394. Interview with Sam Blumenfeld

Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916–2001), was a leading theologian, church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical law to society. He started the Chalcedon Foundation in 1965. His Institutes of Biblical Law (1973) began the contemporary theonomy movement which posits the validity of Biblical law as God’s standard of obedience for all. He therefore saw God’s law as the basis of the modern Christian response to the cultural decline, one he attributed to the church’s false view of God’s law being opposed to His grace. This broad Christian response he described as “Christian Reconstruction.” He is credited with igniting the modern Christian school and homeschooling movements in the mid to late 20th century. He also traveled extensively lecturing and serving as an expert witness in numerous court cases regarding religious liberty. Many ministry and educational efforts that continue today, took their philosophical and Biblical roots from his lectures and books.

Samuel L. Blumenfeld (1927–2015), a former Chalcedon staffer, authored a number of books on education, including NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education,  How to Tutor, Alpha-Phonics: A Primer for Beginning Readers, and Homeschooling: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching Children. 

He spent much of his career investigating the decline in American literacy, the reasons for the high rate of learning disabilities in American children, the reasons behind the American educational establishment’s support for sex and drug education, and the school system's refusal to use either intensive phonics in reading instruction and memorization in mathematics instruction.  He lectured extensively in the U.S. and abroad and was internationally recognized as an expert in intensive, systematic phonics.  His writings appeared in such diverse publications as Home School Digest, Reason, Education Digest, Boston Magazine, Vital Speeches of the Day, Practical Homeschooling, Esquire, and many others.

Carlo DiNota holds a B. A. from Villanova University and an MA in English from New York University. He is executive director of Literacy Unlimited, Inc. and is a former Roman Catholic high school English teacher and Yonkers (NY) city councilman. He resides in Boston and can be reached at [email protected].

Mark succeeded his father, R. J. Rushdoony, as President of Chalcedon in 1998. He oversees Chalcedon's publishing arm of Christian Reconstruction literature, under the banner of Chalcedon/Ross House books and Storehouse Press.  Mark has ensured that his father's works remain in print and remains committed to publishing the remaining unpublished works. He manages the Chalcedon ministry and preaches at Chalcedon Chapel in Vallecito, CA.