Ye Brood of Vipers: Theocracy in America

Beliefs and practices of Christian Reconstructionism

2012-03-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

Beliefs and practices of Christian Reconstructionism from Religioustolerance.org, an interfaith group inn Ontario, Caanada that promotes freedom of conscience and separation of church and state.

Theocrat Gary North defines Christian Reconstruction

2011-06-02T03:02:00.004-04:00

CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTION-- A recently articulated philosophy which argues that it is the moral obligation of Christians to recapture every institution for Jesus Christ.

It proclaims "the crown rights of King Jesus."

The means by which this task might be accomplished -a few CR's are not convinced that it can be-is biblical law. This is the "tool of dominion." We have been assigned a dominion covenant--a God-given assignment to men to conquer in His name (Gen. 1:28; 9:1-7).

The founders of the movement have combined four basic Christian beliefs into one overarching system:

1) biblical law,

2) optimistic eschatology,

3) predestination (providence),

4) presuppositional apologetics(philosophical defense of the faith).

Not all CR's hold all four positions, but the founders have held all four.

The first person who put this system together publicly was Rousas John Rushdoony. He was my mentor during the 1960's, and while I was working on the specific field of economics, he was developing the overall framework. The first comprehensive introduction to the Christian Reconstruction position was Rushdoony's The Institutes of Biblical Law (Craig Press, 1973), in which three of my appendices appear. The.easiest introduction to the position is my book, Unconditional Surrender: God's Program for Victory (2nd ed., Geneva Divinity School Press, 1983).

from the glossary of BACKWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS? pp 267-68 , North, 1983

The Other Rush: Rousas John Rushdoony

2011-05-27T17:40:00.009-04:00

Theocrat Gary North's support for modern day public stoning of sodomites, blasphemers, and other violators of Mosaic Law comes straight from the magnum opus of his father-in-law Rousas John Rushdoony, the Armenian immigrant who was intent on revoking the US Constitution.

R.J. Rushdoony 1916-2001 .

In 1973 Rushdoony
published the Institutes of Biblical Law, a comprehensive application of Mosaic Law, per Deuteronomy and Leviticus to modern life.
His goal: To reconstruct the ideal society that Yahweh originally intended for his chosen people, the Israelites over 300 centuries ago. Hence Rushdoony called his brand of neo-Calvinist theocracy Christian Reconstruction.

A broader term for today's theocrats is Dominionists, because they rely so heavily on an esoteric interpretation of Genesis 1:26-28 (boldface added by me--KJ

26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Although the passage makes no specific mention of "dominion" over other men and women through political institutions, dominionists believe that Christian men, Calvin's "elect" living in a state of grace have been restored to the image and likeness of God as the "new Adam" and are exclusively fit to rule God's kingdom on His behalf.

By using the word Institutes in his title, Rushdoony places himself on an exalted plane alongside the great Reformer John Calvin, whose Institutes of the Christian Religion was the foundation ofseveral theocracies, including his own Geneva, the English dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony, infamous for the Salem Witch Trials.

Grandiose,indeed, but in 1981 Newsweek called Rushdoony's Chalcedon Institute "the think tank of the Religious Right". A decade after his death, the ascent of the Tea Party and the popularity of Dominionist loons like Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, and Rick Perry has made it impossible to deny the influence of Rushdoony and his acolytes.

THE RUSHDOONY TAPES
1314 hours worth of R.J. Rushdoony's recorded sermons and lectures brought to you by the generosity of the radical free market ideologues like Home Savings of California heir Howard Ahmanson, Jr.

The Tea Party is the Religious Right

2011-05-24T21:00:00.005-04:00

...the Religious Right is entering a new phase of political activity. By expanding its operations to include issues such as the deficit and unions, organizations like the FRC, the Alliance Defense Fund, the American Family Association (AFA) and others hope to forge an alliance with the Tea Party and create a right-wing phalanx so powerful no one can stand against it.

The Religious Right’s attempts to woo the Tea Party haven’t been subtle. Recent FRC conferences have included special sessions on how to work with Tea Party activists and have included self-appointed Tea Party leaders.

"Only 11 percent of Tea Party supporters said they disagreed with the agenda of the Religious Right."

Not all supporters of the Tea Party are religious conservatives. Some want the focus to remain strictly on economic issues. But a February analysis issued by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found significant overlap between the movement and the Religious Right.

Only 11 percent of Tea Party supporters said they disagreed with the agenda of the Religious Right.

--- Rob Boston, Americans United for separation of Church and State, May 2 2011, "The Sneaky Ways the Christian Right Has Re-Entrenched Itself In Our Politics"

"Now, if only the mainstream media would wake up and see the massive overlap between the Tea Party and the Christian Right that the Republicans have always understood." Amanda Marcotte, The Guardian (UK): "Who is the Tea Party really?" Friday 25 February 2011

PUBLIC STONING: The Economical Death Penalty

2011-05-10T06:46:00.047-04:00

Theocrat Gary Kilgore North, the son- in- law of Rousas John Rushdoony, endorses public stoning (graphic video) for a wide variety of offenses. The Bible tells him so.

The Cal Berkeley PhD (Economic History) explains his position in "Invitation to a Stoning" (Reason Magazine, November, 1998).

North's father-in-law and partner R.J. Rushdoony developed the theocratic scheme called Christian Reconstruction at the Chalcedon Institute of Vallecitos, California. Chalcedon was financed by an emotionally disturbed young heir to a nine figure fortune, Howard Ahmanson, Jr.

North, Rushdoony, and Ahmanson were founding members of the highly secretive and influential Council for National Policy organized by Tim LaHaye and funded in part by Sun Myung Moon.

Like his father-in-law Rushdoony, North leaves no doubt that theocracy is his goal:

The long-term goal of Christians in politics should be to gain exclusive control over the franchise. Those who refuse to submit publicly to the eternal sanctions of God by submitting to His Church’s public marks of the covenant – baptism and holy communion – must be denied citizenship, just as they were in ancient Israel. The way to achieve this political goal is through successful mass evangelism followed by constitutional revision.

--Gary North, Political Polytheism: The Myth of Pluralism, p.87

American Theocracy: Who Wants to Turn America into a Theocracy?

2011-05-03T03:58:00.006-04:00

American Theocracy: Who Wants to Turn America into a Theocracy?

A concise introduction to the theocratic movement by historian of the Baptist church, Dr.Bruce Gourley, with links to major theocratic websites

Firstly, the theocratic movement assumes a variety of nuances and labels, including Christian Theocracy, Christian Reconstructionism, Christian Dominionism, Dominion Theology and Theonomy.
Theonomy is the broadest of terms, posits rule by God's laws (Old Testament), which itself is a foundation for theocracy. In general, Christian Dominionism and Dominion Theology are overarching constructs demanding the enforced rule of God over the world, thus intersecting with theocracy proper. Christian Theocracy / Christian Reconstructionism, finally, are the specific, concrete manifestations of the rule of God and God's laws in government and society. Theocracy/Reconstructionism does not necessarily mean that clerics reign over government, but more typically is expressed in civil "Christian" leaders allied with clergy in the enforcement of God's laws upon a nation/state at large (the colonial theocracies in early America were an example of this type of government).