Dominion Theology: Strengths and Weaknesses of the Movement

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Part III on Dominion Theology

Continued from Part II: Theological Distinctives of the Movement


Strengths of Dominion Theology:

In many ways, the Christian Reconstructionist movement is similar to most conservative evangelical churches. The understanding of the unalterableness of God, for example, is essential, foundational awareness. The theology of regeneration is also standard, well grounded theology and critical to man's relationship with God.

Theonomy, while not a standard doctrine, has comforted many Christians who are troubled by the state of our fallen society, giving them a promise of a calmer, saner world under Biblical standards. Chilton also explains Postmillennialism this way;

"before the Second Coming of Christ, the world will be successfully evangelized and discipled to Christianity…our view of the future is inescapably bound up with our view of Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus is now King of kings and Lord of lords means that His Gospel must be victorious: The Holy Spirit will bring the water of life to the ends of the earth. The Christian message is one of Hope: Pentecost was just the beginning."

Although the Assemblies of God denounced postmillennialism as heresy in response to Dominion Theology in 1988, many Christians from various corners still debate premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism and will probably continue to do so until Christ comes again. Postmillennialism is simply an area in which Christians must agree to disagree.


Weakness of Dominion Theology:

The normal translation of "πληρόω" is "fulfill" not "confirm," and Scripture that teaches that Christians are no longer under the Law include Romans 6:14; 7:6; 8:2-4; and Galatians 3:24,25; 5:18. Also, while most Christian theologians see the purpose of regeneration to be for the Glorification of God, Theonomists believe it to be for the work of God's dominion over all the earth.

Theonomists also don't stick as close to literal translations as other Christian groups do. They see a system of patterns and associations within symbolic Biblical terms and state that the Bible is to be read "visually," meaning to take a term used in the Bible and see it for not only what it is, but also what associations are made with it. When it comes to numbers, Theonomists are more likely to see them symbolically then literally as well. The numbers 40 and 1000, in particular, can simply mean periods of time rather than actual time.

However, in the matter of Biblical, Mosaic Law, Theonomists take Scripture quite literally.

Concerning the division of Mosaic Law into three parts: John Calvin was the first to divide Old Testament law this way. But he believed that the judicial law, which provided for fairness in the civil government of Israel, was for Israel alone. To Calvin, only the moral law was eternally applicable, but even so, its application might vary in case law from culture to culture. However, Scripture does not seem to break the law into three sections. Whenever the Law is mentioned, it seems to be in reference to the whole Law.
Some would say that either the believer has been released from the whole law (Rom. 7:4, 6) or none of it.

Most importantly, Reconstructionists confuse Mosaic Law with eternal law. It is not outward signs or ceremonial purity that insures our place with God; it is the inward circumcision of the heart. No one can uphold the law perfectly, but that doesn't matter to God because He looks at the heart. Paul, a man fully regenerated and filled with the Holy Spirit, remarked in Acts 15:10 that the law had been too difficult for anyone to bear. If man was unable to keep the law during Old Testament times, how will man do it now?

Paul also says that the law was a learning tool to lead us to Christ, while the book of Acts indicates that Mosaic Law was not binding on Gentiles. The Apostles only required that Gentiles obey the instructions given by God to Noah (Acts 15:20). Would a theocracy then have two different sets of laws; one set for believers and another set, more relaxed, for non-believers?

Peter and Paul also very clearly considered the non-Christian Roman government as God's instrument on earth. This was believed even during persecution. If the New Testament teaches that a non-Christian government can be part of God's rule on the earth, then establishing a Christian Theocracy is not mandated in Scripture. Whether the State submits to God or not, God still rules.

Finally, history is filled with failed theocracies. Rome, London, Geneva, and Saxony, confused secular power with divine mandate. Because of the experience of history and the pain such governments had caused, our Forefathers wrote wording within the Constitution specifically meant to prevent state religion. While Reconstructionists advocate decentralization consisting of family, church, schools, and local government as a way to prevent the totalitarianism of previous governments, what could develop is a system of checkerboard law with punishments varying from community to community with the potential for dictatorship and unaccountable cruelty in any one community. If apostasy and idolatry are determined to be capitol crimes, as both Rushdoony and Bahnsen have said they would be, how would it be established which interpretation of Scripture determines apostasy? It was not outcasts who persecuted Polycarp, Hus or Wycliffe and crucified
Jesus, but religious leaders who claimed to be serving God.

A last thought concerns the State of Israel. While Reconstructionists do believe that individual Jews will be converted to Christ in the future, few of them believe that national Israel has a future. This theology has been termed by some as "replacement theology;" replacing Israel completely with the modern church. This is an area of divided thought among Christians. Some outside of the Christian church see it as anti-Semitism.


Conclusion

Does Dominion Theology offer a dangerous shift from "Gospel and the Kingdom of God" to "law and the kingdom of man?"

Dominion Theology is not a cult. It is a part of the conservative, evangelical movement occurring throughout society. However, while focusing on legalism, they are ignoring the sanctifying purpose and loving gift of the life and death of Jesus Christ. Jesus has already done the work. All that is left to do is to abide in Him and listen to the Holy Spirit's guiding direction. He will do the rest through us. There is nothing more than that.

Therefore, it is the opinion of this writer that Dominion Theology, in its focus toward man and law, does pose a dangerous shift of attention away from the Gospel of grace and the circumcision of the heart. There is also concern that large numbers of well-respected people have been seduced by faulty exegesis.



Bibliography

Smith, David L. A Handbook of Contemporary Theology: Tracing trends & Discerning
Directions in Today's Theological Landscape. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1992.

Economics America, Inc. The Right Guide. 4th ed. Ed. Derk Arend Wilcox. Ann Arbor:
Economics America, Inc. 2000.

Biblical Discernment Ministries. Dominion Theology/Kingdom Now/Reconstructionism
Blessing or Curse? Valparaiso, Indiana. 1997. Online. 12 April, 2005.
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/cor/dominion.htm

Peterson, Jefferis Kent. Reconstructionist Theology - A Flaw in the Foundation of Dominion
Theology. 2004. Online. 12 April, 2005. .

David Chilton. Paradise Restored; a Biblical Theology of Dominion. ICE free Books, 1996.
Online. 13 April, 2005. .

Dominion Theology: Theological Distinctives of the Movement

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Part II on Dominion Theology

Continued from Part I: Introduction to Dominion Theology

Three basic concepts held by Dominionists are:
1. the unalterableness of God,
2. God's Character as perfectly reflected in His law, and
3. because of the first two concepts, God's laws are eternal and are binding on all peoples of all times.

Along with these three concepts are three foundational doctrines within Dominion Theology:
1. Personal Regeneration,
2. the application of Biblical law to all areas of life (theonomy), and
3. The advance of the already present kingdom of God in history (postmillennialism).


Dominionism and Theonomy

Christian Reconstructionists believe all the basic doctrinal truths of the Christian faith, including inerrancy of the Bible, personal regeneration, and the truth of heaven and hell and that Old Testament Israel, according to Paul in the book of Romans, has been replaced with the modern Church of Jesus Christ. Thus, the Church has taken over the covenant promises God made to Israel.

But Theonomists also see the New Testament clearly showing that the Word of God, "all Scripture," should be legally applied to all areas of life and God intended for government is to be a theocracy. By theocracy, it is meant that God would govern the nation through the moral and legal code already revealed in the laws of the Bible. The legal code referred to by Apostle Paul in the New Testament was the Old Testament, Mosaic Law alone because the New Testament hadn't yet been complied, but does not include the Mosaic ceremonial law.

The Mosaic Law has been divided into three parts: moral, ceremonial and judicial. The ceremonial law foreshadowed Christ and was fulfilled by Christ's death and resurrection while both the moral and civil parts of the law as still relevant. Therefore, Reconstructionists believe that Christians are obligated to keep Old Testament law, with the exception of that which the New Testament clearly cancels, such as with the sacrificial system.

It is also believed that civil servants are required to be God's ministers just as much as priests and pastors. This concept is based on an understanding of Romans 13:1-4. Matthew 5:17-19, concerning Christ's intention for the law, is also a foundational scripture. Bahnsen believed that the word "πληρόω" in Matt. 5:17-19 is best translated "confirm" rather than fulfill, and thus Jesus' statement really means that he is here to restore the Mosaic Law. Bahnsen uses the word "theonomy" and defines it as the responsibility of the Christian to "keep the whole law of God as a pattern for sanctification, and that this law is to be enforced by the civil magistrate where and how the stipulations of God so designate."

Rushdoony agrees, stating that apart from Biblical law no standard of law exists. Fallen creation is incapable of forming a moral code to govern the nations. Supporting Scripture includes Gen. 1:28, where God commands Adam to subdue the earth. However, because Adam lost his ability to do so as a result of sin, Theonomists believe the church needs to now reclaim from Satan what Adam had lost.

Finally, because the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) commands the followers of Christ to disciple all the nations, Theonomists believe that along with personal salvation and sanctification, the legal and political reformation of society is necessary. Their goal, therefore, is to establish a theocracy by a democratic action in the United States and all nations. Government would be decentralized and would not administer business, education, or social welfare any longer. Society would also be patriarchal with strong property rights. To aid the poor, voluntary slavery would be allowed along with gleaning on private farms after harvest. According to Rushdoony, crimes such as robbery, embezzlement and vandalism would require restitution and indentured servitude. Crimes such as homosexuality, abortion, heresy, blasphemy and adultery would receive the death penalty. Christian Reconstructionists expect that with faithful application of the law, God will bless the nation.

Postmillennialism and Regeneration

Just as many other conservative Christians, Dominionists know the Kingdom of God is already here, growing, and on course to fulfillment. But the Kingdom won't be complete until every nation is under God's law and can only be entered in to through individual regeneration. Christians are now living in the Kingdom of God as Sons and Daughters of the Lord, while non-Christians are living in it as rebels. With Romans 8:3-4 in mind, Theonomists know that society can not be transformed until individuals within it are transformed. In order for people to have the will to change, evangelism is necessary. Regeneration is a process of God's work in us and can not be completed through politics or war. Thus, regeneration of the individual is very important. Just as mainline Christians, Theonomists believe that regeneration, or being "born again," restores a person to his original purpose in God and works toward the reestablishment of His dominion over all the earth. This was the reason for God creating man in His image. According to Rushdoony, "the key to remedying the situation is not revolution…the key is regeneration, propagation of the Gospel, and the conversion of men and nations to God's law-word." When this happens, Christ will return.

Dominionists, therefore, are also postmillennial, believing we are already experiencing the Millennium. The Millennium began when Christ entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matt. 21:5). Christ was enthroned in heaven at his Ascension (Acts 2:30-36). During this time of utopia before Christ's Second Coming, believers are to reclaim nations for Christ, beginning with the United States.

Part III - Strengths and Weaknesses of the Movement

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