Protecting Religious Liberty: Why Theonomy is Not the Answer

 By Dewey Dovel - Posted at Covenant Confessions:

Growing up in the buckle of the Bible belt, I was always led to believe that the United States of America was “founded as a Christian nation.” While this misconception was rectified during my study of American history in high school,[1] the past ten years since graduation have revealed to me that many people in the South embrace this faulty conviction (especially in rural parts of Texas). Nevertheless, despite the competing opinions that exist regarding Christianity’s relationship to the founding of the United States, it seems inconceivable to identify twenty-first century America as anything remotely close to Christian. The legislating of gay marriage,[2] the promotion of drag queens at children’s birthday parties,[3] the prevalence of increasing racial hostilities,[4] and the disintegration of the nuclear family[5] are but a few alarming testimonies of rampant debauchery in America. If ever there was a time that the United States could be identified as a Christian nation, it most certainly is not now.

What’s the solution to the culture war in America? How should Christians respond to a society that continues to undergo rapid moral deterioration? When evaluating the proposed remedies that have been offered to counteract America’s morally depraved milieu, one option must be rejected as biblically and theologically untenable: Theonomy. Although once largely secluded to a small sect of Presbyterianism,[6] Theonomy appears to have recently experienced a surge in popularity across multi-denominational lines.[7] Furthermore, significant ambiguity abounds regarding the definition of Theonomy, why properly understanding—and refuting—Theonomy should matter to Christians, and how the implementation of Theonomy can threaten religious liberty within a civilization. Therefore, against the backdrop of these concerns, the remainder of this address will seek to introduce Theonomy through a consideration of three salient questions. All subsequent feedback in this assessment of Theonomy will be presented from a Particular Baptist perspective.[8]

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