Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
 Atonishing, thorough, provocative analysis: 10 Commandments October 21, 1996
36 out of 46 found this review helpful
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
Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore Rushdoony March 17, 2005
Caleb Hayden (United States)
33 out of 42 found this review helpful
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.
Much needed revival of true Chriatian scholarship October 17, 1999
27 out of 37 found this review helpful
Get the volumes (a third is now out) and read for yourself. Don't let knee-jerk responses like the reader from Houston, TX (who obviously hasn't read the books)sway you. Rushdoony provides what the modern church scene has not - in depth, well grounded biblical analysis minus the pious gush, end times madness, subjective mysticism and emotional overdosing. His books will not appeal to those with lazy minds not willing to think things through to their logical conclusions. But who cares. There are plenty of books written for that crowd. Rushdoony is for those who are tired of playing church and want to know just how Christian faith works itself out in every area of life.
The material will often surprise you, but it rings true. August 12, 2001
24 out of 35 found this review helpful
If I were stranded on a desert island with a few other people and wanted to form a Biblically based government, this is the second of two books that I would want with me. To put it another way, this would be in the top 10 items that I would save, if my house were burning. What does it mean to be dead to the law? Aren't we under grace, now? As an antinomian, this book has dealt me a body blow. Capital punishment? I used to be very indecisive, but now am confident. Did Rahab sin when she gave false directions regarding the where abouts of the spys? If a Nazi had asked you, if you were hiding Jews, and you were, would you be sinning to lie or sinning not to lie? When, if ever, does a Christian go underground in opposition to an ungodly regime? Is there a time not to turn the other cheek? These and countless other questions, that are often a quandary to Christians and that often render them fence straddlers , as to the correct response, are seriously and adequately dealt with. No, I do not swallow this book hook, line and sinker doctrinally, but it has helped me greatly to define what is the correct response, as to life's issues.
Enter the Fray January 11, 2005
Winston Smith (Locust Grove, VA)
26 out of 38 found this review helpful
The fact that Rushdoony's *Institutes* elicits such invective from theological/social liberals/humanists (l/h's) is proof of its value. If all I knew of the book was that l/h's hate it, that would be enough for me to want to read it. The truth is that l/h is the photographic negative of all that Rushdoony teaches in *Institutes*, and if l/h's had their way (which they mostly do), they would establish the same form of government that they say Rushdoony would establish, only upon humanistic tenets. Thus, their screeds, chest-beatings, name-callings, apoplexies, and histrionics regarding *Institutes* are completely hypocritical. Think about it - more people have died from humanistic governments (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, et al) than have ever been harmed by "Christian theocracies".
You should read this book. It will introduce you to ideas that you have probably never before encountered and that you should certainly seriously consider. But be prepared to be challenged, as you will have to reconsider many things that you were taught in government schools and fluffy, trendy churches.
Eventually, we all have to do battle on the field of ideas, whether it is in the arena of polemics or simply at the voting booth. And in this battle, there truly are, as one man wrote, "no rusty swords." If you are a Christian, arm yourself with serious iron by reading this book. If you are an humanist, read this book to give yourself a chance to see how you have been mislead.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
|
