Theonomy

A school of thought bearing the label "Christian reconstruction" and characteristically using the term "Theonomy" (literally, the law of God) has been making an impact on American religious and political life in recent years. Having begun in Reformed or Calvinistic circles, Theonomy has in the last decade proven attractive to a wider group of American evangelicals and fundamentalists, including some charismatics. Chief among its leading characteristics are an emphasis upon the Old Testament law; stress upon the continued normativity not only of the moral law, but also of the judicial law of the Old Testament Israel, including its penal sanctions; and belief that the Old Testament judicial law applies not only to Israel, but also to Gentile nations, including modern America, so that it is the duty of civil government to enforce that law and execute its penalties. The focus of this collection of sixteen essays by the faculty members of Westminster Theological Seminary is the effect of Theonomy on churches and Christian people. Their desire is to offer a constructive critique of the Christian Reconstruction movement. As they see it, Theonomy in various ways represents a distorted view of continuities and discontinuities between the Old Testament and our time. -- Back cover.