• Source: Theonomy

Theonomy (from Greek theos "God" and nomos "law") is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which divine law governs societies. Theonomists hold that societies should observe divine law, particularly the Old Testament’s judicial laws. The movement’s chief architects are Gary North, Greg Bahnsen, and R.J. Rushdoony.
Theonomy presumes biblical Israel’s Old Covenant judicial laws have not been abrogated, and therefore all civil governments must enforce them (including the specific penalties). Theonomy holds that all civil governments must refrain from coercion if Scripture has not prescribed their intervention (the "regulative principle of the state").
Theonomy is distinct from the "theonomous ethics" proposed by Paul Tillich.




Origin


Thomas Aquinas held, "if a sovereign were to order these judicial precepts to be observed in his kingdom, he would not sin." Some have mistakenly referred to that as "General Equity Theonomy" but it is in fact distinct from theonomy insofar as Aquinas believed the specifics of the Old Testament judicial laws were no longer binding. He instead taught that the judicial precepts contained varying degrees of universal principles of justice that reflected natural law.
In Christian reconstructionism, theonomy is the idea that God provides the basis of both personal and social ethics in the Bible. Theonomic ethics asserts that the Bible has been given as the abiding standard for all human authority (individual, family, church, and civil) and that biblical law must be incorporated into a Christian theory of biblical ethics'

Theonomic ethics, to put it simply, represents a commitment to the necessity, sufficiency, and unity of Scripture. For an adequate and genuinely Christian ethic, we must have God's word, only God's word, and all of God's word. Nearly every critic of theonomic ethics will be found denying, in some way, one or more of these premises.
Critics see theonomy as a significant form of dominion theology, which they define as a theocracy. Theonomy posits that the biblical law is applicable to civil law, and theonomists propose biblical law as the standard by which laws may be measured and to which they ought to be conformed.




Goals


Various theonomic authors have stated such goals as "the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics,": 223–335  exclusion of non-Christians from voting and citizenship,: 87  and the application of Biblical law by the state.: 346–47  Under such a system of biblical law, homosexual acts,: 212  adultery, witchcraft, and blasphemy: 118  would be punishable by death. Propagation of idolatry or "false religions" would be illegal and could also be punished by the death penalty.
More recent theonomic writers such as Joel McDurmon, former President of American Vision, have moved away from this position, stating that these death penalties are no longer binding in the new covenant. Former pastor and theonomy critic, JD Hall, who debated McDurmon in 2015, has argued that abandoning Mosaic penologies such as the death penalty means that McDurmon and others who hold similar positions cannot be said to hold to theonomy in any meaningful way.
According to the theonomist Greg Bahnsen, the laws of God are the standard which Christian voters and officials ought to pursue. The civil law given to the nation of Israel, it is stated, is continuously binding, although apart from what he considers to be surrounding cultural connotations specific to this nation itself.




Relation to Reformed theology


Some in modern Reformed churches criticize any relationship between the historical Reformed faith and theonomy, but other Calvinists affirm that theonomy is consistent with the historic Reformed confessions.




See also


Related topics in Christianity:

Related topics in philosophy and other religions:




References






Further reading



Primary sources by theonomists
Bahnsen, Greg (2002) [1977]. Theonomy in Christian Ethics (3rd ed.). Nacogdoches, TX: Covenant Media Press. ISBN 978-0-87552-111-4.
Clauson, Marc A. (2006). A History of the Idea of "God's Law" (Theonomy): Its Origins, Development and Place in Political and Legal Thought. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 9780773455986.
Gentry, Kenneth (2006). Covenantal Theonomy: A Response to T. David Gordon and Klinean Covenantalism. Nacogdoches, TX: Covenant Media Foundation.
Jordan, James B (1984). The Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21–23. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics.
North, Gary, ed. (1991). Theonomy: An Informed Response. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics.
Secondary sources and criticisms
Barker, William; Godfrey, W. Robert, eds. (1990). Theonomy: A Reformed Critique. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-52171-8.
Barron, Bruce (1992). Heaven on Earth? The Social & Political Agenda of Dominion Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-31053611-6.
Estelle, Bryan (May 2007). "Review: Covenantal Theonomy". Ordained Servant. 16 (5). Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
Gordon, T. David (1994). "Critique of Theonomy; a Taxonomy" (PDF). Westminster Theological Journal. 56 (Spring 1994): 23–43. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
Wright, Christopher J. H. (1992). "The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament: A Survey of Approaches: Part I" (PDF). Tyndale Bulletin. 43 (1): 101–20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
——— (1992). "The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament: A Survey of Approaches: Part II" (PDF). Tyndale Bulletin. 43 (2): 203–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2013.




External links


What is Theonomy? by Chalcedon Foundation
Proof that Modern Theonomy Advocates the Historic Understanding of the Judicial Law
Comments on an Old-New Error by Meredith Kline
The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses by Vern Poythress

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Theonomy
• Christian reconstructionism
• Greg Bahnsen
• Christian views on the Old Covenant
• Antidisestablishmentarianism
• Dominion theology
• List of The Handmaid's Tale episodes
• George W. Bush
• Ronald Reagan
• James White (theologian)