Sin as Deprivation
A very powerful and influential interpretation of the doctrine of sin in our day says that sin is not due to an evil will but to deprivation. Thus, we are told that children are delinquent because they’ve been deprived of love and of a good environment. We are told moreover that the criminal is a product of deprivation. Every social problem that we face has a like answer. It’s not an evil heart, not a depraved heart but simply that this or that person has been deprived of certain things.
- R. J. Rushdoony
A very powerful and influential interpretation of the doctrine of sin in our day says that sin is not due to an evil will but to deprivation. Thus, we are told that children are delinquent because they’ve been deprived of love and of a good environment. We are told moreover that the criminal is a product of deprivation. Every social problem that we face has a like answer. It’s not an evil heart, not a depraved heart but simply that this or that person has been deprived of certain things.
- R. J. Rushdoony
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.