I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and […]
Author Archive | R. J. Rushdoony
Bureaucracy
In recent years, there has been a parallel growth of the idea of human rights and bureaucracy. This common growth has been a closely related fact, so much so that Peter Berger, Brigitte Berger, and Hansfried Kellner, in The Homeless Mind (1973), speak of “bureaucratically identifiable rights.” There must, they point out, be some bureaucracy […]
Contrition
Contrition is not a word we hear much today. In fact, it has an old-fashioned ring to it, and some people are vague as to its meaning. The word contrition means being penitent for our sins. The root of the word comes from the Latin and old French, from a word meaning to bruise or […]
The Gold Standard
Repeatedly, the Biblical law calls for just weights and just measures (Lev. 19:36; Deut. 25:15), and this refers not only to scales and bushels, but also to money. The shekel was not only a measure of weight but also of money, so that a shekel of gold or silver meant a certain weight of gold […]
Love and Hate
In these days, when men are making a cure-all of love and demand total love of all things, the words of Scripture are a refreshing and healthy antidote. Jesus Christ, in speaking to the church of Ephesus, commended them because they hated what He hated: “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of […]
God and Taxes
Today, the Lordship of the triune God is being denied; the tithe is neglected; the power of statism is increasing, and taxation is compelling men to pay a rent for their property… Very little is said nowadays about the Biblical teaching on property and taxation, and with reason: we are so far from the Biblical […]
The Prince of Peace
[The timeliness of this article from 45 years ago is remarkable!—ed.] Violent marches for peace are a common fact today. Our cities are being attacked, public buildings bombed, and the police assaulted by our modern peace lovers. Such peace as these men have to offer is another word for slavery. The Bible makes clear that […]
The Blindfold on Justice
For several administrations now, American presidents have been telling us that it is their purpose to be “a president of all the people” and the champion and spokesman of all. Is this a valid goal? Should the president stand “for the people” or for God’s law and justice? Should he be the representative of capital […]
Rottenness in the Bones
The tenth commandment forbids covetousness, and envy is repeatedly condemned in Scripture. Unfortunately, what the Bible teaches and what today’s politicians and preachers teach are two different things. Men today are being taught to covet and to envy. Are you a worker? Then be envious of what your shop owner or factory owner has, and […]
Theonomy vs. Tyranny
Man’s choice is between theonomy and autonomy, God’s law versus self-law. Man, being a sinner, a fallen creature, can only create laws and societies which, in their developed form, simply amplify man’s sin. The result is tyranny, rule without God. The power to make laws is the mark of lordship, sovereignty, or explicitor implicit divinity. […]
Providence and Prayer
A frequent objection raised by many to the doctrines of predestination and providence is that such doctrines render untenable and impossible any concept of responsibility and prayer. If God predestines and totally governs all things, then how can man be held responsible for his actions, and what need is there then for prayer when God […]
The Motives of Exploration
Now, America, from the moment it was discovered has had a history in terms of the faith of its discoverers. The evidence is increasingly mounting that long before Columbus, America was discovered over and over and over again. We know now that Leif Erickson and other Viking explorers came to the Americas. There were very […]
The Increase of His Government and Peace
Synopsis: We all long for godly law and order, for His government and peace. It must begin first of all in our own hearts. One of the most important prophecies concerning the birth of our Lord is in Isaiah 9:6–7. Christ, eight centuries before His coming, is hailed as the “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, […]
Birth of the King
Synopsis: When we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we thus celebrate the birth of one who is ordained to right every wrong, overthrow every enemy, and enforce justice. Christ is King, hailed King from His very birth. The birth of a king has lost most of its meaning in our day, because the few […]
Socialism as a Perpetual Civil War
From the Chalcedon Foundation book Law & Liberty 2nd Edition Socialism and communism presuppose that their system represents the true order of the ages and is the answer to man’s problems. This assumption is one that assumes man’s problems to be not spiritual but material, not sin but environment. Change man’s environment and you will […]