Institutes of Biblical Law

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Summary: Atonishing, thorough, provocative analysis: 10 Commandments
Review: Clear, penetrating reasoning which considers the Biblical basis for respecting divine law, and working to obey it. The author also examines each commandment of the decalogue in detail, showing the application and implications of each. I have never seen such a probing analysis in a quarter-century of reading and study on this subject! You see, the overwhelming majority of churches in this century teach that God's law not only no longer applies to believers, but that it was sort of defective and evil anyway. They teach that attempts to respect and obey it repudiate what Christ did! For the most part, if you want to read well-thought-out arguments which show the bankruptcy of that position, you have to drop back in history and read selected works from the time of the Puritans up through the late 19th century, when numerous preachers and commentators could explain the relevance of divine law cogently. But their older style of writing doesn't always "compute" for the modern reader. This book is an entirely up-to-date, hard-hitting challenge to the prevailing concept. Face it: whatever you believe, somebody, somewhere thinks you're doomed for it! This book will force a serious Christian to consider whether what you've been taught holds water. It's not an "easy read," more like a college text; but the examples and citations are timely, modern. Caveat: While I enthusiastically endorse Institutes of Biblical Law to serious Christians as a tool for getting your brain in gear, I don't want to leave readers thinking this is a plug from the author's church or similar. I go to a different church than he, and I believe there were some erroneous conclusions in the book -- but he has really "done his homework" and he really made me think. Reading this whopper was well worth my limited time. What more can a reader ask of an author

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Summary: The material will often surprise you, but it rings true.
Review: If I were stranded on a desert island with a few other people and wanted to form a Biblically based government, this is the second of two books that I would want with me. To put it another way, this would be in the top 10 items that I would save, if my house were burning. What does it mean to be dead to the law? Aren't we under grace, now? As an antinomian, this book has dealt me a body blow. Capital punishment? I used to be very indecisive, but now am confident. Did Rahab sin when she gave false directions regarding the where abouts of the spys? If a Nazi had asked you, if you were hiding Jews, and you were, would you be sinning to lie or sinning not to lie? When, if ever, does a Christian go underground in opposition to an ungodly regime? Is there a time not to turn the other cheek? These and countless other questions, that are often a quandary to Christians and that often render them fence straddlers , as to the correct response, are seriously and adequately dealt with. No, I do not swallow this book hook, line and sinker doctrinally, but it has helped me greatly to define what is the correct response, as to life's issues.

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Summary: Needs to be read
Review: If you've ever wondered what the American equivalent of an Islamic fundamentalist state would look like, this is the book to read. It demonstrates how fundamentalism always ends up looking the same, whether its label is Islam, Christian, or Marxist. Pray that these people never take control.

Rating:
Summary: Challenging
Review: Most Christian books are fluff. They lack the serious thought that Dr Rushdoony deals with. As a woman this concerns me as I see so few women seeking serious reading material that will challenge and educate. How many have read about the Sociology of the Sabbath? About Restitution? Theology of the State? Debt and Decapitakzation? How about what the Bible says about the Laws of Inheritance? Vows and Oaths? Dr Rushdoony discusses Music and its place in a God centered life. Tithing. So many topics he writes on are never discussed on the Sabbath. How many people know that in centuries past artists, gave notice at the end of their work, "To the Glory of God"? Dr Rushdoony challenges us to become as God would have us be. He challenges parents to take control of the gift called children that G-d has given us. He is a avid home school supporter. If you read any of his works, including The Institute of Biblical Law, you will if G-d led, find yourself changed. One thing Dr Rushdoony does is remind each of us that we belong to G-d. And that we have an obligation to celebrate G-d and how he can lead and strengthen us. This is not easy reading.

Now the negative side (if that is the correct term) which has more to do with the heavy hand view that Christian Reconstructionism seems to take. I personally do not believe that only Christians should be elected to office or that women shouldn't be elected. Since I know non-Christians and women who do a darn good job in secular and public jobs. I do not believe in a theocracy since I am a one G-d believer. But the books he writes should be read, if for no other reason that people should know what he believed.