A while back, I heard about a rather alarming-sounding fundamentalist Christian political movement called “Reconstructionism” whose aim is apparently to turn the US (and presumably any other country in which it takes root) into a so-called theocracy: one in which the Bible is followed so literally that society is governed according to the Mosaic Law (including all those parts of it which tell the faithful what they can and cannot eat), slavery is reinstated, and a lot of other delightful-sounding things happen. Have I got the gist of it pretty much right, and what other things would they do if they ever gained power (would it be like the situation in the movie “Escape from LA” or something even worse)? Who are the current movers and shakers in this movement, and is it anything more than just another collection of extremist loonies with a loud voice but very little real clout? I’ve heard that, in addition to pushing some pretty extreme religious views, it preaches some weird (and archaic) economic ideas and whatnot; could a modern society actually be run according to such a political philosophy, or is it even more of a pipe dream than Communism was? I’m sure that, like all extremist religious and political movements do, it contains its fair share of hypocrites; would I be right about this? I’m assuming, for example, that many of its male adherents shave (despite the Levitical injunction forbidding this sort of godless, degenerate and feminizing behaviour), and that some of its female adherents wear trousers and other masculine forms of attire, despite the clear prohibition against this sort of thing to be found in Deut 22:5. I’m also assuming that they don’t advocate a return to sacrificing animals to gain God’s favour or forgiveness, or do they?
Sounds like a bunch of loonies, but I don’t think they even have a loud voice. I’ve never heard of them, and I enjoy keeping tabs on looney groups.
Oh, that’s a bit disappointing. Oh well, what other looney groups are there out there that you know of (the most bizarre/interesting ones if there’re too many to list them all)?
The largest Christian Reconstructionist group is the Chalcedon Foundation (formerly the Chalcedon Institute), founded by R.J. Rushdoony, who died in 2001, and now run by his son Mark. It can be found here. It seems to have moderated its views somewhat, or at least its presentation, after Rushdoony’s death.
The political party that is closest to their views is probably the Constitution Party, to be found here.
which believes that the US was founded on a biblical basis, which is reflected in our Constitution, but that the major parties have betrayed our traditional ideals, and that both major parties promote statism and secularism.
General Questions is for questions with factual answers. Since there is no factual question here, I’ll close this.
DrMatrix - GQ Moderator