
**  CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTIONISM AND THE FAR-RIGHT **
 
     The text reproduced below and a brief analysis is a
contribution to the debate on the relationship of far-right
ideology to paramilitary violence initiated by anti-abortion and
other Christian Patriot organizations.
 
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*  THE CREED OF CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTIONISM  *
*                                            * 
*  Rev. Andrew Sandlin                       *
*  [May be freely reproduced]                *
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     A Christian Reconstructionist is a _Calvinist_.  He holds to
historic, orthodox, catholic Christianity and the great Reformed
confessions.  He believes God, not man, is the center of the
universe -- and beyond; God, not man, controls whatever comes to
pass; God, not man, must be pleased and obeyed.  He believes God
saves sinners -- He does not help them save themselves.  A
Christian Reconstructionist believes the Faith should apply to
all of life, not just the "spiritual" side.  It applies to art,
education, technology, and politics no less than to church,
prayer, evangelism, and Bible study.
 
     A Christian Reconstructionist is a _Theonomist_.  Theonomy
means "God's law."  A Christian Reconstructionist believes God's
law is found in the Bible.  It has not been abolished as a
standard for righteousness.  It no longer accuses the Christian,
since Christ bore its penalty on the cross for him.  But the law
is a statement of God's righteous character.  It cannot change
anymore than God can change.  God's law is used for three main
purposes:  First, to drive the sinner to trust in Christ alone,
the only perfect law-keeper.  Second, to provide a standard of
obedience for the Christian, by which he may judge his progress
in sanctification.  And third, to maintain order in society,
restraining and arresting civil evil.  He does not believe there
is some "higher" or "deeper" standard than the Bible.
 
     A Christian Reconstructionist is a _Presuppositionalist_. 
He does not try to "prove" that God exists or that the Bible is
true.  He holds to the Faith because the Bible says so, not
because he can "prove" it.  He does not try to convince the
unconverted that the gospel is true.  They already know it is
true.  They need repentance, not evidence.  Of course, the
Christian Reconstructionist believes there is evidence for the
Faith -- in fact there is nothing _but_ evidence for the Faith. 
The problem for the unconverted, though, is not a lack of
evidence, but a lack of submission.  Christian Reconstructionists
begin and end with the Bible.  They do not defend "natural
theology," and other inventions designed to fine some agreement
with covenant-breaking, apostate mankind.
 
     A Christian Reconstructionist is a _Postmillennialist_.  He
believes Christ will return to earth only after the Holy Spirit
has empowered the church to advance Christ's kingdom in time and
history.  He has faith that God's purposes to bring all nations -
- though not every individual -- in subjection to Christ cannot
fail.  The Christian Reconstructionist is not utopian.  He does
not believe that the kingdom will advance quickly or painlessly. 
He knows that we enter the kingdom through much tribulation.  He
knows Christians are in the fight for the "long haul."  He
believes the church may yet be in her infancy.  But he believes
the faith will triumph.  Under the power of the Spirit of God, it
cannot _but_ triumph.
 
     A Christian Reconstructionist is a _Dominionist_.  He takes
seriously the Bible's commands to the godly to take dominion in
the earth.  This is the goal of the gospel and the Great
Commission.  The Christian Reconstructionist believes the earth
and all its fullness is the Lord's -- that every area dominated
by sin must be "reconstructed" in terms of the Bible.  This
includes, first, the individual; second, the family; third, the
church; and fourth, the wider society, including the state.  The
Christian Reconstructionist therefore believes fervently in
Christian civilization.  He firmly believes in the separation of
church and state, but not the separation of the state -- or
anything else -- from God.  He is not a revolutionary; he does
not believe in the militant, forced overthrow of human
government.  He has infinitely more powerful weapons than guns
and bombs -- he has the invincible Spirit of God, the infallible
word of God, and the incomparable gospel of God, none of which
can fail.
 
     He presses the crown rights of the Lord Jesus Christ in
every sphere, expecting eventual triumph.
 
_Chalcedon Report_, Vallecito, CA, June 1995, p. 2
 
*              *              *              *              *
 
ANALYSIS
 
Tom Burghardt,
Bay Area Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights (BACORR)
 
     While Christian Reconstructionists' claim they are not
interested in seizing political control of the social order
through force of arms, it is apparent that many of the movement's
more enthusiastic followers are not as timid as _Chalcedon's_
theoreticians.
 
     Within the anti-abortion movement, particularly among more
militant factions, the ideology of a North American "Christian
Republic" is in the ascendancy.  Randall Terry, Joseph Foreman,
Michael Bray, Matthew Trewhella, Andrew Burnett, Paul deParrie --
and Paul Hill, are all staunch proponents of dominion theology.
 
     Words do have consequences.  It should not, therefore,
surprise us that the Christian Patriot movement has grafted an
almost literal version of Christian Reconstructionism onto many
of their founding texts and militia training manuals.
 
     The Wisconsin-based Free Militia, with which Rev. Trewhella
and other members of Missionaries to the Preborn are associated,
begins its 100 page training manual with the following passages:
 
     "Before we can rightly consider arming and organizing
ourselves as a militia, we must consider whether or not doing so
is the right thing to do...But ultimately, right and wrong is
determined by God's will, and God's will is determined from the
Bible..."
 
     "This leads us to the final point which needs to be made
about the Bible:  The Bible alone is _authoritative_ meaning that
it and only it, must be completely believed and obeyed.  Since
all of the Bible is God's word we cannot pick and choose what we
want to obey.  Since it is all true we cannot neglect a portion
of it by raising doubts about its reliability.  Since it contains
all we need for our Christian walks we cannot appeal to something
or someone besides the Bible as our final authority on some
issue."
 
(The following is arranged in a pyramidal diagram, TB)
 
"YOU
Obey it.
AUTHORITY
It must be obeyed.
SUFFICIENCY
It is all we need to know.
INERRANCY
Everything it says is completely true.
INSPIRATION
The Bible is word-for-word the word of God."
 
     "We cannot argue with any part of the Bible any more than we
can argue with God himself!  God has 'laid down precepts that are
to be fully obeyed' (Psalm 119:4).  If we disobey, we will surely
fail (Matthew 7:24-25)."
 
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"WE MUST MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE DO IN ANY DEPARTMENT OF LIFE,
INCLUDING THE USE OF FORCE, CONFORMS TO THE TRUTH AND MORAL
PRINCIPLES OF THE BIBLE."
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(NA, _Field Manual Section 1:  Principles Justifying The Arming
And Organizing Of A Militia_, 1994, The Free Militia, pp. 4, 5)
[all emphases in the original]
 
     Rev. Andrew Sandlin and Dr. Gary North, president of the
Institute for Christian Economics (ICE) have sought to distance
themselves from anti-abortion proponents of "justifiable
homicide" and armed actions initiated by the Christian Patriot
movement.  That both authors have denounced the murder of
abortion providers and terrorist acts of violence against women's
clinics, should be noted and commended.  However, the underlying
_logic_ embedded within Reconstructionist ideology has inevitably
led, just as night follows day, to the creation of a reactionary
sub-culture of individuals and organizations working to restore
"the crown rights of Lord Jesus Christ in every sphere..." _by
any means necessary_.   
 
     Some use words while others use guns and bombs to achieve
their political and social goals:   the creation of a theocratic,
clerical-fascist "Christian Republic."  Rev. Paul J. Hill, the
architect of "Defensive Action" and "justifiable homicide"
emerged from the theological culture of Orthodox Presbyterianism
and Christian Reconstructionism.  No amount of "damage control"
can annul this inescapable fact.
 
May 28, 1995
 
*              *              *              *              *
 
Bay Area Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights
750 La Playa # 730
San Francisco, CA 94121
Office:  (415) 252-0750
Fax:     (415) 431-6523
E-mail:  <tburghardt@igc.apc.org>
 
On PeaceNet visit BACORR's conference, <women.clinicdefense>
WWW: gopher://locust.cic.net:70/11/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR
FTP: ftp.etext.org --> /pub/Politics/Arm.The.Spirit/BACORR
 
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     BACORR:  DEFENDING CLINICS, EXPOSING TERRORISM -- BECAUSE NO
ONE'S GONNA DO IT FOR US!
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