Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Definitions of Theonomy

Look It UpI guess the proper way to start a foundation of debate is to define the terms. Since the subject is theonomy, I'll start with its definition from various perspectives.



  • In The Sense of Human Ethics
    Source
    "The term "Theonomy" has been used to describe various views which see the God revealed in the Bible as the sole source of human ethics. Using the word in this sense, Cornelius Van Til argued that there "is no alternative but that of theonomy or autonomy" (Christian Theistic Ethics p. 134). Among Reformed Christians, John Calvin, the Continental Reformers, the Westminster Divines and other Puritans, and Christian Reconstructionists, have developed similar ethical perspectives."


  • In The Sense of Christian Reconstructionism
    Same Source
    "Since the mid-1970's theonomy has been most often used in Protestant circles to specifically label the ethical perspective of Christian Reconstructionism, a perspective that claims to be a faithful revival of the historic Protestant view of the Old Testament law as espoused by many European Reformers and Puritans, see also Biblical law in Christianity. Some in the modern Reformed churches are critical of this understanding, while other Calvinists affirm Theonomy."


  • As Defined by Greg Bahnsen
    Same Source
    "The place or function of God's law in the moral philosophy of the Christian."

    By This Standard; The Authority of God's Law Today PDF
    By Greg Bahnsen


  • As Defined Defensively by Greg Bahnsen
    The Theonomic Antithesis to Other Law-Attitudes PDF
    "Theonomic ethics, to put it simply, represents a commitment to the necessity, sufficiency, and unity of Scripture. For an adequate and genuinely Christian ethic, we must have God's word, only God's word, and all of God's word. Nearly every critic of theonomic ethics will be found denying, in some way, one or more of these premises."

    No Other Standard; Theonomy and Its Critics PDF
    By Greg Bahnsen
  • 2 comments:

    The Outsider said...

    Nice Blog page!

    Good mug shot as well.

    I will be checking in now and then.

    Sermonwriter said...

    Thanks T.O.! I like your grave shots today too.