Faith for All of Life May/June 2015 Publisher & Chalcedon President Editorials Rev. Mark R. Rushdoony 2 From the President Summer Sale Chalcedon Vice-President Historical Perspective Martin Selbrede Save 15% 13 From the Founder on all orders plus FREE Editor standard shipping (US) Martin Selbrede Publisher’s Foreword: Chalcedon May 1-July 31, 2015 Features Managing Editor Susan Burns 4 First Major Book About R. J. Rushdoony: Michael J. McVicar’s Contributing Editor Christian Reconstruction: R. J. Rushdoony and American Religious Lee Duigon Conservatism Reviewed by Martin G. Selbrede Chalcedon Founder Rev. R. J. Rushdoony 14 The Bible’s High Estimation of Women (1916-2001) Andrea Schwartz was the founder of Chalcedon and a leading theologian, church/ 18 Massachusetts Completes Its Takedown of Addiction Pioneer state expert, and author of Dr. Punyamurtula S. Kishore numerous works on the applica- Martin G. Selbrede tion of Biblical Law to society. 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Box 569, Cedar Bluff, VA send an e-mail message including 24609-0569. Laser-print hard copy and electronic disk submissions firmly encouraged. All submissions subject to editorial revision. Email: [email protected]. The editors are not responsible for the return of unsolicited manu- your full postal address to our office: scripts which become the property of Chalcedon unless other arrangements are made. Opinions expressed in this [email protected]. magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of Chalcedon. It provides a forum for views in accord with a relevant, active, historic Christianity, though those views may on occasion differ somewhat from Chalcedon’s and from each For circulation and data other. Chalcedon depends on the contributions of its readers, and all gifts to Chalcedon are tax-deductible. ©2015 Chalcedon. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint granted on written request only. Editorial Board: Rev. Mark management contact Rebecca R. Rushdoony, President/Editor-in-Chief; Martin Selbrede, Editor; Susan Burns, Managing Editor and Executive Rouse at (209) 736-4365 ext. 10 Assistant. Chalcedon, P.O. Box 158, Vallecito, CA 95251, Telephone Circulation (9:00a.m. - 5:00p.m., Pacific): (209) or [email protected] 736-4365 or Fax (209) 736-0536; email: [email protected]; www.chalcedon.edu; Circulation: Rebecca Rouse. From the President “Historical Perspective” By Mark R. Rushdoony he failure of man’s to emphasize that a minority opinion and Iraqis, but not the death of the un- Trepeated attempts is being proposed, the term “revisionist known tens of thousands killed by the to control the future history” stresses the change to prevailing U.S. military campaign against him. should come as no thought being attempted. Assessing the meaning of history surprise to us when we Why are very divergent views of his- presupposes a standard of moral judg- see they are rarely able tory possible and now so very prevalent? ment. We must not forget the first revi- to agree on the past. So many people People have a widespread distrust of sionist history was by Satan, who gave today start with a distrust of establish- “official explanations” and press releases. a falsified view of God’s decree and the ment power that conspiracy thinking Facts go through a filter before they consequences for rebellion, not to men- is not limited to major events, but now reach us. One of the complicating fac- tion God’s motives. Man acts in terms includes relatively routine ones. Often tors in the death of John F. Kennedy is of both his faith (and hence ethics) and such ideas gain a foothold before anyone that the government concealed informa- understanding. Lies subvert both. really knows any facts. If an airliner tion it considered sensitive and, in some Reason is regulated by ethics. When is lost over the ocean, then a grand cases, gave out falsified data as factual we read the Bible in faith, we naturally conspiracy is thought to be underway to divert attention away from these assume God’s perspective because this to supply terrorists with a plane. If the areas. False witness is a sin because lies is given to us in the context. It is easy price of crude oil drops we soon lose are such a powerful tool of evil. When for us to read the Bible’s account of the track of the theories on who manipu- evidence is falsified, lost, concealed, or foolishness of ancient sinners and say, lated it and for what purpose. The destroyed, we have a hard time knowing “They were certainly foolish,” and as- restructuring of our thoughts about the what is true. Criminal convictions are sume we would not have been. more distant past is also prevalent. It is frequently based, not on hard evidence, When we read the Bible in faith, we called revisionism. but on expert witnesses, many of whom are thinking God’s thoughts after Him, One can take either a positive or are paid or who, like the police, have an and His perspectives becomes ours. negative approach to revisionism. The interest in their actions being sanctioned When the sinner hears God’s Word, positive spin is that our historical nar- by conviction. he wants to reject the lesson because rative must be reviewed for accuracy, he will not admit to the moral order it rethought with a fresh perspective to Ethics and Revisionism presupposes. discern significance previously missed Much history is lost to us. Whole or intentionally avoided. On the other cultures are forgotten, entire ruined cit- Revisionist History in the hand, revisionism can be seen in a very ies a mystery without any human con- Sixth Century B.C. negative sense by those who adhere to scious effort for that to happen, so it’s An example of revisionism occurs the conventional narrative. They see any no wonder we can miss the importance late in the life of the prophet Jeremiah. new perspective as a rewriting of what of facts readily available to us. Then, His was one of the longest ministries of really happened, as a propaganda tool too, much of our historical knowledge any prophet and may have seen the least used by those who have ulterior motives. is written by victors whose purpose is success. He helped Josiah rid Jerusalem Even one’s terminology tends to vindication, and whose moral outrage is of its idols only to see them return after convey either a positive or negative often selective. We condemn Hitler for that king’s death in battle. Jeremiah connotation to revisionism. The term the bombing of London, but seldom the spent years warning the people of Judah “historical revisionism” emphasizes Allies for the far more devastating and that their apostasy was leading to the fall history and can connote a change in unnecessary bombing of Dresden, Ger- of Jerusalem, all to no avail. Jerusalem our understanding of that which did, many. We still note the evil of Saddam fell in 586 B.C. Not long thereafter in fact, occur in history. If one wishes Hussein’s murder of hundreds of Kurds the murder of the governor appointed 2 Faith for All of Life | May/June 2015 www.chalcedon.edu Faith for All of Life by the conquering Babylonians caused decades, they saw, not God’s judgment purpose of this small mercy was so the the people to fear a bloody reprisal. on their sin, but God’s failure to prosper last survivors would “know whose words Though warned by Jeremiah that God them: shall stand, mine or theirs” (v. 28). would only protect them if they stayed But we will certainly do whatso- in Judah, the people decided in favor Understanding History ever thing goeth forth out of our It is not easy to understand history of migrating to Egypt where there were mouth, to burn incense unto the already many Jews who had fled from without such words by God’s inspired queen of heaven, and pour out prophet. Our own historical, political, the deteriorating situation in Palestine. drink offerings unto her … for The last recorded historical narrative and cultural views are often little more then we had plenty of victuals, and of Jeremiah is in chapter 44. There we than “whatsoever thing goeth forth were well, and saw no evil. have an account of Jeremiah speaking out of our own mouth.” We frequently to Jews from many parts of Egypt and But since we left off to burn in- write history in order to impose on it once again relating the history of God’s cense to the queen of heaven, and our own perverse moral judgments. His- judgment on Judah. to pour out drink offerings unto tory writing is often little more than the The fall of Judah and Jerusalem her, we have wanted all things, and construction of memes: political history was for a reason: the idolatry that Josiah have been consumed by the sword almost always falls into this trap of self- had tried, some twenty-five years earlier, and by the famine.