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 Greektheos "God" and nomos "law") is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law.[1] Theonomists hold that divine law, particularly the judicial laws of the Old Testament, should be observed by modern societies.[2]
The precise definition of theonomy is the presumption that the Old Covenant judicial laws given to Israel have not been abrogated, and therefore all civil governments are morally obligated to enforce them (including the specific penalties). Theonomy holds that all civil governments must refrain from coercion if Scripture has not prescribed their intervention (the "regulative principle of the state").[3][4][5]
Theonomy is distinct from the "theonomous ethics" proposed by Paul Tillich.[6]
Thomas Aquinas held, "if a sovereign were to order these judicial precepts to be observed in his kingdom, he would not sin."[7] Some have mistakenly referred to that as "General Equity Theonomy"[8] but it is in fact distinct from theonomy insofar as Aquinas believed the specifics of the Old Testament judicial laws were no longer binding. He instead taught that the judicial precepts contained varying degrees of universal principles of justice that reflected natural law.[9]
In Christian reconstructionism, theonomy is the idea that God provides the basis of both personal and social ethics in the Bible. 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[10]
Some critics[who?] 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.
Goals
Various theonomic authors have stated such goals as "the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics,"[11]: 223–335 exclusion of non-Christians from voting and citizenship,[12]: 87 and the application of Biblical law by the state.[13]: 346–347 Under such a system of biblical law, homosexual acts,[14]: 212 adultery, witchcraft, and blasphemy[15]: 118 would be punishable by death. Propagation of idolatry or "false religions" would be illegal[16] and could also be punished by the death penalty.[17][18]
More recent theonomic writers such as Joel McDurmon, former President of American Vision, have moved away from this position, stating that these death penalties are no longer binding in the new covenant.[19] Former pastor and theonomy critic, JD Hall, who debated McDurmon in 2015,[20] has argued that abandoning Mosaic penologies such as the death penalty means that McDurmon and others who hold similar positions cannot be said to hold to theonomy in any meaningful way.[21]
According to the theonomist Greg Bahnsen, the laws of God are the standard which Christian voters and officials ought to pursue. The civil law given to the nation of Israel, it is stated, is continuously binding, although apart from what are considered by him to be surrounding cultural connotations specific to this nation itself. [13]
Relation to Reformed theology
Some in modern Reformed churches are critical of any relationship between the historical Reformed faith and theonomy,[22] but other Calvinists affirm that theonomy is consistent with the historic Reformed confessions.[23]
^Jones, David W. (1 November 2013). An Introduction to Biblical Ethics. B&H Publishing Group. p. 209. ISBN9781433680779.
^English, Adam C. (2003). "Christian Reconstruction after Y2K". New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press. pp. 113–114. Theonomy – A system of government characterized by being governed by divine law.
^Bahnsen, Greg (April 1994). . Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
^Bahnsen, Greg L. (1991). No other standard : theonomy and its critics(PDF). Tyler, Tex.: Institute for Christian Economics. pp. 19–29. ISBN0-930464-56-7. OCLC 23690584.
^Schwertley, Brian. "A Critique of a Critique of Theonomy: An Analysis of Matthew Winzer's Misrepresentations of Theonomy and the Confession of Faith" (PDF). p. 2.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^Neuhaus, Richard John (May 1990). "Why Wait for the Kingdom? The Theonomist Temptation". First Things. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
^Clausen, Mark A., Professor of History, Cedarville University "Theonomy in the Middle Ages". Paper presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC.
^"The General Equity of the Judicial Law". Reformed Books Online. 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2021-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^Bahnsen, Greg. "The Theonomic Antithesis to Other Law-Attitudes". Covenant Media Foundation. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
^Chilton, David (1984). Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion. Dominion Press. ISBN0-930462-52-1. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
^North, Gary (1989). Political Polytheism. Institute for Christian Economics. ISBN0-930464-32-X. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
^ abBahnsen, Greg (1985). By This Standard: The Authority Of God's Law Today. Institute for Christian Economics. ISBN0-930464-06-0. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
^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, 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
Barron, Bruce (1992). Heaven on Earth? The Social & Political Agenda of Dominion Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN978-0-31053611-6.
Estelle, Bryan (May 2007). "Review: Covenantal Theonomy". Ordained Servant. 16 (5). from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
Gordon, T. David (1994). "Critique of Theonomy; a Taxonomy" (PDF). Westminster Theological Journal. 56 (Spring 1994): 23–43. (PDF) from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
Wright, Christopher J. H. (1992). "The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament: A Survey of Approaches: Part I" (PDF). Tyndale Bulletin. 43 (1): 101–20. (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
——— (1992). "The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament: A Survey of Approaches: Part II" (PDF). Tyndale Bulletin. 43 (2): 203–31. (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses by Vern Poythress
June 10, 2023
theonomy, this, article, about, biblical, within, christian, reconstructionism, christian, theo, political, movement, christian, reconstructionism, meta, ethical, theory, divine, command, theory, this, article, rely, excessively, sources, closely, associated, . 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 This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable independent third party sources August 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Theonomy from Greek theos God and nomos law is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law 1 Theonomists hold that divine law particularly the judicial laws of the Old Testament should be observed by modern societies 2 The precise definition of theonomy is the presumption that the Old Covenant judicial laws given to Israel have not been abrogated and therefore all civil governments are morally obligated to enforce them including the specific penalties Theonomy holds that all civil governments must refrain from coercion if Scripture has not prescribed their intervention the regulative principle of the state 3 4 5 Theonomy is distinct from the theonomous ethics proposed by Paul Tillich 6 Contents 1 Origin 2 Goals 3 Relation to Reformed theology 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksOrigin EditThomas Aquinas held if a sovereign were to order these judicial precepts to be observed in his kingdom he would not sin 7 Some have mistakenly referred to that as General Equity Theonomy 8 but it is in fact distinct from theonomy insofar as Aquinas believed the specifics of the Old Testament judicial laws were no longer binding He instead taught that the judicial precepts contained varying degrees of universal principles of justice that reflected natural law 9 In Christian reconstructionism theonomy is the idea that God provides the basis of both personal and social ethics in the Bible 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 10 Some critics who 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 Goals EditVarious theonomic authors have stated such goals as the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics 11 223 335 exclusion of non Christians from voting and citizenship 12 87 and the application of Biblical law by the state 13 346 347 Under such a system of biblical law homosexual acts 14 212 adultery witchcraft and blasphemy 15 118 would be punishable by death Propagation of idolatry or false religions would be illegal 16 and could also be punished by the death penalty 17 18 More recent theonomic writers such as Joel McDurmon former President of American Vision have moved away from this position stating that these death penalties are no longer binding in the new covenant 19 Former pastor and theonomy critic JD Hall who debated McDurmon in 2015 20 has argued that abandoning Mosaic penologies such as the death penalty means that McDurmon and others who hold similar positions cannot be said to hold to theonomy in any meaningful way 21 According to the theonomist Greg Bahnsen the laws of God are the standard which Christian voters and officials ought to pursue The civil law given to the nation of Israel it is stated is continuously binding although apart from what are considered by him to be surrounding cultural connotations specific to this nation itself 13 Relation to Reformed theology EditSome in modern Reformed churches are critical of any relationship between the historical Reformed faith and theonomy 22 but other Calvinists affirm that theonomy is consistent with the historic Reformed confessions 23 See also EditBiblical law in Christianity Christian anarchism Christian views on the Old Covenant Halachic state Islamism Kahanism Kinism Law and Gospel Macroethics and microethics Neo Calvinism Postmillennialism Sharia TheodemocracyReferences Edit Jones David W 1 November 2013 An Introduction to Biblical Ethics B amp H Publishing Group p 209 ISBN 9781433680779 English Adam C 2003 Christian Reconstruction after Y2K New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America Waco TX Baylor University Press pp 113 114 Theonomy A system of government characterized by being governed by divine law Bahnsen Greg April 1994 What Is Theonomy PE180 New Horizons Archived from the original on 2020 11 12 Bahnsen Greg L 1991 No other standard theonomy and its critics PDF Tyler Tex Institute for Christian Economics pp 19 29 ISBN 0 930464 56 7 OCLC 23690584 Schwertley Brian A Critique of a Critique of Theonomy An Analysis of Matthew Winzer s Misrepresentations of Theonomy and the Confession of Faith PDF p 2 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Neuhaus Richard John May 1990 Why Wait for the Kingdom The Theonomist Temptation First Things Retrieved 8 August 2013 Summa Theologica I II q 104 a 3 Clausen Mark A Professor of History Cedarville University Theonomy in the Middle Ages Paper presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association Marriott Wardman Park Omni Shoreham Washington Hilton Washington DC The General Equity of the Judicial Law Reformed Books Online 2016 07 16 Retrieved 2021 04 09 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Bahnsen Greg The Theonomic Antithesis to Other Law Attitudes Covenant Media Foundation Retrieved 2008 11 27 Chilton David 1984 Paradise Restored A Biblical Theology of Dominion Dominion Press ISBN 0 930462 52 1 Retrieved March 26 2021 North Gary 1989 Political Polytheism Institute for Christian Economics ISBN 0 930464 32 X Retrieved March 26 2021 a b Bahnsen Greg 1985 By This Standard The Authority Of God s Law Today Institute for Christian Economics ISBN 0 930464 06 0 Retrieved March 26 2021 DeMar Gary 1987 Ruler of the Nations Dominion Press ISBN 9780930462192 Retrieved March 26 2021 North Gary 1988 Unconditional Surrender God s Program for Victory Institute for Christian Economics ISBN 0 930464 12 5 An Interview with Greg L Bahnsen Archived from the original on 2020 05 14 Retrieved 2007 12 12 Rushdoony R J The Institutes of Biblical Law Nutley NJ Craig Press 1973 pp 38 39 Schwertley Brian M Political Polytheism Archived 2013 05 15 at the Wayback Machine Joel McDurmon The Bounds of Love 2016 The Theonomy Debate Joel McDurmon vs Jordan Hall Hall J D On Joel McDurmon s Abandonment of Theonomy 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 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 CramptonFurther reading EditThis further reading section may contain inappropriate or excessive suggestions that may not follow Wikipedia s guidelines Please ensure that only a reasonable number of balanced topical reliable and notable further reading suggestions are given removing less relevant or redundant publications with the same point of view where appropriate Consider utilising appropriate texts as inline sources or creating a separate bibliography article March 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Primary sources by theonomistsBahnsen Greg 2002 1977 Theonomy in Christian Ethics 3rd ed Nacogdoches TX Covenant Media Press ISBN 978 0 87552 111 4 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 New York Edwin Mellen Press ISBN 9780773455986 Gentry Kenneth 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 ed 1991 Theonomy An Informed Response Tyler TX Institute for Christian Economics Secondary sources and criticismsBarker William Godfrey W Robert eds 1990 Theonomy A Reformed Critique Grand Rapids MI Zondervan ISBN 0 310 52171 8 Barron Bruce 1992 Heaven on Earth The Social amp Political Agenda of Dominion Theology Grand Rapids MI Zondervan ISBN 978 0 31053611 6 Estelle Bryan May 2007 Review Covenantal Theonomy Ordained Servant 16 5 Archived from the original on 20 June 2010 Retrieved 23 August 2013 Gordon T David 1994 Critique of Theonomy a Taxonomy PDF Westminster Theological Journal 56 Spring 1994 23 43 Archived PDF from the original on 22 August 2011 Retrieved 23 August 2013 Wright Christopher J H 1992 The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament A Survey of Approaches Part I PDF Tyndale Bulletin 43 1 101 20 Archived PDF from the original on 26 January 2012 Retrieved 23 August 2013 1992 The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament A Survey of Approaches Part II PDF Tyndale Bulletin 43 2 203 31 Archived PDF from the original on 25 January 2012 Retrieved 23 August 2013 External links EditWhat is Theonomy by Chalcedon Foundation Proof that Modern Theonomy Advocates the Historic Understanding of the Judicial Law Comments on an Old New Error by Meredith Kline The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses by Vern Poythress Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Theonomy amp oldid 1156085103, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
