Theonomy

Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law

This article is about biblical law within Christian reconstructionism. For the Christian theo-political movement, see Christian reconstructionism. For the meta-ethical theory, see divine command theory.

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Theonomy (from Greek theos "God" and nomos "law") is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which divine law governs societies.[1] Theonomists hold that societies should observe divine law, particularly the Old Testament’s judicial laws.[2] The movement’s chief architects were Gary North, Greg Bahnsen, and R.J. Rushdoony.[3]

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").[4][5][6]

Theonomy is distinct from the "theonomous ethics" proposed by Paul Tillich.[3]

## Origin

[edit]

Thomas Aquinas held, "if a sovereign were to order these judicial precepts to be observed in his kingdom, he would not sin."[7] Some have mistakenly referred to that as "General Equity Theonomy"[8] 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.[9]

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.

— The Theonomic Antithesis to Other Law-Attitudes[10]

Critics[who?] 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

[edit]

Various theonomic authors have stated such goals as "the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics,"[11]: 223–335 exclusion of non-Christians from voting and citizenship,[12]: 87 and the application of Biblical law by the state.[13]: 346–47 Under such a system of biblical law, homosexual acts,[14]: 212 adultery, witchcraft, and blasphemy[15]: 118 would be punishable by death. Propagation of idolatry or "false religions" would be illegal[16] and could also be punished by the death penalty.[17][18]

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.[19] Former pastor and theonomy critic, JD Hall, who debated McDurmon in 2015,[20] 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.[21]

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.[13]

## Relation to Reformed theology

[edit]

Some in modern Reformed churches criticize any relationship between the historical Reformed faith and theonomy,[22] but other Calvinists affirm that theonomy is consistent with the historic Reformed confessions.[23]

## See also

[edit]

Related topics in Christianity:

* Canon law of the Catholic Church
* Divine command theory
* Christian reconstructionism
* Biblical law in Christianity
* Neo-Calvinism
* Law and Gospel
* Christian anarchism
* Theodemocracy
* Christian views on the Old Covenant
* The Handmaid's Tale
* Postmillennialism

Related topics in philosophy and other religions:

* Blasphemy law
* Macroethics and microethics
* Halachic state
* Halakha
* Islamism
* Religious censorship
* Religious law
* Sharia
* Supremacism

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jones, David W. (1 November 2013). An Introduction to Biblical Ethics. B&H Publishing Group. p. 209\. ISBN 9781433680779.
2. ^ English, Adam C. (2003). "Christian Reconstruction after Y2K". New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press. pp. 113–114\. "Theonomy - A system of government characterized by being governed by divine law."
3. ^ a b Neuhaus, Richard John (May 1990). "Why Wait for the Kingdom? The Theonomist Temptation". First Things. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
4. ^ Bahnsen, Greg (April 1994). "What Is "Theonomy"? PE180 New Horizons". Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
5. ^ Bahnsen, Greg L. (1991). No other standard : theonomy and its critics (PDF). Tyler, Tex.: Institute for Christian Economics. pp. 19–29\. ISBN 0-930464-56-7. OCLC 23690584.
6. ^ Schwertley, Brian. "A Critique of a Critique of Theonomy: An Analysis of Matthew Winzer's Misrepresentations of Theonomy and the Confession of Faith" (PDF). p. 2\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
7. ^ Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 104, a. 3
8. ^ Clausen, Mark A., Professor of History, Cedarville University "Theonomy in the Middle Ages". Paper presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC.
9. ^ "The General Equity of the Judicial Law". Reformed Books Online. 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
10. ^ Bahnsen, Greg. "The Theonomic Antithesis to Other Law-Attitudes". Covenant Media Foundation. Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
11. ^ Chilton, David (1984). Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion. Dominion Press. ISBN 0-930462-52-1. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
12. ^ North, Gary (1989). Political Polytheism. Institute for Christian Economics. ISBN 0-930464-32-X. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
13. ^ a b Bahnsen, Greg (1985). By This Standard: The Authority Of God's Law Today. Institute for Christian Economics. ISBN 0-930464-06-0. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
14. ^ DeMar, Gary (1987). Ruler of the Nations. Dominion Press. ISBN 978-0-93046219-2. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
15. ^ North, Gary (1988). Unconditional Surrender: God's Program for Victory. Institute for Christian Economics. ISBN 0-930464-12-5.
16. ^ "An Interview with Greg L. Bahnsen". Archived from the original on 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
17. ^ Rushdoony, R.J., 1973, The Institutes of Biblical Law, Nutley, NJ: Craig Press, pp. 38–39.
18. ^ Schwertley, Brian M., "Political Polytheism" Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
19. ^ McDurmon, Joel. The Bounds of Love: An Introduction to God's Law of Liberty. American Vision Press, 2016.
20. ^ The American Vision (2015-02-27). The Theonomy Debate | Joel McDurmon vs. Jordan Hall. Retrieved 2025-06-07 - via YouTube.
21. ^ Hall, J.D. On Joel McDurmon’s Abandonment of Theonomy. (2016, October 22). Pulpit & Pen News. https://pulpitandpen.org/2016/10/21/on-joel-mcdurmons-abandonment-of-theonomy/
22. ^ See, for instance, Theonomy: A Reformed Critique published by the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary and Westminster Seminary California. Also "The Westminster Confession of Faith: A Theonomic Document?" by Ligon Duncan.
23. ^ See Theonomic Ethics and the Westminster Confession Archived 2020-06-27 at the Wayback Machine by Kenneth Gentry, The New Puritanism: A Preliminary Assessment of Christian Reconstruction by Robert Bowman, Jr.,  Theonomy and the Westminster Confession Archived 2019-09-03 at the Wayback Machine by Martin Foulner, The Theonomic Precedent in the Theology of John Calvin by Christopher Strevel, and Calvinism and the Judicial Law of Moses Archived 2006-05-26 at the Wayback Machine by James Jordan, and The Theonomic Thesis in Confessional and Historical Perspective Archived 2020-05-14 at the Wayback Machine by Greg Bahnsen. Biblical Ethics and the Westminster Standards by Dr. W. Gary Crampton

## Further reading

[edit]

This "further reading" section may need cleanup. Please read the editing guide and help improve the section. (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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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

[edit]

* 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

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* Anti-clericalism
* Anti-clericalism and Freemasonry
* Caesaropapism
* Civil religion
* Clericalism
* Clerical fascism
* Confessionalism
* Constitutional references to God
* Divine law
* Divine rule
* Engaged Spirituality
* Feminist theology
* Thealogy
* Womanist theology
* Freedom of religion
* Humanism
* Identity politics
* Organized secularism
* Political religion
* Religious anarchism
* Religious anti-Masonry
* Religious anti-Zionism
* Religious communism
* Religious humanism
* Religious law
* Religious nationalism
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* Religion and peacebuilding
* Religious police
* Religious rejection of politics
* Religious segregation
* Religious separatism
* Religious socialism
* Religious views on same-sex marriage
* Secular humanism
* Secular liberalism
* Secular state
* Secularism
* Secularity
* Secularization
* Secular religion
* Separation of church and state
* Spiritual left
* State atheism
* State religion
* Theocracy
* Theonomy

Christianity and politics

* Blaine Amendment
* Christian anarchism
* Christian anti-communism
* Christian anti-Masonry
* Papal ban
* Christian anti-Zionism
* Christian communism
* Christian corporatism
* Christian democracy
* Christian egalitarianism
* Christian environmentalism
* Evangelical environmentalism
* Christian fascism
* German Christians (movement)
* National Catholicism
* Positive Christianity
* Protestant Reich Church
* Christian feminism
* Mormon feminism
* Christian humanism
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* Christian left
* Evangelical left
* Christian libertarianism
* Christian nationalism
* Christian pacifism
* Christian peacemaking
* Christian reconstructionism
* Christian republic
* Christian right
* Christian socialism
* In Utah
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* Christian Zionism
* Cisalpinism
* Dominion Theology
* Febronianism
* Gallicanism
* Liberation theology
* Maronite politics
* Phoenicianism
* Papal state
* Pillarisation
* Political Catholicism
* Relations between the Catholic Church and the state
* In Argentina
* Sphere sovereignty
* Subsidiarity
* Temporal power
* Theodemocracy
* Ultramontanism
* Neo-ultramontanism

Islam and politics

* Hui pan-nationalism
* Human Rights in Islam
* Imamate
* Islamic anarchism
* Islamic anti-Masonry
* Islamic anti-Zionism
* Islamic democracy
* Islamic fascism
* Islamic feminism
* Sharia law
* by country
* In Pakistan
* In South Asia
* Islamic pacifism
* Islamic republic
* Islamic socialism
* Islamic state
* Islamic Zionism
* Islamism
* Criticism
* Islamization
* Khilafat
* Petro-Islam
* Political quietism
* Taliban
* Talibanization
* Two-nation theory

Judaism and politics

* Halachic state
* Jewish anarchism
* Jewish anti-Zionism
* Haredim
* Jewish Autonomism
* Jewish democracy
* Jewish fascism
* Kahanism
* Revisionist Maximalism
* Jewish feminism
* Jewish law
* Jewish left
* Jewish pacifism
* Jewish political movements
* Jewish right
* Jewish secularism
* Jewish socialism
* Bundism
* Poale Zion
* Zionism
* Religious
* World Agudath Israel

Hinduism and politics

* Akhand Bharat
* Hindu feminism
* Gandhism
* Hindu law
* Hindu modernism
* Hindu nationalism
* Hindutva
* Hindu Rashtra
* Panun Kashmir
* Bangabhumi
* Hindu revolution
* Hindu revivalism
* Hindu environmentalism
* Integral humanism
* Indigenous Aryans
* Rama Rajya
* Saffronisation
* Shuddhi
* Uniform civil code

Buddhism and politics

* Buddhist anti-communism
* Buddhist feminism
* Buddhist law
* Buddhist modernism
* Buddhist nationalism
* 969 Movement
* Nichirenism
* Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism
* Buddhist socialism
* Engaged Buddhism
* Humanistic Buddhism
* Secular Buddhism

Other

* American civil religion
* Disestablishmentarianism
* Imperial cult
* Ancient Rome
* Gottgläubig
* Khalistan movement
* Neopaganist feminism
* Religious aspects of Nazism
* Cult of personality
* State Shinto

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