Comprehensive Faith 1
Blog

Comprehensive Faith, A

This is the surprise Festschrift presented to Rev. R.J. Rushdoony at his 80th birthday celebration in April, 1996. These essays are in gratitude to Rush's influence and elucidate the importance of his theological and philosophical contributions in numerous fields.

Hardcover

Mark R. Rushdoony
Andrea G. Schwartz
  • Mark R. Rushdoony
  • , Andrea G. Schwartz
  • View More Authors
  • Joe Morecraft, III
  • Jean-Marc Berthoud
  • Samuel L. Blumenfeld
  • Herbert W. Titus
  • Ian Hodge
  • P. Andrew Sandlin
  • Thomas Schirrmacher
  • Christine Schirrmacher
  • Ellsworth McIntyre
  • Steve M. Schlissel
  • Steven Perks
  • Brian M. Abshire
  • Byron Snapp
  • Owen Fourie
  • David Estrada-Herrero
  • Howard Phillips
  • Theodore P. Letis
Share this

This is the surprise Festschrift presented to Rev. R.J. Rushdoony at his 80th birthday celebration in April, 1996. These essays are in gratitude to Rush's influence and elucidate the importance of his theological and philosophical contributions in numerous fields. This book was produced as a "top-secret" project by Friends of Chalcedon and donated to Ross House Books. It is sure to be a collector's item one day.

The impetus behind these essays constitutes not merely profound gratitude for the unparalleled godly influence of R. J. Rushdoony, but also the endeavor to elucidate and employ Rushdoony’s foundational thinking in numerous spheres.


Mark R. Rushdoony
  • 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. His biography of his father will be published later this year (2024).

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 has lived in Vallecito, California, since 1978.  His wife, Darlene, and he have been married since 1976. His youngest son still resides with him. He has three married children and nine grandchildren.

More by Mark R. Rushdoony
  • Joe Morecraft, III

Dr. Joseph C. Morecraft, III, is a preacher of the gospel and a noted lecturer on contemporary political and historical trends in the United States and world at large. He is the founding pastor of Chalcedon Presbyterian Church (RPCUS) located near Atlanta, Georgia. He is married to the former Rebecca Belcher of Haysi, Virginia, who is a writer and an accomplished singer. They have four children and two grand-daughters.

More by Joe Morecraft, III
  • Jean-Marc Berthoud

Jean-Marc Berthoud was born in 1939 in South Africa from Swiss missionary parents and lives in Lausanne, Switzerland. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Arts with Honors degrees from the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the editor of the review Résister et Construire, president of the Association Vaudoise de Parents chrétiens in Switzerland, and of the Association Création, Bible et Science, and is the author of numerous books.

More by Jean-Marc Berthoud
  • Samuel L. Blumenfeld

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 DigestReasonEducation Digest, Boston Magazine, Vital Speeches of the DayPractical Homeschooling, Esquire, and many others.

More by Samuel L. Blumenfeld
  • Herbert W. Titus

Mr. Titus practices law in association with Troy A. Titus, P.C., in Virginia Beach, Virginia and is of counsel to the law firm of William J. Olson, P.C. of McLean, Virginia. He specializes in constitutional litigation and appeals.

More by Herbert W. Titus
  • Ian Hodge

Ian Hodge, Ph.D. (1947–2016) was a long-term supporter of Chalcedon and an occasional contributor to Faith for All of Life. He was also a business consultant in Australia, USA, Canada, and New Zealand, and a prominent piano teacher in Australia.

More by Ian Hodge
  • P. Andrew Sandlin

P. Andrew Sandlin is a Christian minister, theologian, and author.  He is the founder and president of the Center for Cultural Leadership in Coulterville, California.  He was formerly president of the National Reform Association and executive vice president of the Chalcedon Foundation.  He is a minister in the Fellowship of Mere Christianity.. He was formerly a pastor at Church of the Word in Painesville, Ohio (1984-1995) and Cornerstone Bible Church in Scotts Valley, California (2004-2014).

More by P. Andrew Sandlin
  • Thomas Schirrmacher
More by Thomas Schirrmacher
  • Christine Schirrmacher

Christine Schirrmacher (born 1962), M.A., Dr. phil. (Ph.D.), in Islamic Studies at the State University of Bonn, Germany, is married to Thomas Schirrmacher, the mother of two children, and lecturer of Islamic Studies at Martin Bucer Seminary Bonn and Hamburg. She is also professor and head of the department of Islamic studies at Whitefield Theological Seminary, Lakeland, Florida. She is author of a two-volume standard introduction to Islam, as well as of books and numerous articles published in German, English, French, and Dutch magazines. She can be reached at [email protected].

More by Christine Schirrmacher
  • Ellsworth McIntyre
More by Ellsworth McIntyre
  • Steve M. Schlissel

Steve Schlissel has served as pastor of Messiah's Congregation in Brooklyn, New York, since 1979. Born and raised in New York City, Schlissel became a Christian by reading the Bible. He and Jeanne homeschooled their five children  and also helped raise several foster children (mostly Vietnamese). In 2003, they adopted Anna (who was born in Hong Kong in 1988, but is now a U.S. citizen). They have eight foster grandchildren and fourteen "natural" grandchildren.

More by Steve M. Schlissel
  • Brian M. Abshire

Rev. Brian Abshire, Ph.D. is currently a Teaching Elder associated with Hanover Presbytery. Along with his pastoral duties, he is also the director for the International Institute for Christian Culture, has served as an adjunct instructor in Religious Studies at Park University and is a visiting Professor of Comparative Religion at Whitefield College.

More by Brian M. Abshire
  • Byron Snapp

Byron Snapp is a graduate of King College (B.A.) and Reformed Theological Seminary (M.Div.). He was Associate Pastor at Calvary Reformed Presbyterian Church, Hampton, Virginia, from 1994 until his retirement in December 2014. He is a native of Marion, Virginia.  He has had pastorates in Leakesville, Mississippi, and Gaffney, South Carolina.  He served as Assistant Pastor in Cedar Bluff, Virginia prior to his ministry at Calvary Reformed. He has served as editor of the Presbyterian Witness and was a contributor to A Comprehensive Faith and Election Day Sermons. He is currently a member of Westminster Presbytery in the PCA. He and his wife Janey have 3 children and several grandchildren. 

More by Byron Snapp
  • David Estrada-Herrero
More by David Estrada-Herrero
  • Theodore P. Letis
More by Theodore P. Letis