4 Practical Steps Towards Theonomy

Christian scholars can talk about theonomy all day, but it’s application must eventually come forth from that discussion. What does theonomy look like in action? We can toot our horn of theonomy til His reign is over, but what are the ordained steps by which His law fills the earth? The American political system has become much like the former Roman Empire’s; it is vastly complicated. Here are four practical steps that will help Christians move towards a theonomic, liberating community.

Step 1: Tax-exemption for home school families

This one I must give credit to Dr. Joel McDurmon. Let home school families opt out of the system. If the children are not using the public school system, then let them opt out of having to pay taxes that support it. It is the same procedure with the elderly having a tax exemption at age 62 (in Georgia at least); they don’t use the system. Let’s apply this same concept to home school families, since the basis for the tax exemption at the age of 62 seems to be the same.

This one may take some time to actually pass, because it’s not only asking for a tax exemption, rather it is standing against taxation on a moral principle. It is demanding that if one does not like the system, then they shouldn’t have to pay for it, thus being a spit in the face of the State (or state) system. Exempting students from having to turn in a roll of attendance should also be included.

Step 2: Demolish Prisons/Jails

The prison/jail system is a failure. The entire concept is based on reconstruction of the mind through forced labor and/or torture by boredom. At least, this is how it started. Now, the prison system offers college education, recreational activities, and a community to be a part of. This is the opposite of what God’s law intends for criminals.

Christians must argue this point on a few different levels. Christians should argue primarily based on God’s law, that the role of civil government is to ensure restitution and capital punishment, not social/civil services. Christians must also argue this point by reminding government that it is the tax payers that fund these “institutions”, and that alone should be enough for individuals to opt out of supporting the system. Tax-payers pay for meals, power to run the facilities, the walls, floor, water, “free” education (possibly paying a type of tuition for inmates), and that by continuing to support such a system goes against the conscious of the Christian. If Muslims, sodomites, minorities, and women get government to bend over for them, then Christians should also be able to follow their conscious, since God demands it (a transcendent appeal). Christians should also offer an alternative, since criminals still have to be dealt with.

In the modern world, we have a huge increase in criminal activity. This has been the inevitable result of the West’s steady abandonment of biblical penal sanctions. Western society has been in revolt against God’s penal sanctions for many centuries. From the beginning, the West substituted public torture followed by capital punishment by an executioner in place of the Old Testament’s requirement of execution by public stoning. Second, it substituted imprisonment for restitution to victims. Third, in the 1820’s, the United States began to substitute the centralized state prison systems for local jails and public flogging, and these new institutions became the penal models for the whole Western world. Fourth, civil courts substituted life imprisonment for capital punishment. Fifth, judges substituted parole for life imprisonment. By the early 1970’s, for example, the median time served in prison for homicide in the State of Massachusetts was under three years. Step by step, the West began to subsidize the criminals at the expense of the victims, and all in the name of compassion.” Gary North, “Victim’s Rights”, pg. 7

But what about the modern form of kidnapping, where the kidnapper demands a ransom? The same principle operates: the repenting but as yet unarrested kidnapper offers to the victim the value of the ransom demanded, plus one-fifth. In most cases, this would mean a lifetime of servitude to repay the debt. Servitude for the kidnapper is better for the victim and society than what the modern criminal justice system imposes. The modern criminal justice system would probably impose a life sentence in jail for the criminal, at the expense of taxpayers, with parole possible (likely) in a few years. The kidnap victim gets nothing.”, pg. 71

This is where capital punishment and restitution must be shown to be the superior way, bringing me to my next point.

Step 3: Get rid of the “victimized state” mentality

Every person that has driven down a road and read the signs has seen “$1000 fine”, whether it be for speeding in a certain area or littering. Police officers also fine drivers for speeding, driving “recklessly”, drinking while driving, etc. But, the fines don’t stop there. The city, county, and state fine the people in another way, but call it a tax or fee. When a driver has to renew his license he must pay this “fee”. When a business owner wants to start a business, does he not have to get a business license? However, I am specifically speaking of the fines paid when a law is broken (speeding, littering, etc.) Here’s a list of some fines, just in the state of Georgia.

Crossing the gore    $265.00

Driving in the emergency lane    $265.00

Driving left of center    $265.00

Driving wrong way on one way street    $265.00

Failure to maintain lane    $265.00

Failure to obey officer’s signal    $275.00

Failure to secure load    $275.00

Failure to use turn signal    $265.00

Failure to yield right of way    $265.00

Following too closely    $265.00

Headlights, failure to turn on    $265.00

Headlights, failure to dim    $265.00

H.O.V. lane violation (1st offense)    $105.00

Impeding traffic    $265.00

Improper backing    $265.00

Improper driving on the roadway    $265.00

Improper equipment (cracked windshield, brake lights, bald tires, etc.)    $265.00

Improper lane change    $265.00

Improper passing (Court only if under 21 years of age)    $265.00

Improper stopping on roadway    $265.00

Improper turns    $265.00

Improper U turn    $265.00

Laying drags    $275.00

Littering    $265.00

Open container violation (if over 21 yrs. of age)    $265.00

Obstructing an intersection    $265.00

Red light violation    $265.00

Seatbelt/restraint violation (Child under 6 yrs. old)    $ 50.00

Seatbelt/restraint violation (Child 6 yrs. or older)    $ 25.00

Seatbelt violation (adult)    $ 15.00

Smoking in a public place/prohibited    $ 25.00

Stop sign violation    $265.00

Too fast for conditions    $265.00

Violation of pedestrian rights    $265.00

Violation of pedestrian duties    $265.00

Loud music    $265.00

Window tint violation     $265.00

http://www.georgiacourts.org/courts/fulton/magistrate_court_fine_schedule.php

Notice that these things, not all being morally wrong or unwise, are imposed upon a people on the basis that it is the property of the civil government, therefore civil government is the victim when these laws are breached.

“The State is not to use fines to increase its operating budget or increase its control over the lives of innocent citizens…The proper use of fines is the establishment of a restitution fund for victims of crimes whose perpetrators cannot be located or convicted, analogous to the Old Testament sacrifice of the heifer when a murderer could not be found (Deut. 21:1-9). Such a fund is a valid use of the civil law.”  Gary North, “Tools of Dominion”, pg. 396

This mentality that civil government is somehow a victim is beyond biblical law. The idea that civil government can be a victim is so ingrained in our society, that to imagine anything different would be either an utopia to some or anarchy for others. Christians must change their view of what civil government is and what it’s role should be. This “state victim” idea can be demolished by affirming the next point…

Step 4: Let us build our own roads!

Roads are such an advanced technological discovery that to imagine anyone except government building them would be ridiculous.

Not.

Actually, letting the individuals own and build roads (just like they own driveways), would be a step towards secession from government dependence on the common man’s way of life (since the common mode of transportation uses roads) and a far more effective way to maintain and keep up with the demand. In other words, let roads be on the free market.

As of now, roads generally do not exist in the free market, since civil government regulates when and where they are built. If individuals were to build roads, those 2 month old pot holes would be fixed within days. That intersection that needs a left turn light and a right turn lane would have it much quicker. The truth is that civil government does not have enough funds to keep up with the demand, where private roads would and do. (See here for a general example) Civil government is again, taking on a burden and responsibility that they cannot maintain (not enough funds or employees to handle the upkeep and planning) and are also in the way of the technological development of the transportation system itself.

Yes, there will have to be some thinking about how roads will collect funds, but this is a small step for the sake of conformity to God’s law and the liberty for the community. Israel built their roads just fine without civil government doing it for them.

Conclusion

So, sometime between the Protestant Reformation and the present, Protestants lost sight of the requirements of civil justice. They have no idea that the Bible speaks to this issue. They have no idea where to look in the Bible for guidance in questions of civil justice. They do not recognize that the Bible says that the civil laws of a society are to testify internationally to the justice of God.” Gary North, “Victim’s Right”, preface xi

Christians can, if they get involved and remain faithful to evangelism and discipleship, reform the justice system. Christians have the answer, yet hold them tightly in their closet of piety, depraving others from the great blessings that flow forth from God’s law.

“See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” Deuteronomy 4:5-8