The Philosophical Roots of Christian Reconstruction - The Chalcedon Podcast - Ep. 16
“Christian Reconstruction” is a school of thought that is diametrically opposed to the autonomous reason of man which itself has long infected Christianity.
- Mark R. Rushdoony ,
- Martin G. Selbrede ,
- Andrea Schwartz
“Christian Reconstruction” is a school of thought that is diametrically opposed to the autonomous reason of man which itself has long infected Christianity.
Today’s Christian assumes that fallen man is an impartial judge over knowledge and reality—that he is “neutral”—and that fallen man can be “reasoned” into faith.
R. J. Rushdoony continued the battle against modern man’s pretended neutrality by building off the thinking of his mentor, Dr. Cornelius Van Til, who himself was developing the implications of the Dutch school that began with Abraham Kuyper.
In this episode of the Chalcedon Podcast, hosts Mark Rushdoony, Martin Selbrede, and Andrea Schwartz share a short history of the Dutch school as well as the implications of this philosophy on modern Christianity.
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- Mark R. Rushdoony
Mark R. Rushdoony graduated from Los Angeles Baptist College (now The Master’s College) with a B.A. in history in 1975 and was ordained to the ministry in 1995.
He taught junior and senior high classes in history, Bible, civics and economics at a Christian school in Virginia for three years before joining the staff of Chalcedon in 1978. He was the Director of Chalcedon Christian School for 14 years while teaching full time. He also helped tutor all of his children through high school.
In 1998, he became the President of Chalcedon and Ross House Books, and, more recently another publishing arm, Storehouse Press. Chalcedon and its subsidiaries publish many titles plus CDs, mp3s, and an extensive online archive at www.chalcedon.edu.
He has written scores of articles for Chalcedon’s publications, both the Chalcedon Report and Faith for all of Life. He was a contributing author to The Great Christian Revolution (1991). He has spoken at numerous conferences and churches in the U.S. and abroad.
Mark Rushdoony lives in Vallecito, California, his home of 43 years with his wife of 45 years and his youngest son. He has three married children and nine grandchildren.
- Martin G. Selbrede
Martin is the senior researcher for Chalcedon’s ongoing work of Christian scholarship, along with being the senior editor for Chalcedon’s publications, Arise & Build and The Chalcedon Report. He is considered a foremost expert in the thinking of R.J. Rushdoony. A sought-after speaker, Martin travels extensively and lectures on behalf of Christian Reconstruction and the Chalcedon Foundation. He is also an accomplished musician and composer.
- Andrea Schwartz
Andrea carries out a number of administrative duties at Chalcedon, putting much attention on promoting Chalcedon through social media and conferences. A main focus includes her direction of the Chalcedon Teacher Training Institute (ctti.org) -- online classes in Biblical law for women. She began working for Chalcedon as a volunteer in 1987 and has been on staff since 1992.