Information AboutTheonomy |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT THEONOMY | |
| dominionism | |
| theology | |
| christian theology | |
| christian reconstructionism | |
| code of conduct | |
| christian law | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
Theonomy is a view of Christian ethics associated with Christian Reconstructionism , most noted for its attempts to show how the ethical standards of the Old Testament are applicable to modern society, including the Standing Laws of the Old Testament, as well as its general ethical principles. In the terminology of Christian Reconstructionism, ''theonomy'' is the idea that in the Bible, God provides the basis of both personal ''and'' social ethics. In that context, the term is always used in antithesis to ''Autonomy'', which is the idea that Self provides the basis of ethics. 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. Critics 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. THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND Theonomic ethics is a form of Covenant Theology . It makes the same basic interpretive assumption as historic Covenant Theology , which is the approach to Biblical interpretation associated with the Reformed Christian Confessions Of Faith . As with all covenant theology, theonomy presumes that there is continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament, unless the New Testament modifies or rescinds it (cf. Matt. 5:17-19). However, theonomy distinguishes itself within covenant theology on the issue of the applicability of Old Testament penal sanctions, as well as in looking for contemporary application of the general equity of the civil statutes given to the ancient Jews. DEVELOPMENT The presuppositions and the outline of theonomy's proposals appeared in the 1600s in the New England colonies. In the 1970s, in the works of Rousas John Rushdoony (1973, ''The Institutes of Biblical Law''), and Greg Bahnsen (1977, ''Theonomy in Christian Ethics'') revived these sentiments. These two works, together with other writings, influenced a number of Christian political activists and prolific writers, who proposed their own elaborations of the idea, developing specific answers to contemporary social, political and economic issues, on the basis of their understandings of Biblical Law. SEE ALSO
REFERENCES See references at Christian Reconstructionism for links to free online versions of many of these books Bahnsen, Greg. 1977 ''Theonomy in Christian Ethics. [3rd Edition '' Nacogdoches, Tx: Covenant Media Press. Bahnsen, Greg. 1984 ''By This Standard.'' Tyler, Tx.: Institute for Christian Economics. Bahnsen, Greg. 1991 ''No Other Standard: Theonomy and Its Critics.'' Tyler, Tx.: Institute for Christian Economics. Bahnsen, Greg (with Kenneth Gentry). 1989 ''House Divided: The Breakup of Dispensational Theology.'' Tyler, Tx.: Institute for Christian Economics. Barker, William (Ed). 1990 ''Theonomy: A Reformed Critique.'' Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan. Barron, Bruce. 1992 ''Heaven on Earth? The Social & Political Agenda of Dominion Theology.'' Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan. Einwechter, William. 1995 ''Ethics and God's Law: An Introduction to Theonomy.'' Mill Hall, PA.: Preston/Speed Publications. Foulner, Martin. 1997 ''Theonomy and the Westminster Confession.'' Edinburgh, UK: Marpet Press. Gentry, Kenneth. 1993 ''God's Law in the Modern World.'' Phillipsburg, NJ.: Presbyterian & Reformed. Gentry, Kenneth. 2006 ''Covenantal Theonomy: A Response to T. David Gordon and Klinean Covenantalism.'' Nacogdoches, Tx.: Covenant Media Foundation. North, Gary (Ed). 1991 ''Theonomy: An Informed Response.'' Tyler, Tx.: Institute for Christian Economics. Rushdoony, R.J. 1973 ''Institutes of Biblical Law.'', Nutley, NJ.: Craig Press. Strickland, Wayne (Ed). 1994 ''Five Views on Law and Gospel.'' Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan. ISBN 0310212715 Smith, Gary Scott (Ed). 1989 ''God and Politics: Four Views on the Reformation of Civil Government.'' Phillipsburg, NJ.: Presbyterian & Reformed. ISBN 0875524486 EXTERNAL LINKS |