Law and Liberty
Overview
This work provides R.J. Rushdoony’s take on how Christians can come to view every area of life from a biblical perspective—working from the premise that “you can’t legislate morality” is a half truth. He then provides a framework for how he sees these areas being brought under the dominion of Christ and the government of the Bible.
For the entire set, see R.J. Rushdoony Culture and Ethics Collection (7 vols.).
Key Features
- Addresses how Christians can view every area of life from a biblical worldview
- Provides a framework for bringng life under the dominino of Christ
- Demonstrates that legislating morality is a half truth
Top Highlights
“The point is this: all law is enacted morality and presupposes a moral system, a moral law, and all morality presupposes a religion as its foundation. Law rests on morality, and morality on religion. Whenever and wherever you weaken the religious foundations of a country or people, you then weaken the morality also, and you take away the foundations of its law. The result is the progressive collapse of law and order, and the breakdown of society.” (Page 4)
“The legal principle that a man is innocent before the court until proven guilty is derived from the Bible. The same is true of the requirement of corroboration before a testimony is allowed to stand against a man. But the Bible makes clear that man proven guilty cannot be the object of pity. As Solomon summarized it, ‘They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them’ (Prov. 28:4). Those who are full of pity for the guilty criminal are themselves men who have forsaken the law. Their pity for the criminal is itself a sign of depravity.” (Pages 11–12)
“For the Christian, however, nature is not the standard, because the world of nature is a fallen world, a world in rebellion against God and infected by sin and death. For a standard, we must look beyond nature to God.” (Page 31)
“The politics of pornography is simply the politics of revolution” (Page 25)
“But, some have argued, how can the Bible logically ask us to impose death as a penalty when it also forbids us to kill? The answer is a simple one. The right to kill does not belong to man; it belongs to God as the author of life. Life can be taken, capital punishment imposed, only according to the law of God and under commission from Him. Repeatedly the Bible tells us, as for example, in Romans 13:1–6, that officers of state, civil government officials, are ministers of God. Just as the church represents a ministry of the word and of the sacraments, and of church discipline, so the state or civil government represents a ministry, the ministry of justice, the administration of law and order under God.” (Pages 10–11)
- Title: Law & Liberty
- Author: Rousas John Rushdoony
- Publisher: Ross House Books
- Print Publication Date: 2009
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 152
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Religion and law; Liberty › Religious aspects; Law and ethics
- ISBNs: 9781879998551, 1879998556
- Resource ID: LLS:LAWLIBERTY2NDED
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:06:03Z
Rousas John Rushdoony (1916–2001) was was a well-known American scholar, writer, and author of over thirty books. He earned degrees from the University of California, received theological training at the Pacific School of Religion, and received an honorary Doctorate from Valley Christian University for his book The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum.
Rushdoony was an ordained minister and served as pastor at two California churches. He served for almost nine years as a missionary to the Shoshone and Paiute Indians in a remote area of Nevada. It was during this time as a missionary that Rushdoony began writing. The Institutes of Biblical Law and Commentary on the Pentateuch are just a few of the titles that Rushdoony has penned.
The Chalcedon Foundation, an educational organization devoted to research, publishing, and cogent communication of a distinctively Christian scholarship to the world at large, was founded by Rushdoony in 1965. He served as the editor of The Chalcedon Report, the monthly magazine of the Chalcedon Foundation.
Rushdoony also published the Journal of Christian Reconstruction and was an early board member of the Rutherford Institute which was founded by John W. Whitehead.