The Institutes of Biblical Law [Hardcover]

Rousas John Rushdoony (Author), Rushdoony (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1980

To attempt to study Scripture without studying its law is to deny it. To attempt to understand Western civilization apart from the impact of Biblical law within it and upon it is to seek a fictitious history and to reject twenty centuries and their progress. The Institutes of Biblical Law has as its purpose a reversal of the present trend. it is called "Institutes" in the older meaning of the that word, i.e., fundamental principles, here of law, because it is intended as a beginning, as an instituting consideration of that law which must govern society, and which shall govern society under God. To understand Biblical law, it is necessary to understand also certain basic characteristics of that law. In it, certain broad premises or principles are declared. These are declarations of basic law. The Ten Commandments give us such declarations. A second characteristics of Biblical law, is that the major portion of the law is case law, i.e., the illustration of the basic principle in terms of specific cases. These specific cases are often illustrations of the extent of the application of the law; that is, by citing a minimal type of case, the necessary jurisdictions of the law are revealed. The law, then, asserts principles and cites cases to develop the implications of those principles, with is purpose and direction the restitution of God's order.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 890 pages
• Publisher: P & R Publishing (January 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875524109
• ISBN-13: 978-0875524108
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #107,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rousas John (R. J.) Rushdoony (1916-2001) was a well-known American scholar, writer, and author of over thirty books. He held B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of California and received his theological training at the Pacific School of Religion. An ordained minister, he worked as a missionary among Paiute and Shoshone Indians as well as a pastor to two California churches. He founded the Chalcedon Foundation, an educational organization devoted to research, publishing, and cogent communication of a distinctively Christian scholarship to the world-at-large. His writing in the Chalcedon Report and his numerous books spawned a generation of believers active in reconstructing the world to the glory of Jesus Christ. Until his death, he resided in Vallecito, California, where he engaged in research, lecturing, and assisting others in developing programs to put the Christian Faith into action.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 67 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore Rushdoony March 17, 2005

By Caleb Hayden

Format:Hardcover

Rushdoony is a theologian that you either love or hate. And this is consistent with his presuppositional philosophy of no neutrality. Drawing from the great Christian philosopher and theologian Cornelius Van Til, Rushdoony clearly lays out in "The Institutes" and in his numerous other works, the defining question of all thought: BY WHAT STANDARD? Either we will uphold God's Law and repudiate man's attempt "to be as God, knowing [i.e., determining for himself] what constitutes good and evil" (Genesis 3:5); or we will accept the challenge of the tempter, believing the lie that we can be like god, living forever in a universe of our own invention (Genesis 3).

In short, we will either serve and worship God, or we will serve and worship His creation, attempting to ignore Him (Romans 1). We cannot have it both ways.

I cannot say that I agree with everything that Rushdoony wrote. How could anyone agree with all of his views, given how controversial, sincere, and rigorous he was? However, the corpus of his work -- including his Magnum Opus, "The Institutes" -- supplies a sure foundation for a systematic and "epistemologically self conscious" worldview: one that applies God's Law to every area of life and thought in a rigorous and uncompromising manner.

Given the "hidden" or "veiled" influence that Rushdoony has had on our society, more people -- both Chrisitians and humanists -- should pay attention to Rushdoony and his followers such as Gary DeMar, Kenneth Gentry, Gary North, and others. Many do not realize that Rushdoony was at the center of the fight in the '60s and '70s to legalize private and home education. His "Messianic Character of American Education" and "Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum" should be read by educators, particularly those of a Christian persuasion.

Rushdoony influenced many prominent and visible leaders in Christian circles today, even though many of these men are afraid to identify with him for fear that their reputations will be tarnished. Most people do not want to be thought of as radical, but Rushdoony had a different mentality. That is why, love him or hate him, a student of theology, philosophy, history, and law can greatly benefit from Rushdoony's distinctly Christian analysis and critique of society.

If you want to read something that encapsulates Rushdoony's thinking into a systematic set of works, read his three volumes of "The Institutes." If you can only read one, make sure to get the first volume.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece of "Christian Reconstructionism", for good or for worse February 28, 2010

By Clarke H. Morledge

Format:Hardcover

Rushdoony is rejected by many Christians and non-Christians alike as being on the lunatic fringe. There is good reason for this, though it is complicated. As John Frame argues, while rightly challenging in many ways, Rushdoony's work is a fine example of how *not* to engage in theological dialogue. Making accusations of "antinomianism" at every turn is not the best way to draw in your audience. I argue that Rushdoony's detailed insight into ignored aspects of history in the Christian era is fascinating and valuable (hence the four star rating), but the theological lessons to be learned do not always hold together. He makes a convincing case for political libertarianism (a.l.a. Ron Paul), but his theonomic vision is frightful to many fellow libertarians. He writes of the dual dangers of expanding militaristic and socialistic powers of the state, but he unfortunately sees fit to condemn interracial marriage. He masterfully makes sense of many Mosaic texts in a plausible way to the modern Christian, but the architecture of his theological argument is confounding. Are we really "sanctified by the law", as Rushdoony suggests? Surely we are "justified by grace", but juxtaposing that with "sanctification by the law" seems to diminish the Gospel.

Nevertheless, perhaps Rushdoony's critics have not read him closely enough. The man was incredibly well read and incredibly prolific. It took me THREE YEARS to get through _The Institutes of Biblical Law_! This is the best case for theonomy I have yet to read. If you follow him carefully, Rushdoony proposes that Christ's theonomic reign will only come as more and more people come to know Christ. Regeneration ALWAYS precedes civil reform. The bulk of the population in any nation (I've heard Rushdoony elsewhere say at least 80% of the population) needs to confess faith in Christ BEFORE biblical law can be implemented fully in a society. State coercion is NOT in Rushdoony's vision. Well, if that is the case, then those who fear the rise of the "Religious Right' have nothing to fear from the likes of Rushdoony. With less than 70% of Americans going to church and less then half of those claiming to be "born again", I think that the evangelical movement will be preoccupied for many years with evangelism and discipleship before it ever gets to the task of theonomic-based governance.

Rushdoony's whole argument for theonomy is based on both his presuppositionalism; i.e. there is no such thing as philosophical "neutrality," and his postmillenialism; i.e. the world is getting better and better all of the time. Presuppositionalism and postmillenialism are not well-understood nor well-embraced within Evangelicalism. A proper appreciation of Rushdoony will fail without an adequate grasp of these two theological concepts.

With this in mind, Rushdoony fans are faced with some intractable problems. First, Rushdoony rightly presupposes the Word of God to be true, but the sad history of Christian Reconstructionism is that the exposition of the biblical text gets mangled up by its interpreters. The theonomic vision gets lost in a sea of biblical disputation. Gary North, a contributor to this volume and his son-in-law, has a falling out with Rushdoony over biblical interpretation. Others have parted ways with Rushdoony and North, too. It appears that much of the reason why John Milton wrote Paradise Lost was one way of coming to grips with the futility of trying to get a bunch of conflicting religious groups together to build a theonomically-governed society in Oliver Cromwell's England.

Secondly, most politically-minded evangelicals do not share the rosy optimism of Rushdoony's postmillenialism. Having the patience to rebuild society by Christian witness and example is not always palatable to those more dispensationally-minded Christians who fear that Christianity is being attacked day-by-day in America. With such a pessimistic mood, it is tempting to use theonomic language to justify grabbing the reigns of political power. In other words, we need to appreciate the whole of Rushdoony's argument, less we misuse him.

44 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Atonishing, thorough, provocative analysis: 10 Commandments October 21, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Clear, penetrating reasoning which considers the Biblical basis for respecting divine law, and working to obey it. The author also examines each commandment of the decalogue in detail, showing the application and implications of each. I have never seen such a probing analysis in a quarter-century of reading and study on this subject! You see, the overwhelming majority of churches in this century teach that God's law not only no longer applies to believers, but that it was sort of defective and evil anyway. They teach that attempts to respect and obey it repudiate what Christ did! For the most part, if you want to read well-thought-out arguments which show the bankruptcy of that position, you have to drop back in history and read selected works from the time of the Puritans up through the late 19th century, when numerous preachers and commentators could explain the relevance of divine law cogently. But their older style of writing doesn't always "compute" for the modern reader. This book is an entirely up-to-date, hard-hitting challenge to the prevailing concept. Face it: whatever you believe, somebody, somewhere thinks you're doomed for it! This book will force a serious Christian to consider whether what you've been taught holds water. It's not an "easy read," more like a college text; but the examples and citations are timely, modern. Caveat: While I enthusiastically endorse Institutes of Biblical Law to serious Christians as a tool for getting your brain in gear, I don't want to leave readers thinking this is a plug from the author's church or similar. I go to a different church than he, and I believe there were some erroneous conclusions in the book -- but he has really "done his homework" and he really made me think. Reading this whopper was well worth my limited time. What more can a reader ask of an author