Second Best Promoting An Intermediary
By Al Cronkrite The Covenant News ~ April 26, 2010
I am a Dominionist. Being a Dominionist in Christian circles is similar to being an anti-Semite in Jewish circles; both words carry a ton of unwarranted derision. I became a Dominionist because after several decades of intense Charismatic Christianity American society remained like the barren fig tree Christ condemned –fruitless. John Lofton referred me to Chalcedon where I was referred to R. J. Rushdoony’s Institutes. It was that seminal work that seeded my heart with a love for God’s Law and convinced me that adhering to His Commandments is the only way to reverse the world’s rush toward despotism. For several years I was a Constitutionalist and a supporter of Ron Paul but as my considerations have matured I have begun to wonder why those of us who love God’s Law do not forsake our secular Constitution and support The Law instead.
While enjoying the soft lakeside breezes at a Florida outdoor dinner party last weekend I spoke in depth with a Christian pastor.
He had attended a Baptist seminary, was antinomian, and afflicted with dominion-phobia. The name R. J. Rushdoony caused him to shudder. To him the Christian religion consisted of church attendance, evangelism, and piety. He believed in obedience without specific guidelines and ignored sections of scripture as no longer applicable. His excuse for the dismal performance of God’s church was that it had also failed to transform society during Biblical times.
He had an acrimonious split from a local Baptist church leaving him without a congregation but with first hand knowledge of the divisive sinfulness of laypersons. We chatted some about pastoral leadership and the dichotomy involved in attempting to build a church with non-offensive preaching while at the same time exercising the confrontation Christian growth requires.
Like hundreds of thousands of Evangelical preachers this man preached a seeker friendly gospel that did not include legal standards. He urged a gossamer righteousness devoid of prescribed enforcement. He supported the Ten Commandments but ignored God’s punishments. Since he believed that God no longer endows His people with the responsibility of bringing His creation under His legal system he, like millions of other Evangelicals, is languishing; waiting for the Second Coming and the reign of Christ. He was against abortion, homosexuality, and adultery but did not relate these sins to God’s Law.
His theological training had withstood the obvious dearth of righteousness resulting from the Gospel he preached and he was dubious of the theological integrity of my lay status. There was the incipient arrogance of a smirk dancing around the corners of his mouth when I contended God’s Laws should be enforced in our society. I expressed my hope that he might find another more harmonious pastorate and bid him adieu.
Evangelicals are not alone in ignoring the entire Word of God. Reformed Christians also prefer to live under man’s laws. Pastor Joe Morecraft is a great preacher and miles ahead of his brethren in addressing our current dilemma. However, his support for the Constitution instead of God’s Law is disappointing. Hear his short speech here.
While Christians contend for obedience to the United States Constitution it is being systematically shredded by our democratically elected officials. Erstwhile congressman Henry Hyde, 1924 –2007, expressed the sentiment of most of the leadership, "There are things in the Constitution that have been overtaken by events, by time. Declaration of war is one of them…There are things no longer relevant to a modern society…Why declare war if you don’t have to?…We are saying to the President, use your judgment…So, to demand that we declare war is to strengthen something to death. You have got a hammerlock on this situation, and it is not called for. Inappropriate, anachronistic, it isn’t done anymore…."
Will conformance to the United States Constitution morph into obedience to God’s Commandments? Is that the reason Christian leaders who profess to support obedience to God’s Law support the Constitution? While the leaders of our government seek to ignore the Constitution and set up a Fascistic system, Christian leaders, instead of seeking a theonomic governmental structure by contending for God’s Legal system, seek restoration of a failed secular system.
The wonderful Christian Hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” has fallen from grace. These are its rousing words:
“Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus Going on before! Christ, the royal Master, Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See His banner go! Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus Going on before! At the sign of triumph Satan's host dost flee; On, then, Christian soldiers, On to victory! Hell's foundations quiver At the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, Loud your anthems raise! Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus Going on before! Like a mighty army Moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where the saints have trod; We are not divided; All one body we, One in hope and doctrine, One in charity. Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus Going on before! Onward, then ye people, Join our happy throng, Blend with ours your voices In the triumph song; Glory, laud, and honor, Unto Christ the King: This thro' countless ages Men and angels sing. Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus Going on before!”
This great hymn is no longer popular among Christians because it contends with the common lethargy. Christians are no longer moving “onward”. Instead God’s army is content to wait for an uncertain Second Coming while the dark powers of Satan overcome God’s creation. Dispensationalists, Evangelicals and combinations of both are hopelessly mired in humanistic theology. All pastors are concerned with their churches, and instead of climbing into the legal lifeboat God, has provided Christians seem willing to go down with the American ship.
Where are the real Christians who believe in the efficacy of the entire Bible? There is no mention of a constitution in the Bible. Christians should not need an overlay of humanistic “Christian principles” to form a government. Support for such a system will inhibit, not enhance, the chances of God’s Law being encoded.
The danger Christians posed to the Roman Empire was not their worship of God but their quest for obedience to God’s Law. They were dangerous because they sought to replace human tyranny with the freedom of God’s government. The Dispensational Piety that pervades contemporary Christianity is inane. Law is power. When we forsake God’s Law our religion loses its only offensive weapon.
Theonomic Christians are regularly demonized. Both Christian minds and secular minds have been so distorted with humanistic propaganda that killing a million innocent civilians in the Middle East is acceptable but stoning a single adulterer is unthinkable. A renewed Christian mind seeks obedience. It appears most Christians are still thinking with humanistic minds. Support for the Constitution is similar to support for Ron Paul; when held against the immutable yardstick of God’s Law both the Constitution and Ron Paul have serious flaws.
The assent of the people is the Biblical standard for encoding God’s Law. When the ancient nation of Israel tired of the chaos and captivity disobedience produced, both leaders and subjects vowed to obey God’s Commandments. Obedience brought blessing. How can we pray for God’s blessing on the United States when both its leaders and its citizens refuse to obey and how can we expect them to understand the true nature of their plight when we fail to present them with the only Standard that will allay their suffering?
Following is an email responding to my prompt supporting God’s Law instead of the Constitution: “The Bible is our perfect source for directions to live, we know that; the Constitution is the document man set in laws for the federal government, limiting its authority over these several sovereign states. We know it is not a perfect document --it is man-made and thus has its flaws. Yet, it, too, has set a fair amount of good guidelines. The problem has been that "we the people" have been lulled to sleep almost from its beginning and allowed that document to be trampled under --even by the framers themselves! Patrick Henry saw problems and said, "I smell a rat!" and thus did not attend the convention nor sign the Constitution. That is a fact that has been left to the wind [of change]? “
Is this not equivocation? If the Bible is the “perfect source for directions to live” and the Constitution contains human error, why would Christians select the latter? Unfortunately, the Constitution does more than restrain the government; it forbids a Christian oath and provides legal justification for polytheism – both abominations to the One True God. In today’s news a Federal Judge cited the planned National Day of Prayer as unconstitutional. Should Christians be supporting a document so mired in ambiguity that pagans use it to ban the worship of the One True God?
Concerning the major theme of the Bible my Pastor friend from the lakeside party opted for evangelism instead of obedience. As a rule Christians, both Evangelical and Reformed, will opt for the Constitution rather than God’s Law. Deep down many may experience a twinge of conscience but the conditioning has been too effective. The seed of change has fallen on rocky soil.
I am aware that many very smart, theologically sound Christian leaders support our Constitution and I know that determining the proper application of God’s Law to our society would require the labor and wisdom of our best thinkers. We are on the precipice of very difficult times; times when major changes often occur. In times like these in ancient Israel, both leaders and citizens, often determined to obey God’s Law. Dominionist Christians should be seated at the table with a clear presentation of God’s proper solution.
According to German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), “none are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
Al Cronkrite is a free-lance writer from Florida. He can be reached at fmsinfla@hotmail.com