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Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction
For the last several decades, at the far fringes of American evangelical Christianity has stood an intellectual movement known as Christian Reconstruction. The proponents of this movement embrace a radical that all of life should be brought under the authority of biblical law as it is contained in both the Old and New Testaments. They challenge the legitimacy of democracy, argue that slavery is biblically justifiable, and support the death penalty for all manner of "crimes" described in the Bible including homosexuality, adultery, and Sabbath-breaking. But, as Julie Ingersoll shows in this fascinating new book, this "Biblical Worldview" shapes their views not only on political issues, but on everything from private property and economic policy to history and literature. Holding that the Bible provides a coherent, internally consistent, and all-encompassing worldview, they seek to remake the entirety of society--church, state, family, economy--along biblical lines.Tracing the movement from its mid-twentieth-century origins in the writings of theologian and philosopher R.J. Rushdoony to its present-day sites of influence, including the Christian Home School movement, advocacy for the teaching of creationism, and the development and rise of the Tea Party, Ingersoll illustrates how Reconstructionists have broadly and subtly shaped conservative American Protestantism over the course of the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries. Drawing on interviews with Reconstructionists themselves as well as extensive research in Reconstructionist publications, Building God's Kingdom offers the most complete and balanced portrait to date of this enigmatic segment of the Christian Right.
315 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 29, 2016
This was a stressful book for me to read, since it cut very close to home. Whether my family consider themselves to be Christian Reconstructionist or not, their political rhetoric and real-life actions set them firmly in that camp. They are extreme right-wing libertarians, gun-rights advocates, home-schoolers, and they subscribe to a host of conspiracy theories taken right out of David Barton's manual. They believe in their own version of American history, that has been refactored from a Christian perspective. They are creationists, who also reject any kind of science that they believe goes against their faith, and in fact have the same narrative about science that Reconstructionists promote. They are anit-feminist, anti-choice, anti-public school, and anti-LGBT rights. (A peculiar exception to that last one is my niece, who takes a libertarian live-and-let-live view towards LGBT, but is otherwise right in line with the rest of my family). My family are fans of people like Francis Schaeffer, who features prominently in this book, and in fact, my senior quote in my yearbook was taken from him.
All this is to give background to why I gave this book 4 stars, even though from a more objective perspective, it deserves 5. I spent so much time tense and angry while reading this book, that the rating has to reflect my state of mind. But this book is vitally important to anyone who is interested in the political influence of Christian Reconstructionism, and who wants to understand why religion has taken such a stranglehold on conservative politics. This is not, as some people would have you believe, a minor fringe movement with little impact. Their intent runs through almost every strain of political discourse in this country, and influences movements that don't seem to have any direct link - things like free-market economy, states-rights, tea party politics, and race relations. And this isn't some kind of conspiracy theory. The books are freely available, and the sources are easy to get hold of.
One of the fascinating things to me is how deceptive the Reconstructionists are. They are very adept at structuring their arguments to be palatable to a general audience, and thus gaining traction with far more people than they would if they were actually honest with what their final intentions are. Take home-schooling for example. They cast it as parental choice, and claim they don't want to eliminate public schools, but in their own publications they state that they want nothing less than the complete elimination of public schools. There is a similar pattern on issue after issue.
One of the valuable things I learn from this book is a deeper understanding of my family's politics, which I found puzzling. I couldn't understand how they could revere Jesus at the same time they promoted a brutally extreme version of libertarian free-market economics that blames the poor for their own condition. But now I have a better understanding of how their world-view works, with it's Sphere Sovereignty of family, then church, then civil government which is only allowed to uphold Biblical law. this brings up another aspect in which these people are deceptive. They claim that they only want religious freedom, but by reading their actual materials, one learns that their meaning of religious freedom is nothing less than the enforcement of Christian Biblical law. There is no room for pluralism, and in fact many of them want to reinstate the death penalty for non-compliance. That would apply to any other religion, and also people like me who have none. These people are serious.
Another aspect is that I have touched on peripherally is how they constantly redefine words and phrases into their own meanings. Because of this, they have been very successful at slipping their viewpoints into normal political discourse without betraying their true intentions, and I think there is something deliberate about that approach.
This book has increased my awareness of Christian Reconstructionism and it's influence on American politics, and it has left me more scared, and more than a bit depressed. But I'm glad I've read it.
All this is to give background to why I gave this book 4 stars, even though from a more objective perspective, it deserves 5. I spent so much time tense and angry while reading this book, that the rating has to reflect my state of mind. But this book is vitally important to anyone who is interested in the political influence of Christian Reconstructionism, and who wants to understand why religion has taken such a stranglehold on conservative politics. This is not, as some people would have you believe, a minor fringe movement with little impact. Their intent runs through almost every strain of political discourse in this country, and influences movements that don't seem to have any direct link - things like free-market economy, states-rights, tea party politics, and race relations. And this isn't some kind of conspiracy theory. The books are freely available, and the sources are easy to get hold of.
One of the fascinating things to me is how deceptive the Reconstructionists are. They are very adept at structuring their arguments to be palatable to a general audience, and thus gaining traction with far more people than they would if they were actually honest with what their final intentions are. Take home-schooling for example. They cast it as parental choice, and claim they don't want to eliminate public schools, but in their own publications they state that they want nothing less than the complete elimination of public schools. There is a similar pattern on issue after issue.
One of the valuable things I learn from this book is a deeper understanding of my family's politics, which I found puzzling. I couldn't understand how they could revere Jesus at the same time they promoted a brutally extreme version of libertarian free-market economics that blames the poor for their own condition. But now I have a better understanding of how their world-view works, with it's Sphere Sovereignty of family, then church, then civil government which is only allowed to uphold Biblical law. this brings up another aspect in which these people are deceptive. They claim that they only want religious freedom, but by reading their actual materials, one learns that their meaning of religious freedom is nothing less than the enforcement of Christian Biblical law. There is no room for pluralism, and in fact many of them want to reinstate the death penalty for non-compliance. That would apply to any other religion, and also people like me who have none. These people are serious.
Another aspect is that I have touched on peripherally is how they constantly redefine words and phrases into their own meanings. Because of this, they have been very successful at slipping their viewpoints into normal political discourse without betraying their true intentions, and I think there is something deliberate about that approach.
This book has increased my awareness of Christian Reconstructionism and it's influence on American politics, and it has left me more scared, and more than a bit depressed. But I'm glad I've read it.
July 17, 2015
This year has seen two major works from University Presses on Rushdooy and Reconstructionism: McVicar’s and Ingersoll.
Comparisons have to be made with McVicar’s Christian Reconstruction: R.J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2015). For McVicar Rushdoony is the main focus, for Ingersoll he is the background and starting point. Ingersoll was once an insider — she was married (now divorced) to a key Reconstructionist — she is now the Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of North Florida. She focuses at least initially on the more radical Tyler, Texas branch of Reconstructionism and is more critical than McVicar. She concentrates more on the legacy of Rushdoony as seen in Christian education, creationism, biblical economics, the religious right and the revision of Christian American history. She is also more empirically based than McVicar. Ingersoll writes as a sociologist and takes a topical approach, McVicar as a historian and has a more chronological perspective.
Ingersoll’s aim is to ‘trace the Reconstructionist influence on the larger conservative Christian subculture, most especially in the ways in which Reconstructionist language and thinking have made their way into the public discourse and shaped that discourse’. She does this in a balanced way, she recognises that objectivity is ‘ultimately impossible to attain’:
‘There is a difference between trying to understand a worldview and trying to build a case against it (which is, methodologically speaking, the same as trying to build a case for it). I’m not necessarily opposed to case-building, but I think case-building and understanding are different tasks and, frankly, effective case-building starts with real understanding. Thus I reject the idea that people I don’t understand must be “crazy” or “brainwashed,” and I try to avoid “warfare” language and even the tendency to assume that someone I don’t yet understand is being deceptive (that’s not to say I preclude that possibility). So, while I attempt to tone down the rhetoric about Christian Reconstruction, the religious right, and religious nationalism, I don’t dismiss their detractors as conspiracy theorists’ (p 241).
Her approach is one of attempting to understand Reconstructionism and allows the events and writings of Reconstructionists speak for themselves.
She writes of her experience of several conferences including Vision Forum’s Reformation 500 Celebration - where she was asked to leave (one wonders what they were trying to hide). Vision Forum takes the patriarchy theme to its extreme The description of the catalogue split into boys and girls toys would be laughable if it were not so worrying. Vision Forum now no longer exists as its leader Doug Phillips (the son of the US Constitution Party leader) was involved in indiscretions with his children’s nanny.
Another organisation that uses the term vision and has close connections to Rushdoony is American Vision, where Gary DeMar is the president and Joel McDurmon, the cigar smoking, beer drinking, tattooed, research assistant (Chapter 8). The controversial historian David Barton and the Tea Party America’s exceptionalism also come under scrutiny (Chapter 9).
The book doesn’t put to rest the commonly held notion that Reconstructionism is the ‘think tank of the religious right’ but it does show that they are not ‘a dangerous secret society intent on turning the United States into a theocracy’. There’s certainly nothing secret in their approach — many of their older materials are available free on the Internet on Gary North’s website . Including all of the Biblical Blueprint Series which Ingersoll discusses in Chapter 3. (www.garynorth.com/freebooks/)
As Ingersoll’s shows Rushdoony’s views were pushed to extremes, extremes that for some included some extreme forms of violence both mentally and physically, including the execution of abortionists (Chapter 10). She points out ‘In Reconstructionist terms, the religious right is philosophically schizophrenic, so its efforts to return America to its Christian moorings are doomed’ (p2). It does make me wonder how much of his legacy in the religious right Rushdoony would have approved of — and yet as Howard Phillips, of the Constitution party, says: ‘the whole Christian conservative political movement had its genesis in Rush’ (p2).
Ingersoll provides a helpful guide through the Mirkwood of the religious right. For the most part she allows the evidence to speak for it self; she has provided a useful introduction to Rushdoony’s legacy, even if at times he wouldn’t necessarily have agreed with it. She carefully avoids the guilt-by-association approach; as she points out:
‘Little slivers of Rushdoony’s work seem to be everywhere. The Tea Party is not Reconstructionist, nor is it entirely religious, but there are clusters within the Tea Party whose concerns are shaped by the work Rushdoony was doing as early as the 1960s.’
Contents
Introduction
1. Christian Reconstructionist Theology
2. Jurisdictional Authority and Sphere Sovereignty
3. Building a Reconstructed Society: Gary North’s Biblical Blueprint Series
4. Raising a Godly Generation: Christian Schooling
5. Homeschooling for Dominion
6. Creationism, Mythmaking, Ritual, and Social Formation
7. Building a Family Dynasty: Doug Phillips and Vision Forum
8. American Vision and the Repackaging of Rushdoony
9. David Barton, Rushdoony, and the Tea party
10. Christian Recomstruction and Violence
Conclusion
Notes
Index
Originally on http://stevebishop.blogspot.co.uk/201...
Comparisons have to be made with McVicar’s Christian Reconstruction: R.J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2015). For McVicar Rushdoony is the main focus, for Ingersoll he is the background and starting point. Ingersoll was once an insider — she was married (now divorced) to a key Reconstructionist — she is now the Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of North Florida. She focuses at least initially on the more radical Tyler, Texas branch of Reconstructionism and is more critical than McVicar. She concentrates more on the legacy of Rushdoony as seen in Christian education, creationism, biblical economics, the religious right and the revision of Christian American history. She is also more empirically based than McVicar. Ingersoll writes as a sociologist and takes a topical approach, McVicar as a historian and has a more chronological perspective.
Ingersoll’s aim is to ‘trace the Reconstructionist influence on the larger conservative Christian subculture, most especially in the ways in which Reconstructionist language and thinking have made their way into the public discourse and shaped that discourse’. She does this in a balanced way, she recognises that objectivity is ‘ultimately impossible to attain’:
‘There is a difference between trying to understand a worldview and trying to build a case against it (which is, methodologically speaking, the same as trying to build a case for it). I’m not necessarily opposed to case-building, but I think case-building and understanding are different tasks and, frankly, effective case-building starts with real understanding. Thus I reject the idea that people I don’t understand must be “crazy” or “brainwashed,” and I try to avoid “warfare” language and even the tendency to assume that someone I don’t yet understand is being deceptive (that’s not to say I preclude that possibility). So, while I attempt to tone down the rhetoric about Christian Reconstruction, the religious right, and religious nationalism, I don’t dismiss their detractors as conspiracy theorists’ (p 241).
Her approach is one of attempting to understand Reconstructionism and allows the events and writings of Reconstructionists speak for themselves.
She writes of her experience of several conferences including Vision Forum’s Reformation 500 Celebration - where she was asked to leave (one wonders what they were trying to hide). Vision Forum takes the patriarchy theme to its extreme The description of the catalogue split into boys and girls toys would be laughable if it were not so worrying. Vision Forum now no longer exists as its leader Doug Phillips (the son of the US Constitution Party leader) was involved in indiscretions with his children’s nanny.
Another organisation that uses the term vision and has close connections to Rushdoony is American Vision, where Gary DeMar is the president and Joel McDurmon, the cigar smoking, beer drinking, tattooed, research assistant (Chapter 8). The controversial historian David Barton and the Tea Party America’s exceptionalism also come under scrutiny (Chapter 9).
The book doesn’t put to rest the commonly held notion that Reconstructionism is the ‘think tank of the religious right’ but it does show that they are not ‘a dangerous secret society intent on turning the United States into a theocracy’. There’s certainly nothing secret in their approach — many of their older materials are available free on the Internet on Gary North’s website . Including all of the Biblical Blueprint Series which Ingersoll discusses in Chapter 3. (www.garynorth.com/freebooks/)
As Ingersoll’s shows Rushdoony’s views were pushed to extremes, extremes that for some included some extreme forms of violence both mentally and physically, including the execution of abortionists (Chapter 10). She points out ‘In Reconstructionist terms, the religious right is philosophically schizophrenic, so its efforts to return America to its Christian moorings are doomed’ (p2). It does make me wonder how much of his legacy in the religious right Rushdoony would have approved of — and yet as Howard Phillips, of the Constitution party, says: ‘the whole Christian conservative political movement had its genesis in Rush’ (p2).
Ingersoll provides a helpful guide through the Mirkwood of the religious right. For the most part she allows the evidence to speak for it self; she has provided a useful introduction to Rushdoony’s legacy, even if at times he wouldn’t necessarily have agreed with it. She carefully avoids the guilt-by-association approach; as she points out:
‘Little slivers of Rushdoony’s work seem to be everywhere. The Tea Party is not Reconstructionist, nor is it entirely religious, but there are clusters within the Tea Party whose concerns are shaped by the work Rushdoony was doing as early as the 1960s.’
Contents
Introduction
1. Christian Reconstructionist Theology
2. Jurisdictional Authority and Sphere Sovereignty
3. Building a Reconstructed Society: Gary North’s Biblical Blueprint Series
4. Raising a Godly Generation: Christian Schooling
5. Homeschooling for Dominion
6. Creationism, Mythmaking, Ritual, and Social Formation
7. Building a Family Dynasty: Doug Phillips and Vision Forum
8. American Vision and the Repackaging of Rushdoony
9. David Barton, Rushdoony, and the Tea party
10. Christian Recomstruction and Violence
Conclusion
Notes
Index
Originally on http://stevebishop.blogspot.co.uk/201...
March 25, 2023
Julie Ingersoll is a talented researcher and writer. She extensively researched Christian dominionism and Quiverfull ideology. I used this book to write my undergraduate honours thesis on the Quiverfull movement. It was tremendously helpful in presenting my arguments and giving the reader an informed perspective on the far-right factions in North America.
As a former survivor of the Quiverfull, Ingersoll is well aware of how misogynism and the patriarchy enact control over women in the sect. She does an excellent job of presenting the facts while strongly opposing the rhetoric of the faction that enables abuse, violence, and forms of harm against women and children.
My copy of Building God's Kingdom is underlined, dog-eared, highlighted, and sticky tabbed. Ingersoll wrote a robust analysis of the Quiverfull and Christian dominionism. It's challenging to comprehend how individuals can still support this rhetoric when Ingersoll provides clear examples of harm and violence directly caused to women and girls in the Quiverfull.
If you are deconstructing from fundamental Christianity or want to understand better what helped fuel the fire of the alt-right in America, I recommend reading Ingersoll's book.
As a former survivor of the Quiverfull, Ingersoll is well aware of how misogynism and the patriarchy enact control over women in the sect. She does an excellent job of presenting the facts while strongly opposing the rhetoric of the faction that enables abuse, violence, and forms of harm against women and children.
My copy of Building God's Kingdom is underlined, dog-eared, highlighted, and sticky tabbed. Ingersoll wrote a robust analysis of the Quiverfull and Christian dominionism. It's challenging to comprehend how individuals can still support this rhetoric when Ingersoll provides clear examples of harm and violence directly caused to women and girls in the Quiverfull.
If you are deconstructing from fundamental Christianity or want to understand better what helped fuel the fire of the alt-right in America, I recommend reading Ingersoll's book.
July 28, 2015
An exploration into Christian reconstructionism and its profound influence on American Evangelicalism and political conservatism.
The author describes the viewpoints of Rushdoony, North, and other avid proponents of Christian Reconstructionism. She confesses throughout how few actually adhere to all its ideas but does well at showing how many of its tenets, including presuppositional apologetics, its brand of "Christian nation" theology, the attempt to render as Biblical truth the economic theories of the Austrian school, its view toward government, etc., has been taken up by many in Evangelicalism and has framed political debates in America.
An important if not scary book about the pernicious influence of such teaching and teachers.
**--galley received as part of early review program
The author describes the viewpoints of Rushdoony, North, and other avid proponents of Christian Reconstructionism. She confesses throughout how few actually adhere to all its ideas but does well at showing how many of its tenets, including presuppositional apologetics, its brand of "Christian nation" theology, the attempt to render as Biblical truth the economic theories of the Austrian school, its view toward government, etc., has been taken up by many in Evangelicalism and has framed political debates in America.
An important if not scary book about the pernicious influence of such teaching and teachers.
**--galley received as part of early review program
September 3, 2015
An important and eye-opening work
Before reading this book, I'd never heard of Christian Reconstrctionism-- but now I can see its influence everywhere I the struggle between right-wing authoritarianism and progressive pluralism. If you want to understand the thinking (and passionately held beliefs) behind much of Tea Party and religious right conservatism, this book is a great place to start. If you lean toward reason and rationality, if you believe in democracy and social justice, this book will give you an insight into the mind of your enemy. And he is your enemy.
Before reading this book, I'd never heard of Christian Reconstrctionism-- but now I can see its influence everywhere I the struggle between right-wing authoritarianism and progressive pluralism. If you want to understand the thinking (and passionately held beliefs) behind much of Tea Party and religious right conservatism, this book is a great place to start. If you lean toward reason and rationality, if you believe in democracy and social justice, this book will give you an insight into the mind of your enemy. And he is your enemy.
Want to read
February 23, 2016Review here.
December 23, 2022
After starting it on Monday, I flew through Julie Ingersoll's book "Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian Reconstruction" in under a week. This never happens for me - I tend to start books fast, and then slowly trail off towards the halfway point. Not this book. It is, perhaps, one of the most important books of the past decade. Published in 2015, its analysis ends before the Donald Trump era of Republican politics in the United States, and, as such, provides a background to the rising tide of Christian Nationalism in both the United States and Canada. I'm very interested in an update from Dr. Ingersoll, perhaps a second book on how the Christian Reconstruction movement has further entrenched itself in American right wing political culture.
On the Wrath of God
"For these Christians, most of the explicit condemnations in the Old Testament are still applicable. Reconstructionists don’t see them as being outside the “character of God,” as many other Christians might. Moreover, according to Reconstructionists, Christians who find it hard to countenance the God of the Old Testament are guilty of presuming that their own reason is adequate to question the sovereign God who is Lord and Creator of all. To embrace those aspects of God’s character that strike us as angry, harsh, and violent is the very test of obedience. By accepting what God tells us in scripture rather than what seems to our own minds to be right, we humbly acknowledge the limits and contingent character of human reason. To presume to judge God is hubris."
On Personhood Amendments
"Reconstructionists claim that when the civil government overreaches its legitimate biblical authority, the right to resist it is rooted in the authority of God. Titus’s second lecture applied the argument that the Tenth Amendment is the constitutional remedy for what he perceives of as the overreach of the federal government in the form of a strategy to bring about an end to legal abortion through “Personhood Amendments.” Titus’s argument is that while the US Supreme Court did not find a “right to life” in the Fourteenth Amendment, this does not preclude states, under the Tenth Amendment, from establishing a higher standard of protection in their various state constitutions. In his view the federal Constitution does not give the federal government the power to decide when life begins so, based on the Tenth Amendment, states may do so." p. 183
On the Hierarchy of the Family
"Rushdoony is very explicit about this, and he finds in the fifth commandment—“honor thy father and mother that thy days may be long upon the land,”—much more than one might expect. Rushdoony points to Isaiah 3:16–26 as an illustration of what happens when men fail to exercise their God-given prerogative of dominion in the family: “Women rule over men; children then gain undue freedom and power and become oppressors of their parents; the emasculated rulers in such a social order lead the people astray and destroythe fabric of society.” Rushdoony anticipates a future collapse of society like that depicted in Isaiah in which “the once independent and feministic women are humbled in their pride and seek the protection and safety of a man.” His analysis is grounded in essentialized views of gender in which males, by nature, fight for territory and status while females’ instincts are “personal and anarchistic.” He writes, “the woman becomes absorbed with problems of law and order in a personal way, i.e. when her family and her family’s safety are endangered by its decay. The man will be concerned with the problems of society apart from the condition of crisis." p. 43
In Canada, Pastors Joe Boot (Toronto, ON) and Henry Hildebrandt (Aylmer, ON) made use of explicitly Reconstructionist arguments when they refused to close their churches during the COVID pandemic. Indeed, Joe Boot, Pastor of Toronto's Westminster Chapel, who I met in the mid-2000's when he ran the Canadian chapter of (now deceased and disgraced) Ravi Zacharias' Apologetics Ministry, now runs his own publishing house, Ezra Press. There he has published a number of books, including the 696 page "The Mission of God: A Manifesto of Hope for Society" in which he expounds on his presuppositionalist apologetics to claim that the Reconstructionist view of law, theonomy, should be applied to Canada.
I believe that Julie Ingersoll's book should be at the top of the reading list for scholars and lay individuals interested in understanding the very specific and often obscure beliefs and foundations the underlie many of today's Christofascists.
On the Wrath of God
"For these Christians, most of the explicit condemnations in the Old Testament are still applicable. Reconstructionists don’t see them as being outside the “character of God,” as many other Christians might. Moreover, according to Reconstructionists, Christians who find it hard to countenance the God of the Old Testament are guilty of presuming that their own reason is adequate to question the sovereign God who is Lord and Creator of all. To embrace those aspects of God’s character that strike us as angry, harsh, and violent is the very test of obedience. By accepting what God tells us in scripture rather than what seems to our own minds to be right, we humbly acknowledge the limits and contingent character of human reason. To presume to judge God is hubris."
On Personhood Amendments
"Reconstructionists claim that when the civil government overreaches its legitimate biblical authority, the right to resist it is rooted in the authority of God. Titus’s second lecture applied the argument that the Tenth Amendment is the constitutional remedy for what he perceives of as the overreach of the federal government in the form of a strategy to bring about an end to legal abortion through “Personhood Amendments.” Titus’s argument is that while the US Supreme Court did not find a “right to life” in the Fourteenth Amendment, this does not preclude states, under the Tenth Amendment, from establishing a higher standard of protection in their various state constitutions. In his view the federal Constitution does not give the federal government the power to decide when life begins so, based on the Tenth Amendment, states may do so." p. 183
On the Hierarchy of the Family
"Rushdoony is very explicit about this, and he finds in the fifth commandment—“honor thy father and mother that thy days may be long upon the land,”—much more than one might expect. Rushdoony points to Isaiah 3:16–26 as an illustration of what happens when men fail to exercise their God-given prerogative of dominion in the family: “Women rule over men; children then gain undue freedom and power and become oppressors of their parents; the emasculated rulers in such a social order lead the people astray and destroythe fabric of society.” Rushdoony anticipates a future collapse of society like that depicted in Isaiah in which “the once independent and feministic women are humbled in their pride and seek the protection and safety of a man.” His analysis is grounded in essentialized views of gender in which males, by nature, fight for territory and status while females’ instincts are “personal and anarchistic.” He writes, “the woman becomes absorbed with problems of law and order in a personal way, i.e. when her family and her family’s safety are endangered by its decay. The man will be concerned with the problems of society apart from the condition of crisis." p. 43
In Canada, Pastors Joe Boot (Toronto, ON) and Henry Hildebrandt (Aylmer, ON) made use of explicitly Reconstructionist arguments when they refused to close their churches during the COVID pandemic. Indeed, Joe Boot, Pastor of Toronto's Westminster Chapel, who I met in the mid-2000's when he ran the Canadian chapter of (now deceased and disgraced) Ravi Zacharias' Apologetics Ministry, now runs his own publishing house, Ezra Press. There he has published a number of books, including the 696 page "The Mission of God: A Manifesto of Hope for Society" in which he expounds on his presuppositionalist apologetics to claim that the Reconstructionist view of law, theonomy, should be applied to Canada.
I believe that Julie Ingersoll's book should be at the top of the reading list for scholars and lay individuals interested in understanding the very specific and often obscure beliefs and foundations the underlie many of today's Christofascists.
December 15, 2018
Julia Ingersoll is a religion scholar. She has served us all well by providing a thorough, level-headed and well-documented description of the teachings, activities and influence of the Christian Reconstructionists, especially R J Rushdoony and Gary North. Thirty-five years ago I used to read everything they wrote. At that time, I identified as a Christian Reconstructionist myself. Since then, I have moved dramatically away from their confidence in the Bible as "God's blueprint for society." I have many serious disagreements with their agenda, but they have put together a thorough and consistent philosophy of life that will attract followers for generations to come. They will also continue to have a wide-ranging influence throughout Christianity among those who believe in Biblical inerrancy, Christian schoolers, homeschooling families, anti-abortion activists, anti-gay activists and survivalists around the world. Ingersoll has reminded me that I appreciate their critique of statism, which has continued to influence me to this day. We all sense impending doom for Global Capitalism. Christian Reconstructionists are preparing to survive when that collapse happens and to be ready to rebuild society according to "God's divine blueprint."
August 22, 2023
Wow a really insightful and well researched book detailing the rise of Rushdooneyism, an old testament legalist calvanist branch of Protestantism that has been infiltrating America. While there are some good things about Rushdooneyism like support for homeschools, unfortunately the rest is mostly about fear, anger, control and attempts to bring back human blood sacrifice, slavery and genocidal racism of the old testament as well as the patriarchy. it completely ignores Jesus and anything he had to teach, claiming he was just a blood sacrifice. It seeks to do away with charity or helping the poor, It's basically the left hand path, packaged to appeal to Americans unfamiliar with Jesus or his teachings while pretending to be Christian.
Still it's good to know where these ideas came from as they are fairly prominent in the world of far right Christian evangelicals today. Hopefully will help wake some people up to the horrors of Rushdooneyism. Though yeah, gotta take it with a grain of salt, cause homeschooling is still good for example.
Still it's good to know where these ideas came from as they are fairly prominent in the world of far right Christian evangelicals today. Hopefully will help wake some people up to the horrors of Rushdooneyism. Though yeah, gotta take it with a grain of salt, cause homeschooling is still good for example.
October 4, 2025
Oi.
I grew up in the world Ingersoll describes here. I was drawn to this book as part of an effort to trace my spiritual ethnicity, and I found it. I'd never heard of Rushdoony, but many other names and groups mentioned were familiar.
As a young adult, I was excited by the Tea Party movement. I purchased a Don't Tread on Me flag and even spoke at a rally once. One of the highs of that movement was the feeling of impending doom that you were beating back with the light of truth.
Now that I'm on the outside looking in... I just feel the impending doom.
This book is pre-Trump, pre-2020, pre-Project 2025 and pre-Charlie Kirk assassination. Reading with our current context is very bleak.
I grew up in the world Ingersoll describes here. I was drawn to this book as part of an effort to trace my spiritual ethnicity, and I found it. I'd never heard of Rushdoony, but many other names and groups mentioned were familiar.
As a young adult, I was excited by the Tea Party movement. I purchased a Don't Tread on Me flag and even spoke at a rally once. One of the highs of that movement was the feeling of impending doom that you were beating back with the light of truth.
Now that I'm on the outside looking in... I just feel the impending doom.
This book is pre-Trump, pre-2020, pre-Project 2025 and pre-Charlie Kirk assassination. Reading with our current context is very bleak.
August 13, 2019
This book was so difficult for me to read. I needed to try and understand where these people are coming from, but I just can’t. Ignorance is not always bliss, so I decided to plunge in. I still can’t conceive of brain that works this way, but maybe I have a bit more clarity as to their thought process.
November 8, 2019
Theononmy
I learned a lot about the influence of dominion theology and Rushdoony with regards to politics, public education, and postmilleniallism.
I know now where my mom and dad got their theology even if they didn't reference these exact terms. Great book for understanding why the right believe what they believe.
I learned a lot about the influence of dominion theology and Rushdoony with regards to politics, public education, and postmilleniallism.
I know now where my mom and dad got their theology even if they didn't reference these exact terms. Great book for understanding why the right believe what they believe.
November 1, 2017
It is maybe a little generous to say that I read this (skimmed is more accurate) but I still really enjoyed it! Well-written and accessible, very insightful. Ingersoll traces the influences of the Reconstruction movement, which is not as fringe as it might first appear.
January 27, 2025
Fantastic exploration of a Christian extremist movement that seems to have only gained power in the decade since it was written. Truly harrowing stuff, and a future we may be moving towards with recent conservative/religious cultural gains.
June 15, 2019
4.5
This was fascinating and horrifying and I highly recommend it (though it’s a bit on the dry side).
This was fascinating and horrifying and I highly recommend it (though it’s a bit on the dry side).
June 3, 2020
Very useful for understanding the religious right.
May 30, 2025
Felt more like a set of essays than a cohesive book
March 26, 2016
I'm often wary of reading books about religion or religious ideas written by someone who has either left the faith entirely or is no longer a part of the particular movement they write about. Not that their individual stories aren't worth listening to, but often these authors approach the subject with a chip on their shoulder, and sometimes they are unfair or downright insulting in their presentation of their subject matter.
This book interested me because it was reviewed by some other former homeschoolers, and it seemed to cover portions of the beliefs I grew up with. I am still by all accounts a relatively "conservative" Christian, but I grew up with my faith very much entangled with my politics, and in the past several years I've had to work to separate the two.
I feel that, overall, Julie Ingersoll is fair in her handling of Christian Reconstruction. Someone who is still entrenched in or espousing the core of these beliefs would almost certainly be turned off by this book, but I don't think that represents most who grew up with these beliefs.
I think the book description may be unnecessarily inflammatory, as it can present the idea that there's a large subset of Christians who believe homosexuals should get the death penalty, etc., which would be a total straw-man representation of Evangelical Christianity. But that's not really the assertion she makes. She's really more interested in tracing the beliefs that lead to some holding these views, and asserts that the general framework behind those views has influenced far more than the very fringe "death penalty for gays" crowd.
What's interesting to me is how Ingersoll traces the influence of one particular Christian philosopher that I had never heard of, all the way through 50+ years of influence to the present day. She is not making the case that those who subscribe to certain aspects of Christian Reconstruction are purposefully followers of R. J. Rushdoony, but rather that they have been influenced by some of his teachings as they have spread through certain influential conservative Christian writers.
For a personal example: Me>Mom who homeschooled me>Gregg Harris spoke at a conference my mom attended>Gregg Harris quoted Rushdoony in some of his writings
Ingersoll explores the beginnings of Reconstruction, with Rushdoony's teachings, as well as the works of those he influenced, such as Gary North and Greg Bahnsen. She traces this influence to the Christian school movement which later involved the Christian homeschooling movement, and takes a particular look at Vision Forum, as a (now mostly defunct) example of how Reconstruction (also called "Dominion" in some circles) influenced the homeschool movement. Even those of us who see Vision Forum as fairly extreme in their teachings can still admit the aspects of their views that are espoused far beyond their organization. She then traces this influence to the modern-day Tea Party movement.
I grew up in the homeschool movement (K through 12, or "all the way" as we say) and was very much influenced by some aspects of these teachings, even without knowing a thing about Rushdoony or Reconstruction. A while ago I was writing a blog post about homeschooling, and as a contrast I mentioned "government schools." I'd asked my husband to look over the post for me, and out of everything I'd written, he managed to zero in on that term and called it into question. Which I thought was odd... didn't everyone know that public schools are controlled by the government? That's one of several interesting examples of the different ways of thinking between someone like me who was influenced by the Reconstruction ideas of "sphere sovereignty" and someone like my husband, who really wasn't.
So based on my own experience, I really do believe most of what Ingersoll has written, and it has also helped me to better articulate why I take issue with some of the teachings I grew up with, and why my distaste for many of The Christian Right's ideas has grown so much since finishing high school.
Of course, that's not to say I agree with Ingersoll's entire perspective, or that I disagree with certain aspects of Reconstruction that overlap with Christianity in general. Certainly, there are still beliefs associated with Christian Reconstruction that are also associated with other divisions of Christianity at large. But, I felt she was mostly fair in her treatment of the subject matter. She stated that her goal is first to understand, not to pass judgment, and I feel this was accomplished enough so that someone like me, with a background in a movement influenced by Reconstruction, can see the progression of beliefs and influence without feeling like all of my own beliefs are being made light of.
This book interested me because it was reviewed by some other former homeschoolers, and it seemed to cover portions of the beliefs I grew up with. I am still by all accounts a relatively "conservative" Christian, but I grew up with my faith very much entangled with my politics, and in the past several years I've had to work to separate the two.
I feel that, overall, Julie Ingersoll is fair in her handling of Christian Reconstruction. Someone who is still entrenched in or espousing the core of these beliefs would almost certainly be turned off by this book, but I don't think that represents most who grew up with these beliefs.
I think the book description may be unnecessarily inflammatory, as it can present the idea that there's a large subset of Christians who believe homosexuals should get the death penalty, etc., which would be a total straw-man representation of Evangelical Christianity. But that's not really the assertion she makes. She's really more interested in tracing the beliefs that lead to some holding these views, and asserts that the general framework behind those views has influenced far more than the very fringe "death penalty for gays" crowd.
What's interesting to me is how Ingersoll traces the influence of one particular Christian philosopher that I had never heard of, all the way through 50+ years of influence to the present day. She is not making the case that those who subscribe to certain aspects of Christian Reconstruction are purposefully followers of R. J. Rushdoony, but rather that they have been influenced by some of his teachings as they have spread through certain influential conservative Christian writers.
For a personal example: Me>Mom who homeschooled me>Gregg Harris spoke at a conference my mom attended>Gregg Harris quoted Rushdoony in some of his writings
Ingersoll explores the beginnings of Reconstruction, with Rushdoony's teachings, as well as the works of those he influenced, such as Gary North and Greg Bahnsen. She traces this influence to the Christian school movement which later involved the Christian homeschooling movement, and takes a particular look at Vision Forum, as a (now mostly defunct) example of how Reconstruction (also called "Dominion" in some circles) influenced the homeschool movement. Even those of us who see Vision Forum as fairly extreme in their teachings can still admit the aspects of their views that are espoused far beyond their organization. She then traces this influence to the modern-day Tea Party movement.
I grew up in the homeschool movement (K through 12, or "all the way" as we say) and was very much influenced by some aspects of these teachings, even without knowing a thing about Rushdoony or Reconstruction. A while ago I was writing a blog post about homeschooling, and as a contrast I mentioned "government schools." I'd asked my husband to look over the post for me, and out of everything I'd written, he managed to zero in on that term and called it into question. Which I thought was odd... didn't everyone know that public schools are controlled by the government? That's one of several interesting examples of the different ways of thinking between someone like me who was influenced by the Reconstruction ideas of "sphere sovereignty" and someone like my husband, who really wasn't.
So based on my own experience, I really do believe most of what Ingersoll has written, and it has also helped me to better articulate why I take issue with some of the teachings I grew up with, and why my distaste for many of The Christian Right's ideas has grown so much since finishing high school.
Of course, that's not to say I agree with Ingersoll's entire perspective, or that I disagree with certain aspects of Reconstruction that overlap with Christianity in general. Certainly, there are still beliefs associated with Christian Reconstruction that are also associated with other divisions of Christianity at large. But, I felt she was mostly fair in her treatment of the subject matter. She stated that her goal is first to understand, not to pass judgment, and I feel this was accomplished enough so that someone like me, with a background in a movement influenced by Reconstruction, can see the progression of beliefs and influence without feeling like all of my own beliefs are being made light of.
September 15, 2015
Julie Ingersoll has a unique perspective in that she was for years involved in fundamentalist Christianity and even participated in peaceful actions against abortion clinics. Due to the extreme patriarchal nature of that world she divorced and escaped and pursued education in religious studies.
What the book posits is that a very small group of Reconstructionists have had a much greater influence in the larger fundamentalist world than their numbers might suggest. The group's influence extends to pseudo historian David Barton, who has been on a committee on curriculum for Texas' public schools and whose writings are taken as gospel by millions (despite his last book being removed from the shelves by the publisher because even fundamentalist Christian historians said it was a load of bollocks).
Reconstructionist thinking, according to Ingersoll, also heavily influences homeschool curriculum and the concept that the family (with father in charge) is solely responsible for educating children and that public schools are socialist and should be eliminated.
Ingersoll traces this thinking back to R.J. Rushdoony and shows how his writings influenced others over the years.
All in all it's a fascinating look into a world that hardly anyone in the U.S. realizes even exists. The broad Christian world -- including mainline and progressive flavors -- have largely not even heard of Rushdoony, and even some of the fundamentalists who teach his doctrines are unaware of the Reconstructionist origin of their teachings in some cases, according to the author. Their thinking even extends to far-right politicians who are not part of the Reconstructionist thought. But the end goal for the movement is for the U.S. to one day have a majority who share their beliefs -- a multigenerational effort that could take hundreds of years -- at which point their "godly" civil government will work toward their goals and Old Testament crimes will be punished by civil authorities with the punishments given in the Bible.
Personally, I can't wait for their barbaric theocracy to begin. Fortunately, it likely never will come to pass. Maybe this book will help the broader public recognize the Reconstructionists and their goals.
What the book posits is that a very small group of Reconstructionists have had a much greater influence in the larger fundamentalist world than their numbers might suggest. The group's influence extends to pseudo historian David Barton, who has been on a committee on curriculum for Texas' public schools and whose writings are taken as gospel by millions (despite his last book being removed from the shelves by the publisher because even fundamentalist Christian historians said it was a load of bollocks).
Reconstructionist thinking, according to Ingersoll, also heavily influences homeschool curriculum and the concept that the family (with father in charge) is solely responsible for educating children and that public schools are socialist and should be eliminated.
Ingersoll traces this thinking back to R.J. Rushdoony and shows how his writings influenced others over the years.
All in all it's a fascinating look into a world that hardly anyone in the U.S. realizes even exists. The broad Christian world -- including mainline and progressive flavors -- have largely not even heard of Rushdoony, and even some of the fundamentalists who teach his doctrines are unaware of the Reconstructionist origin of their teachings in some cases, according to the author. Their thinking even extends to far-right politicians who are not part of the Reconstructionist thought. But the end goal for the movement is for the U.S. to one day have a majority who share their beliefs -- a multigenerational effort that could take hundreds of years -- at which point their "godly" civil government will work toward their goals and Old Testament crimes will be punished by civil authorities with the punishments given in the Bible.
Personally, I can't wait for their barbaric theocracy to begin. Fortunately, it likely never will come to pass. Maybe this book will help the broader public recognize the Reconstructionists and their goals.
August 25, 2015
http://ensuingchapters.com/2015/08/24...
From Oxford University Press comes the most detailed account of Christian Reconstructionism I’ve come across. In fact, I hadn’t heard of many of the major players in Ingersoll’s insider account. Rousas John Rushdoony? Cornelius Van Til?
The names may be unfamiliar, but their influence lives on in the policies of the Tea Party and the Christian Right.
Ingersoll has a singular view of Reconstructionism. Now a professor of religious studies, she was once a pro-life activist and married into one of Reconstruction’s most influential families. Building God’s Kingdom is neither an outsider’s critique nor an escapee’s expose. From her unique perspective, Ingersoll offers a deep, honest look at the history of the belief, its adherents and rather than editorializing, she lets the movement’s leaders speak for themselves.
This is a fascinating, enlightening read that taught me new things and inspired me to research them on my own. Perusing the teachings of Rushdoony, his continued influence on faith-based politics is apparent.
This thorough study should adorn the nightstand of anyone interested in the intersection of politics and religion.
From Oxford University Press comes the most detailed account of Christian Reconstructionism I’ve come across. In fact, I hadn’t heard of many of the major players in Ingersoll’s insider account. Rousas John Rushdoony? Cornelius Van Til?
The names may be unfamiliar, but their influence lives on in the policies of the Tea Party and the Christian Right.
Ingersoll has a singular view of Reconstructionism. Now a professor of religious studies, she was once a pro-life activist and married into one of Reconstruction’s most influential families. Building God’s Kingdom is neither an outsider’s critique nor an escapee’s expose. From her unique perspective, Ingersoll offers a deep, honest look at the history of the belief, its adherents and rather than editorializing, she lets the movement’s leaders speak for themselves.
This is a fascinating, enlightening read that taught me new things and inspired me to research them on my own. Perusing the teachings of Rushdoony, his continued influence on faith-based politics is apparent.
This thorough study should adorn the nightstand of anyone interested in the intersection of politics and religion.
January 11, 2016
Julie Ingersoll takes the reader on a journey through the origins of Christian Reconstructionism, a movement that aims to turn the United States into a theocracy.
Building God's Kingdom tells the broadstrokes of the history of the theological movement on how it was founded by John Rushdoony, how evolved throughout the years and the impact it had on American culture.
Readers will leave with the experience of having a further understanding of the reasons why the children who are in the home school system come from religious families, the origins of David Barton, who is known for his historical revisionism and why the religious right vote strictly Republican.
Ingersoll carefully organizes her book into different sections in describing Christian Reconstructionism and leaves the reader in the violent implications of what America would look like if Rushdoony's vision were to come to pass.
While Ingersoll points out at the end of the book that it would be highly unlikely that American swill ever have be forced to follow biblical law, she does make a solid argument that readers should know about this topic, because at the end of the day, their actions to further their goal will impact all of us.
Building God's Kingdom tells the broadstrokes of the history of the theological movement on how it was founded by John Rushdoony, how evolved throughout the years and the impact it had on American culture.
Readers will leave with the experience of having a further understanding of the reasons why the children who are in the home school system come from religious families, the origins of David Barton, who is known for his historical revisionism and why the religious right vote strictly Republican.
Ingersoll carefully organizes her book into different sections in describing Christian Reconstructionism and leaves the reader in the violent implications of what America would look like if Rushdoony's vision were to come to pass.
While Ingersoll points out at the end of the book that it would be highly unlikely that American swill ever have be forced to follow biblical law, she does make a solid argument that readers should know about this topic, because at the end of the day, their actions to further their goal will impact all of us.
September 24, 2015
I had no idea that Christian Reconstructionists have their hand in so many pots! This movement has influenced a disturbingly large part of what had become mainstream Protestant Christianity in America. As a homeschooler myself, I want to be sure that I do not fall prey to the fear mongering perpetuated by Reconstructionists which has invaded the homeschool subculture in America. I am grateful for this book. It not only informs; it forces readers to examine how their own lives have been affected by this movement.
December 10, 2015
Много добро изследване от човек, който някога е бил част от едно от влиятелните семейства в християнската реконструкция. Съчетанието на добро научно изследване и личен елемент прави книгата интересна и приятна за четене. Заедно с биографията на Ръшдуни от Майкъл МакВикър, Christian Reconstruction: R. J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism, това е втората първокласна книга за движението издадена в рамките на 2015.
March 28, 2016
Overall, it's a good look at the influence of R.J. Rushdoony and Christian Reconstructionism (Dominionism). If you want to know some of the problems people have with Ted Cruz, Ron Paul, and the Tea Party generally, you'll learn something useful.
The book could have used a more extensive index, and the citations were a bit leaner than I would have liked.
The book could have used a more extensive index, and the citations were a bit leaner than I would have liked.
April 25, 2015
REVIEW TK
April 4, 2016
If you want to understand how the religious right and 2016 GOP got to where it is, start here.
May 18, 2016
Scary and enlightening look at Christian Reconstruction.
Read
January 14, 2018A great look into a small world that carries and has carried a lot of influence. Christian reconstruction is evident in many places and, though some of their thinking could seem like it makes sense, most of it is rather horrifying.
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