Monday, May 15, 2023

It is the 15th of May 2023 Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org, I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A Happy Monday for all who observe- it’s the day on which we go to the mailbag- I’ve got a question from Richard in Olympia, Washington- I love the great Pacific North West- that’s a cool town- I could tell you that Kurt Cobain lived there- as did punk rock riot grrl and comedian Carrie Brownstein of Portlandia lived there- or, to show off y hipster bona fides I could tell you about Calvin Johnson who lived there- not Megatron the Detroit Lion but rather the founder of K Records. But I prefer the fact that it was the home to Julio, the oldest living llama at 25 years old.

Ok- Richard asked, “what can you say about theonomy, I’ve heard it discussed with Christian Reconstructionism- are they the same, and are they dangerous?”

Ok- so, as far as being “dangerous,” that’s something that I would leave you to decide-, but I’ll explain what it is- why some people use these terms and find them helpful ideas and why they might also be considered pretty radical and perhaps “dangerous.”

Ok- so, break down the word- “theonomy” comes from “Theos” and “Nomos” God and Law. So, they are people who like God’s law. Which would be… all Christians. Only the extreme antinomian would be against the law of God- but that’s often a straw man used to argue against someone considered a libertine. If that doesn’t make sense, I envy you, and may you stay away from some of that talk.

So- specifically, a theonomist believes that the revealed law of God should be used by our civil governments. Ok- well, in Western Christianity- especially in disestablished countries (those with no official religion), one might argue for the ‘natural law’ of God- or that which can be argued for without reference to a specific deity can work. Still, you might not say stone adulterers.

Of course- you say, “stone adulterers,” that’s nowhere in the New Testament, and they would say, exactly. But the Old Testament gives us laws that, if they weren’t specifically abrogated and are civil in nature, should be the norm for all societies. Some will divide the Old Testament laws into moral laws, civil laws, and ceremonial laws. Many Christians believe that the moral law still has resonance- in fact, Jesus made it even stricter! But Civil laws and ceremonial laws (don’t eat pork, etc…) no longer apply. The Theonomist says both moral and civil laws must remain. This dovetails with Christian Reconstructionism- you may have heard rumblings out of a place called Moscow, Idaho- you may have heard the name Rousas J Rushdoony or Greg Bahnsen. If You search for Bahnsen and the Almanac, you can find an old show I did on him- I have a mailbag question about Rushdoony, and I have found that hard to answer because, uh.. well, I find his work unappealing and aggressive.

This is tied to an eschatology (that is, teaching about the end times) that is called “Post Millenial”- that is, they believe a literal Millennium of peace is coming and Jesus will return after post the peace. So, who brings about peace? The Christian Reconstructionists and Theonomists take back governments for God.

I think you find here an ironic horseshoeing of the left and right here- where both extremes have a legitimate argument taken to an extreme conclusion. That is, isn’t the gospel- or perhaps we will say Christianity in general supposed to do more than just convert should and get people out of hell? Shouldn’t there be some actual change we see? Shouldn’t it have “real world implications”? The far-left Christian social gospel person ends up doing just earthly good with no eternal implications, and the theonomist tries to recreate the emperor Constantine and use back in Christendom over people who may or may not personally be Christians.

Are there ways to argue for nuance here? The Old Testament has a lot of things that seem wild, but for the people of God at the time, they served a purpose. Can we debate the purpose and moral implications or what they tell us about the character of God? Sure. The movement in a modern American context has rarely been nuanced and tends towards triumphalism.

Thanks for the question, Richard- you can send me your questions at danv@1517.org.

The last word for today comes from Genesis 9:

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 15th of May 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man wondering what the end times look like for members of the Camelid family of animals- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows- the Alpacalypse and Llamageddon. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.