Science History Association, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Saturday, October 15, 1994 Department of Systematic Theology Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, MS Copyright © 1994 Introduction For many years now, students and professors in . . . Continue reading →

Straight Out Of Münster

by on June 10, 2019 | 5 Comments

I think I first read about “web logs” about 1995, when I was teaching at Wheaton College. Then they were the domain of people writing about what they had for breakfast. They were daily, public journals where people recorded online their most . . . Continue reading →

With Presbycast On Theonomy

by on September 26, 2018 | 7 Comments

In its narrow, strict sense theonomy is the belief in the “abiding validity” of the judicial laws of the old (Mosaic) covenant “in exhaustive detail.” It is, as W. Robert Godfrey writes, an appealing movement, which is strongly supported by their Postmillennial . . . Continue reading →

The USA Is Not Old Testament Israel

by on May 16, 2018 | 12 Comments

Theonomy (or, more broadly Christian Reconstructionism) is one of the tollbooths through which pilgrims from traveling from Münster to Geneva, as it were, often seem to pass. I encountered it almost as soon as I came into contact with the Reformed churches. . . . Continue reading →

Refugees And The Twofold Kingdom

Or Worrying About The Theonomy Of The Christian Left

by on November 17, 2015 | 40 Comments

From the early 4th century, when Christianity was declared a legal religion and properties were returned to Christians and persecution of Christians was forbidden, the Christian church gradually become intertwined with the empire. Gradually, paganism was marginalized and then eventually made illegal. . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg 92: What Is The Law Of God? (3)

by on July 20, 2015 | 1 Comment

There is a way of life, i.e., there is a way that believers live. There is a way of salvation, a path that believers walk toward eternal life, in the grace of Christ, in union with Christ. It is essential to distinguish, however, between is and through or because. The moralist wants to turn is into through or because. We are not saved through obedience. That is Romanism. We are not saved because of our obedience. That is sheer Pelagianism. Nevertheless, it is the case that those to whom God has sovereignly given new life, to whom he has given the grace of faith and through it union with Christ, will and shall seek to live, sola gratia, sola fide according to God’s moral law. Continue reading →

Heidelberg 92: What Is The Law Of God?

by on July 17, 2015

God’s Word teaches us to have the highest, most reverent view of God’s law generally. The Psalmist declares “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (v. 97; ESV). To be sure, in Psalm 119 the noun . . . Continue reading →

For Those Just Tuning In: What Is The Federal Vision?

by on November 8, 2013 | 6 Comments

In talk radio, the host is supposed to “reset” the show at regular intervals. He is to remind listeners of which show they are listening to and on what network or station. One reason why the host does this is that some . . . Continue reading →

A Response To Rachel Held Evans Regarding Wilson And The Definition Of “Reformed”

by on October 30, 2013 | 9 Comments

Jonathan Merritt published a critique of Doug Wilson this morning on his Religion News Service. For younger readers, who might not remember the Federal Vision (FV) controversy, Wilson is the leader of the de facto denominational home of the FV, the Communion of . . . Continue reading →

The Abiding Validity Of The Creational Law In Exhaustive Detail

by on August 9, 2013 | 69 Comments

A correspondent to the HB writes: People can gloss over the term all they want, but secularism is still what it is, a rival religion and ethos to Christianity. The real divide between the FV and anti-FV crowd began with Van Til . . . Continue reading →

Evangelicalism And The Reformed View Of The Law

by on August 8, 2013 | 16 Comments

Note: This post first appeared in February 2008. Since that time the original link to Pulpit Magazine has been taken down. The archives at Pulpit Magazine only go back to 2012. § At Pulpit Magazine, Nathan Busenitz is tackling the question of . . . Continue reading →

Law, Gospel, And The Three Uses of the Law

by on July 20, 2013 | 3 Comments

By “law and gospel” I refer to the difference between those of us who hold to the historic and confessional distinction between those places in Scripture where God commands and those places where he promises. Historically, Protestants have described these two ways . . . Continue reading →

We Are Not Polishing Brass On A Sinking Ship

by on May 23, 2013 | 14 Comments

More than 30 years ago, when I first came into contact with Reformed theology, piety, and practice (the Reformed confession broadly defined), I also came into contact with a movement within the Reformed world known as “Christian Reconstructionism” and its child “theonomy.” . . . Continue reading →