In a recent broadcast of the White Horse Inn, Dr. Michael Horton insults Christian Theonomist and Reconstructionists by comparing our position to that of radical Anabaptists and liberal theologians like John Milbank, an English theologian advocating Christian socialism.
The broadcast is called “The City of God” and can be heard by clicking here: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/The_White_Horse_Inn/archives.asp?bcd=1/18/2009
I took the liberty of transcribing the relevent portion of the show. The entire broadcast is around 45 minutes long. My transcription begins at 32:22 in:
Dr. M. Horton: I gave a paper awhile back at a conference where John Milbank was present. John Milbank is a leading British theologian who’s had an enormous effect, especially on younger evangelical theologians; and argues very strongly for a recovery of Christendom. We had this exchange over what it means to live in a secular culture. The title of my paper was kind of provocative, designed to provoke a debate with Milbank “In Praise of the Secular.”
You still doing that? (Laughing)
Dr. M. Horton: Yeah, still doing that (laughing.) He responded to it all by calling me a heretic. It’s interesting when you’re called a heretic for siding with Augustine. He has more recently argued, I just heard him recently at a conference announce, that only Christians have the right to rule, and the Bible teaches Christian socialism and so we need a Christian socialist world order and Christians will run it. There was something called Christian Reconstructionism or Theonomy on the right that held views that are very similar to John Milbank’s views (very similar). Folks, this is actually closer to radical Anabaptism, not the pacifist kind of Anabaptism, but the radical Anabaptism of Thomas Munzer, John of Leyden, and others at the time of the Reformation.
This is why Europe is secularized to this day. They don’t want to ever see anything like that again!
Dr. M. Horton: Exactly. This is a quote from the Schleitheim Confession of 1527 of the Anabaptist. This could take you, either into (because its both Christ against culture; a radical Christ vs. Culture approach). It could take you directly into either of what we call today Christian Reconstructionism or Theonomy, (liberation theology either of the left or the right) OR into what is more commonly known as Anabaptism of today. The Mennonites, or even more, the Amish, separating from the world. But both from this same kind of theological conviction expressed in the Schleitheim Confession 1527:
“We are agreed on separation. A separation shall be made from the evil and from the wickedness of which the Devil planted in the world. (Notice also the Devil planted in the world, not because of human rebellion.) In this manner, simply that we shall have no fellowship with the wicked and not run with them in the multitude of their abominations (assuming we don’t commit abominations, while the community there in Munster was communist, polygamist, and they were sharing…(and naked) AND naked! They shared not only each other’s money, but each other’s wives! This is the way it is, the confession says.) Since all who do not walk in the obedience of faith and have not united themselves with God, so that they wish to do all His will, are a great abomination to God and it is not possible for anything to grow or issue from them except abominable things.”
Dr. M. Horton: And so, there you have the theological justification for a very different view of Christ’s relationship to culture. Not a distinction between the Kingdoms of Christ and the kingdoms of this world, but a real hostile opposition to the two kingdoms. When the Reformation came along, it was opposed both to what Calvin called the “contrived empire of Christendom” and to the radical “Christ vs. Culture” position of Anabaptism.
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Gary DeMar and Joel McDurmon of American Vision have responded with two 15 minute vlogs.
See them by clicking here: http://www.americanvision.org/media/main/
They are under “Gary’s Radio Show” and are named: “Thoughts on Theonomy” and “Tertullian and Theonomy.”
Listening to Dr. Horton drone on about how ignorantly defenseless Christians should be in society makes a response by Mr. DeMar and Mr. Mcdurmon, very satisfying.
Jot 'N Tittles 