Christian Reconstruction

Just when you thought it was safe to go out again and Evangelical Christians were not holding as much sway with the national consciousness, something new (or not so new ... but new to most of us) came out of the woodwork: Christian Reconstruction

In a nutshell, Christian Reconstructionists believe:

• "The Old Testament ... is the inflexible guide for the society."
• "Government posts would be reserved for the righteous, as long as they are male."
• "There would be thousands of executions a year, with stoning a preferred method because it would turn the deaths into "community projects" ... Sinners in line for the death penalty would include women who commit adultery or lie about their virginity, blasphemers, witches, children who strike their parents, and gay men (lesbians, however, would be spared because no specific reference to them can be found in the Books of Moses)."
• " ... the State cannot be neutral towards the Christian faith. Any obstacle that would jeopardize the preaching of the "Word of God" must be opposed by civil government."
• " ... government should largely be limited to building and maintaining roads, enforcing land-use contracts, and ensuring just weights and measures. Unions would not exist, and neither would unemployment benefits, Social Security, and environmental protection laws. Public schools would disappear."
• "the state is "God's minister", taking vengeance out on those who do evil."

Where Christian Reconstruction really gains its steam is in the fact that it is not afraid to use force to achieve it's means and really to claim that the bible explicitly justifies that:

" ... Genesis 1:28 commands men to have dominion over every living thing. And in Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission, Jesus commands his followers to proselytize to the world. Thus was born dominion theology ... Adam and Eve broke their covenant with God, and Satan seized dominion. Christian Reconstruction claims it has a reconstituted covenant with God and the right to a new dominion in his name.

In this worldview, the mandate for Christians is not just to live right or to help their neighbors: They are called upon to take over or eliminate the institutions of secular government.

This is what sets Reconstruction apart from the conventional Christian right and gives it a key advantage in organizing.

Reconstructionists are not the Armageddon's coming, Tim LaHaye types. They believe they can change things and, in fact, are compelled to in order for Christ to return.

"A Christian Reconstructionist is a Postmillennialist. He believes Christ will return to earth only after the Holy Spirit has empowered the church to advance Christ's kingdom in time and history." -- from The Creed of Christian Reconstructionism by Rev. Andrew Sandlin

This may sound like some loony, minor religious sect. I wish it were. Reconstructionists (whether they admit it publicly or not):

• Roy Moore -- former Alabama Supreme Court Justice and possible future governor
• Marvin Olasky -- in the words of George W. Bush: "compassionate conservatism's leading thinker"
• Tom DeLay
• "Howard Ahmanson and Nelson Bunker Hunt, both of whose families played key roles in financing electronic voting machine manufacturer Election Systems & Software"

Very few will publicly admit they are Reconstructionists but the influence on mainstream Religious Right thinking is undeniable. You almost get the feeling that it is what a lot of the Right would like to be if they were not constrained by a democratic society (and separation of church and state). Certainly the brash statements of people like Jerry Falwell encouraging the assassination of Hugo Chavez and intimations that Ariel Sharon was being punished by God seem to be influenced by Reconstruction.

For more info, see Wikipedia: Christian Reconstructionism