Get Out The Map - Hit The Road
By Al Cronkrite The Covenant News ~ April 29, 2009
"Behold, a people rises like a lioness, and as a lion it lifts itself up." - Numbers 23:24
Theonomy is a shocking concept to most of contemporary Christendom. Our culture has fallen so far that any ability to think as God thinks is almost extinct. Leading Evangelical thinkers tout their belief in the entire Bible while preaching, teaching, and practicing only that portion considered pertinent by their flawed human understanding. Christian humanists hate the God of the Bible preferring their own pillowy illusion of love. Support for full orbed Christianity capable of transforming the world is met with disdain, hate, and crude condemnation.
When the essential doctrines that establish Christianity are forsaken the entire structure collapses and evil grows as the collapse progresses.
What is being practiced in the United States is not true Christianity but a humanistic spiritualism designed to quench the wicked appetites of men. It has wandered far from the God of the Bible and become a potpourri of doctrines that feed the humanistic lusts of its practitioners.
Hoping for a return to Biblical Christianity I have supported obedience to the Constitution thinking it might later lead to a desire to obey God's Law. I have voted for candidates that promised to bring back Constitutional government and urged others to support them as well. Many of us, with little success, have done likewise. It has been a prominent goal in Reformed Christian circles.
Nevertheless, there has always been a suspicion that the framers of our Constitution were not Christian men and had no intention of fostering the Kingdom of God. As I have pointed out several times in previous essays, freedom of religion is tantamount to freedom from religion and is an evil concept rejected over and over again in the Bible. There is only one Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Three in One. We worship an exclusive, monotheistic God Who demands a monogamous relationship with His people. A nation that supports multi-religionism cannot be a Christian nation.
The goal of the United States Constitution was not to guarantee our freedoms but to form a federal government which had a similar effect on the status of the individual states that global government might have on our nation today. The secretive group that met during the summer of 1787 could have decided to amend the Articles of Confederation providing more uniformity among the thirteen colonies but instead they decided to form a Federal government. The Constitution set the framework for the new government which was to be controlled by the votes of citizens.
There is a burgeoning understanding that the Framers were Deists. Gary DeMar's recent post in defense of the Constitution is significant for its failure to mention the Name of the Savior. It appears the Framers supported at least some portions of God's Law but failed to support the Author. Gary, like scores of other Christian leaders, is attempting to bring righteousness to secular men who produced a secular document.
The tenets of Deism are nebulous. The dictionary describes it thusly, "belief in the existence of a God on purely rational grounds without reliance on revelation or authority; esp., the 17th- and 18th- century doctrine that God created the world and its natural laws, but takes no further part in its functioning."
Deism is antithetical to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a humanistic, non-specific belief constructed from the minds of men; not much different from Aaron's golden calf. When public officials pray and mention god, Christians must understand that a lack of specificity breaches the First Commandment by entertaining another god.
Some Christians support the implementation of at least portions of God's Law but Dr. R. J. Rushdoony accomplished the most encompassing body of works describing God's intentions for His creation. On the subject of dominion, he wrote, "Dominion is the exercise of government and a religious fact.This governmental mandate was diminished and sometimes extinguished by two things. First, within the church, faulty theology, pietism, and antinomianism, and, later, eschatologies of flight and escapism, led to the collapse of Christian governmental action. Second, statism sought to hold exclusive dominion and government in every sphere, and it has succeeded in gaining such powers." (Page 151 and 152, "Sovereignty", buy it here)
Rushdoony's theonomic vision involves the application of God's Law to all of the culture. Another popular but chaotic and ineffective theonomy involves direct communication with God. Pat Robertson and many other Charismatics claim God speaks to them. Certainly God can speak to us but our ability to properly hear is limited. For the purposes of this essay please refer to Jay Roger's description of theonomy. I would question the democratic process Jay recommends but the remainder of the piece is excellent. http://www.forerunner.com/theonomy/theofaq.html
Christians tend to fawn over public officials who claim to be Christian or even to believe in God. If an example is needed, consider the government of President George W. Bush; there were lies, illegal war, murder, torture, tyranny, secrecy, and arrogance. President Bush claimed to have been born again and several Christian leaders believed him and were enthralled with his administration.
If we seek a Christian culture God's Law must be the platform; not the Constitution. Our Constitutional Republic involves a pagan government ruling over a predominately Christian population. Christians should be seeking the Will of God not the will of the people. The Will of God is obedience to His Law. All human beings are sinful and mob rule multiplies the sin. God's Law was given as an immutable Writ to provide the blessing of righteousness to a sinful people.
For two or more centuries Christians have feared The Law considering their wicked opinions superior and more merciful than God's Commands. This fear has resulted in severe theological distortions that seriously damage The Faith. New Testament Christianity is a pervasive heresy.
Christian Reconstruction requires an entirely new system of government. We do not seek the will of the people but the Will of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We seek obedience to God's Law. We seek exclusive allegiance to the One True God and His will in all phases of life. We seek a revolutionary result by peaceful means. Theonomy must be the desire of the inhabitants of the nation; it is not to be imposed on a reluctant people. However, once a nation has vowed to obey, all of its citizens and any visitors would be governed by and required to obey God's Law.
Now here is the question we need to ask ourselves: What is the proper conduct for obedient Christians living under a secular government? Are we to continue to vote for candidates that promise to obey a Constitution that enforces multi-religionism? Are we to support an evil process with the hope of restoring order? How is the battle for Godly dominion to be fought?
Certainly we need to pray; without the assistance of Almighty God we cannot succeed. We must clearly enunciate our goal. We seek to live under the Law God gave to Moses. We must denounce secular forms of government. Democracy is not only a failure here in the United States but a failure historically and around the world. Karl Marx supported Democracy as a prelude to Communism and it is being touted by elite conspirators as a prelude to Fascism or some other form of tyranny. We must support the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the ONLY true God - the One and Only exclusive Deity!
James Dobson has come to terms with reality by admitting the defeat of the Christian Conservative Movement and Pastor Morecroft has put his finger on the reason it failed. Decades ago, Christian Reconstructionists knew it would fail. However, returning "to the basics of local social work and preaching the gospel", and ceasing to devote our "energies to getting a few people elected" as Pastor Morecroft recommends is not nearly enough. The world is being changed by the imposition of tyrannical secular laws and Christians MUST offer the only plausible solution, God's Law. Read a British article on the Dobson statement here.
The Christian Conservative movement failed because it ignored the real problem concentrating instead on symptoms. Constitutionalists are doing likewise! The real problem is that our government is secular with a smattering of Biblical principles. Reformed Christians should be seeking an entirely new legal foundation based solely on God's Law.
Christians of all varieties; Catholics, Evangelicals, Charismatics, and individually theologized independents of innumerable ilk must all come to understand that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords expects that His people govern the creation and that the structure of that government must be in accord with God's Commands. They must come to understand that we are created beings, not designed to govern ourselves. Only when we submit to God's government can we expect to live in peace and freedom.
Theonomy is not popular and, at least initially, many, including most Christians, will be repulsed. But we cannot progress by pulling punches to assuage the sensibilities of church members or the general public. It is time to clearly announce the destination and lay out the route.