Christian reconstructionism: From Sinai or Golgotha?

Abstract

This dissertation examines a group of people who call themselves Christian Reconstructionists who adhere to a theology known as Christian Reconstructionism constructed by their leaders. Although they claim to be orthodox and Reformed, this dissertation attempts to show that, notwithstanding the fact that they have included elements of orthodoxy and Reformed theology into their theology, they nevertheless depart from both categorizations sufficiently to warrant their being categorized as a sect within Christianity. It further wishes to show that although they possess numerous traits which would identify them as Christian Fundamentalists, they differ sufficiently in theology and praxis from what was previously known as Christian Fundamentalism for a distinction now to be made between Paleo-Fundamentalism (between the 1920s and the 1960s), and Neo-Fundamentalism (from the 1960s to the present).

It also shows that the main theological trait distinctive of the group is their belief that the Mosaic/Levitical laws and regulations, replete with all of their penal sanctions, are as relevant and valid today as they were in antiquity. They also believe that the entire world needs to be brought under a so-called Theocratic system of governance which would ensure universal compliance to these laws and regulations. To justify their main theological innovation, they have often used poor Bible translations and they have reconstructed the Christian doctrines of covenant, salvation, sanctification and justification, among others. The leaders have worked hard, collectively, to produce a fully orbed theology which may withstand external scrutiny.

This dissertation lets the Christian Reconstructionists speak for themselves about what they believe in theologically, philosophically and politically. It then examines those beliefs in the light of what the Bible and esteemed theologians have to say with regard to those beliefs. After giving CRs the opportunity to paint a full landscape of their belief system, the dissertation concludes with a theological examination to ascertain whether the law given by God to Moses on tablets of stone has the same judicial and punitive powers that it once had, before the advent of Jesus, or whether Christ's law, written on the hearts of believers, supersedes the former and its sanctions.