Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and Christian Reconstructionism

Many people do not know about Christian Reconstructionism (or Christian Dominionist theology), advocated by the late R. J. Rushdoony.

In an interview with the Rev. Welton Gaddy on State of Belief, Professor Julie Ingersoll explains how Christian Reconstructionist thought is at the root of the dominionism that animates the contemporary religious right. You can hear the interview at Religion Dispatches.

According to Ingersoll, family values that are based on Biblical patriarchy are a key component of Christian Reconstructionism, which says that three institutions in society have been ordained by God: Civil government, church government and family government.

Welton Gaddy noted that politics are heavily influenced by Reconstructionists these days, particularly the notion that America is an exclusively Christian Nation. He also noted that Reconstructionism was underway as a movement at least a decade before the rise of the religious right.

When asked if she thought that the Reconstructionists would be critical of the religious right, Ingersoll thought that they would be because the religious right does not understand the philosophical underpinnings and tends to pick and chose from Bible. She also thought that the Reconstructionists would think that the religious right places too much emphasis on politics, when family and church also require reform. She said that Reconstructionists believe in an ecclesiastical court system as described in the Bible, noting that there are some churches that have these court systems in place at their churches.

Ron Paul and Rand Paul are not directly connected to Christian Reconstructionism, but they are connected to it through association with Constitution Party events and ties with known Reconstructionists. Ingersoll noted that Gary North worked on Ron Paul's congressional staff, so the ties are clearly there. She said that if Gary North and Ron Paul shared views, and if Rand Paul embraces his father's views, then there is influence. However, she made it clear that she does not want to claim that Rand is a closet Reconstructionist.

Listen to the audio here.

Classic Christian Reconstructionists' Views on Humanism, Homosexuals, and Evolution, with R. J. Rushdoony and others.

Here's a video of a panel of Reconstructionists at the Florida Reconstructionist Conference held in Clearwater, Florida in 1998, including R. J. Rushdoony, Gary DeMar and Colonel Doner, where they claim that both humanism and the gay and lesbian communities are collapsing.  They also believed that evolution is being disproved by "eminent scientists" and that the authority of science is also collapsing.

DeMar says that their goal is to force people to look at things in absolutes.

Rushdoony talks about rampant sin, and how modernism, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment movements were sinful movements away from Christianity. He claimed that DeMar and Doner were making a tremendous, revolutionary step forward for Christianity.

Doner talks about how the family needs to come first; otherwise, the proponents of the Reconstructionist movement would burn out.

Rushdoony says that the logical conclusion of democracy is to destroy morality; i.e., the concepts of good and evil because everything is equal in democracy. He favors an authoritarian government based on Biblical standards. Rushdoony also claimed that Darwin's theories have led society against Biblical morality and that "we are in deep trouble."

Reforming All Aspects of Culture for Rule by the King of Kings.

The following video, which is a sales piece for 10 hours worth of Reconstructionist teachings, advocates a "neo-Puritan" philosophy for engaging the culture, particularly in the area of public policy. The ultimate authority for governing the nation should be the Biblical God and Jesus Christ, according to the Reconstructionist theology. "Restoring the crown rights of the King Jesus" is the theme of theology taught in the video. It calls for "the reformation of all aspects of our culture" for the glory of God.

D. Beeksma

One of the growing crowd of American "nones" herself, Deborah is a prolific writer who finds religion, spirituality and the impact of belief (and non-belief) on culture inspiring, fascinating and at times, disturbing. She hosts the God Discussion show and handles the site's technical work. Her education and background is in business, ecommerce and law.

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