Law & Liberty

by Rousas John Rushdoony

All law is based upon morality, and morality is itself based upon religion. Therefore, when the religion of a people is weakened, so also is its morality undermined. The result is a progressive collapse of law and order, and the breakdown of society.

Men, though, see law as a limitation on their liberty, and Christianity is held to be the most restrictive with its emphasis upon Biblical law as the foundation for morality and liberty. Humanistic man wants total liberty, but he does not realize that total liberty leads only to total anarchy, and that leads to the death of law and liberty. Unless every man’s liberty is limited by law, no liberty is possible for any one.

In this concise volume, R. J. Rushdoony expounds on the central themes of the application of Biblical law to every area of life. This book is a great starting point to understanding Rushdoony’s larger expositions on Biblical law.

Genres: Theology, Politics, Law, Christian, Philosophy, Cultural, Christianity

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Rousas John Rushdoony was a Calvinist philosopher, historian, and theologian and is widely credited as the father of both Christian Reconstructionism and the modern homeschool movement. His prolific writings have exerted considerable influence on the Christian right.

Reviews

[Peter Bringe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a good job of showing that true liberty cannot be separated from God's law. It is also a good introduction into the thinking and writing of R.J. Rushdoony.

[J. Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read again in 2024. Still good.

Rushdoony is so based. Should be required reading for all, much foresight as with most of the books I’ve read by Dr. Rushdoony. Being in law enforcement, I believe all cops (especially Christian cops) should read this book. It lead me into a deep dive in assessing and thinking critically about what is Biblically just and lawful from an enforcement and prosecutorial standpoint. Over the course of months and years, books like this have aided me in shifting various aspects of what I believe is Biblically just and enforceable and on the flip side, what is merely feeding and financing the overreaching state. I now “police” within the grounds of policy (mostly) but refuse to enforce that which scripture would not deem just to enforce. Law and order would look much cleaner these days if we, police officers, regarded our calling and ministers of justice from the standard that Christ truly is King and not Caesar. Much appreciation for this book and the rabbit trail it lead me down.

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a "Canon Calls" interview, when pressed to recommend an entry point for his father's writing, Mark Rushdoony suggested this one, and I heeded his counsel. Some really sharp insights here. I'd've pulled and posted more quotes, but I was up to my elbows in chicken for much of the time I was listening. Here's the one I did manage to snag: "Man is a sinner, and he is no less a sinner when he becomes a civil official, but rather more potentially or ably a sinner." Not the only foundational principle for understanding the topic, but certainly one of them. And it pairs well with the Scripture he quoted a number of times: "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it."

Loved the narrator's accent.

[Tim Zornes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent application of God's word as applicable to all forms of government. The chapters on the family are particularly good. Freedom does not truly exist apart from God's law word. Liberty is defined by the law of God, so those who rebel against it, though they pursue liberty, will find only slavery.

[Alexis Kirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going out with a banger!🎓🎓🎓

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

As advertised, this is an excellent introduction to the thought of Rushdoony. It's main weakness is that it is a collection of thirty-two short essays on a variety of topics--many of them interrelated. But, being an introduction, he never delves very deeply on any single idea.

Rushdoony has a very controversial and often polarizing reputation, but I found myself in near unanimous agreement with everything in the book. Most orthodox Christians that have given much thought to the issues would likely agree with most of his conclusions in this short work.

This is a great place to start into the thought of Rushdoony and his cohorts.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

INCREDIBLE!! I want to buy a whole box of full of this book so I can give away, Mr. Rushdoony is so good at putting things into words - things I've merely thought of in passing, but was unable to articulate well. This is a very helpful book, it even forced me to reconsider some things I've held to. Very thought-provoking. Here's a good quote:

"Leninism cannot be fought by men who mistake war for negotiations and a battle for a debate, and who cannot recognize when and where they are being attacked. The Western liberal pays lip service to a few Christian ideas, holds to a Marxist environmentalism, and an English parliamentarianism. Like the mule, he is a hybrid, and just as sterile. The future can never be commanded by men who cannot command the present. The times call for Christian faith and realism; nothing less can command the day."
- R. J. Rushdoony, in his book Law and Liberty

[Aaron Slack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to theonomy in general and Rushdoony in particular.

[London Tiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for an introduction to theonomic ideas. It is broken into small 2-6pg lectures so you can read it like a devotional if you choose

[Jeremy]

2020 review (mostly negative) by Keven DeYoung.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book is an excellent primer on the relationship between law and liberty, as the title indicates. So much of the culture today believes that law is a hindrance to their liberty (or as they like to call it today, "freedom"). Unfortunately, such a view is self-destructive, as it is the law that provides the limits upon human depravity, and teaches the standard of righteousness by which men may flourish together. The Founding Fathers of our own nation wanted us to be governed by laws rather than men, because they understood the sovereign nature of law, and its Sovereign backing--even if they were not orthodox and pious Christians.

[Paul Leavitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful compilation of short essays/articles by R. J. Rushdoony, which means that they are all somewhat disconnected from one another, but they're arranged in such a way to give a sort of consistency and flow to the book. The advantage to this layout is that this will be a tremendous reference book. The titles are descriptive, so a quick read through the table of contents will quickly lead one to a chapter of relevance. I would highly recommend this book.

[Rkeddins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent brief reading for those thinking about political involvement. It can help in avoiding the pitfalls of the many political movements/orders. It exposes the dangers of libertarianism, conservatism, and liberalism.

[Raimund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rushdoony does an excellent job of showing how the law in general and Biblical law specifically relate to our everyday lives and how we then should live knowing that our redemption is in Christ but our new live is now governed by living for God.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise is that all law has a moral base; therefore, all attempts at legislation by definition legislate morality.

You won't find anything new in here that you didn't already see in Institutes.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the plus side of good.

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente!

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theonomy applied to some current issues in society. Not bad. Rushdoony kind of wierds me out, though I can't quite put my finger on why.

[Joshua · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a pretty good primer to his book The Institutes Of Biblical Law. If you have already read that book, however, then I don't recommend reading this one as it will be somewhat repetitive.

[eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically you need to read this & I need to read it again.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy, I think I've read this no less than three times already. Probably more.

[Jason Garwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Caiden Capaldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in the day. Super duper good. Rushdoony challenges the modern notions of what Liberty means, stating that true Liberty can only be experienced in a community that acknowledges the law of God. He lays a foundation of what a truly just society would look like.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has an interesting history as part of the intensely prolific writings of this fairly typically prolific Theonomist writer. Given originally as a series of radio addresses in the 1960's, these books give a fair picture of the somewhat pointed relationship that Theonomists tend to have with people regarding issues of faith and politics. Although it is not uncommon for me to read or reflect upon God's laws or humanistic corruptions of law [1], I tend to do so from a far different perspective than that of this author. After all, those who tend towards the postmillennial optimism of the author and others like him are faced in the difficult position where they must continually rake others over the coals concerning the political systems of this world. Those who believe in a premillennial return of Jesus Christ to destroy the regimes of this world and set up a godly one under His rule have no such burden of engaging this world's corrupt political systems as rivals, because such regimes have an expiration date. In large part, this approach accounts for a great deal of the stridency this work has concerning our existing political order. That is not to say that the author is wrong, but rather that this book lacks the charity that comes from viewing the political systems of this world as being consigned to the dustbin of prophecy.

The almost two hundred pages of this book consist of thirty-two short chapters that revolve around questions of biblical law and politics. Throughout the book the author reflects upon such questions as the inescapable nature of legislating morality, the sanctity of life, pornography, and the relationship between law and nature, the future, authority, chaos, evolution, alchemy, academic freedom, magic, government, and property. The author spends quite a bit of time talking about the family and its functions and relations to property, the relationship between custom and morality, and some fiercely critical comments against Communism and socialism. You're not going to go to a work by Theonomists, not even as accessible as this one, for warm and fuzzy encouragement. There is a certain strident tone and harshness that comes through loud and clear here that will likely convince readers that the authors lack the milk of human kindness and the love that is to mark genuine disciples of God. This is a fair criticism, but for those who are not offended by the brusque tone of the author, there is a great deal that can be gained here.

My own view of this book and others like it, and the uses to which I put these books to, is a sharpening of my own logic and rhetoric concerning God's laws. This book does not contain a great deal of scriptural exegesis, nor is it concerned with a great deal of the specific case law of the Old Testament, although it is referred to at least in passing. Instead, this is a work on political philosophy and straightforwardly so. Do not read this book if you want to find out what God's law says. The author certainly knows a lot about that subject, for it makes up the material to three volumes of material, but this book is not about God's laws but rather the tendency of our contemporary political system to rebel against divine authority. This is a work on political philosophy, a sweeping and fierce condemnation of the existing political order. None of this makes for particularly pleasant reading, but it is of worth, even if one would wish that the author and others like him would spend more time in confessional mode and less time in accusatory mode. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, after all, is not a verse that is cited here and its spirit is not to be found in these pages. Wherever one is convicted of sin, though, with regards to the relationship between God's laws and the authority of civil government, this book can certainly be of use to the tough-minded Christian with a high view of God's law and a low view of our corrupt political establishment.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...

[Douglas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Firmly anti-Enlightenment -- it includes discussions of Rushdoony's interpretations of "alchemy" and "magic" and has little good to say of democracy and liberalism -- except it has room to insist upon the biblical requirement of libertarian capitalism, with primacy of private property, no right to tax (the limits are unclear), a full-throated defence of nepotism, and very small government. No public schools, commercial always superior to academic, and so on. Marxism/socialism/communism is a frequent target which makes sense given its times, but it marks anything that does not fit its bible-directed worldview as itself heading toward Marxist/totalitarian. Condemns relativism in favour of biblical inerrancy, but as with any such claim it becomes, who's inerrancy? A literal 6 days? Old or New Testament? Death as the punishment for adultery? (this in fact seems to be the case as the stated biblical requirement goes unquestioned).

There is no actual discussion of what society would actually be like. "Liberty" in the title is within the context of "law", which is of course a truism outside of pure anarchy. But "liberty" is not what Rushdoony really means in making a society, unless perhaps in the contradictory sense slave-holding Framers may have meant, the freedom to construct a society with a particularly strong impositional worldview. For Rushdoony this means that people have the liberty to be fully his kind of Christian fundamentalists. The citizens of Islamic Republics have similar "liberty" to live in a society that ensures that a particular form of their religion is practiced as intended. I cannot see how a society constructed in Rushdoony's terms would be any different, and it seems this is what Rushdoony is actually after.

No difference from how Iran has been run since its Islamic revolution. Does that in any way look like a society that Americans should be hoping for? Because many of them are. It’s just a different god, but no less oppressive, just as fundamentalist, just as misogynistic. Read the positive reviews here, nearly all by men. They do not like you. They do not like you having your freedoms. They do not like you proudly being different. Even if you become just like them, will you feel “free”? Do you think their families feel free, particularly the women? People in Iran are "free" according to the exact same kind of definition. Yuck.

Really: what would a society run according to Rushdoony's interpretations actually be like? It is not pluralistic, not democratic, tolerates only (large) heterosexual families, does not allow divorce, probably tolerates slavery (it's biblical), and there's probably a lot of death penalties and stonings and hand-chopping. This is the society being endorsed here. Simply read the book. It’s all there.

I'm glad to have read this given Rushdoony's importance to current Protestant fundamentalism, but I hate knowing how many find its content sensible and its kind of society aspirational.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of transcribed radio commentaries which accounts for their brevity, I think. Rushdoony looms large over the evangelical homeschool movement, in part, for his virulent Calvinist reliance upon the Angry Law God of the Old Testament.

I really wish Christians would leave the Old Testament alone. They do not understand stand it, only read the Cliff Notes version, and it leads them to think they can out-jew the Jews. But the Old Testament is not for Christians. Its not their book.

Anyway.

Rushdoony argues that all "Law" is based on God's Commandments. "Law" is "Morality" codified. Therefore, "Law" is constantly being undermined by Sinner Man's wily ways. Whether it is Science, Democracy, Humanism, Marxist, Soviet Communism, public schools, free press (which he names "pornography"), willful individualization, etc. all these are systems of denying God's Authority. By assigning mankind a primacy over himself, God is disobeyed and man soon finds himself living under TOTALITARIANISM.

It would be funny if it were not such dangerously influential. "Totalitarianism" is the punch line to all his jokes. It is the natural state of all "fallen" men. All those who turn their backs on the God and God's system of Moral Law. Nothing really new there, right?

Well, there are new and exciting ways that society has invented to help man burn in the living hell of godless lawlessness. Freedom and Democracy, for instance. The war on Marriage (yes, before the gheys, this was a thing!). Humanitarianism of any kind. The "welfare" state. Any sort of "statism" at all. FREEDOM or EQUALITY of any sort leads man to sin and therefore, say it with me - TOTALITARIANISM!

All those are purely evil, yet, nepotism (supporting strong family ties), famine (created by socialism), blaming children for their abuse (its not the parent's fault with such a willful child) are held up as models of God's Morality. Anger, vengeance, and Judgement are the pornography that animate Rushdoony's pitiful necrophiliac thinking.

Rushdoony, you old panic queen, what will you think of next?

[Nicholas Villarreal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Successfully establishes that all law is based upon a particular morality. The book contrasts Biblical law with secular humanistic law and how true liberty and freedom can only be understood in the context of the Christian worldview. You cannot separate true liberty from God's law.

We must understand that the purpose of the law is to restrain the evil of men, not to regenerate men; only the Holy Spirit can do that. When this understanding is lost in a society, oppressive laws are passed that assume the inherent goodness or neutrality of man supposing that a better society can be achieved through better law.

Much of the book applies this understating to all areas of life from politics, the family, the state, education, etc.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that tells you basics you ought to know but never really are in the books about the basics. Rushdoony understood Socialism, knew its beating heart, knew where it wants to go. He also really understood the Scriptures and God's order. The result is a book that will transform your view of liberty and the threat to it.

Loved it.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection of essays on title subject. Rushdoony sets a clear dichotomy with atheistic/humanistic thinking and show how Biblical Christianity provides for a true foundation for the basis of law and provision of liberty. Some of the essays are a bit dated and a collection of essays doesn't allow for chapters building upon one-another, which are this book's primary shortcomings.

[Brian Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich and consistent scholarship.