Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Issues Theonomy Needs to Resolve

These are not defeaters to theonomy.  They are simply loose ends taken from conversations with the so-called Level-Headed Christian Reconstruction Group."

1) to what extent is any talk of "equity" either allowed or inevitable?  Most recons today really don't know what equity means (of course, few critics of theonomy know either).

2) Just because almost all of Christendom advocated some usage of the judicial laws does not prove Bahnsenian theonomy.   Bahnsen advocated a specific hermeneutics.  Brian Schwertely is really the only theonomist who understands this.  

3) Which denomination/confessional stance will interpret the laws?  This is a big problem.  We all laugh at the idea of "nondenominational churches" but advocate just that with regards to the State (except for Covenanters, but that entails another set of problems). Case in point: will the Sabbath be enforced?  The Rushdoony and Gary North students say no.  Morecraft (and probably Bahnsen if he were alive) would say yes.  

3a) Will pornography be allowed in the public forum?  Surprisingly, a number of recons say they can't pass laws against it because the Bible doesn't legally condemn it.  Perhaps the bible doesn't, but this is a hard pill to swallow.  

3b) What is the penalty for prostitution?  Many recons say the Bible only condemns Temple (whether pseudo-Yahwist or Ba'al) prostitution, not the lady on South 3rd Street.  Yet this goes against almost every Western law tradition, even secular 

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