The Recovering Reconstructionist

[This is PART 2 of 2] "Your body is evil." "You are in sin for thinking a woman is beautiful." "Your wife is a legal way you can lust." "You are responsible for a man's sin." These are just some of the things that cause the identity crisis that Purity Culture has created in an entire generation.

[This is PART 1. Part 2 will be released in November] "Your body is evil." "You are in sin for thinking a woman is beautiful." "Your wife is a legal way you can lust." "You are responsible for a man's sin." These are just some of the things that cause the identity crisis that Purity Culture has created in an entire generation.

Recons would rather look through a dark glass with all of their human efforts - straining to move mountains, give to the poor, speak with tongues of men and angels, and give their very bodies to be burned - rather than have anything to do with the true definition of love. God's grace, for the recon, is something that can spoil you if you cling onto it too dearly, rather than something that transforms you the more you cling to it.

Many times, recons twist Scripture to get it to say what they want it to say. But other times, if a recon wants to do something, they will do anything they have to do to get there - even if it means do the complete opposite of what Scripture says. When push comes to shove, they are always their own law.

Not anywhere near to being an exhaustive explanation of what Christian Nationalism is, but this is a brief overview of how it why it is difficult to define, the groups of Christians it applies to, and how it relates to Theonomic Reconstructionism. The narrative of Christian Nationalism becomes the justification for a plethora of evil.

What is an image bearer of Christ? According to Scripture and most Christians' understanding, an image bearer is a human being. We were created in His image and are the best creatures to show forth Christ's essence. For the recon, however, people can't bear Christ's image anywhere near as beautifully as inanimate objects or institutions can.

What does a recon really think about A Priori knowledge? What about the concept of personal boundaries? Is there a difference between "Giving Up" and "Letting Go"? How do they regard the mentally impaired? ...all this and more is explored, dissected, and mourned in this episode.

This is part 2 of 2. If a recon talks to you about "tactics" for reconstructionism, it amounts to political salvation. It never amounts to spreading the gospel message or caring about individuals.

Sorry it's a late release! It's worth the wait... This is part 1 of 2. If a recon talks to you about "tactics" for reconstructionism, it never amounts to actual tactics. It only amounts to knowing something should be done. But it never amounts to an actual blueprint of what to do.

There are two extremes in the recon community: artificial worth and artificial worthlessness. Your value isn't found in Christ and the fact that God made you in His image. It is found in your performance. To them, it is possible that one can commit either enough sins or a bad enough to be beyond the reach of redemption. They'll deny all of that, but in practice, that's exactly what it is.

There's a reason Recons exit: They were trying to address a problem of apathy in the church, and they took it too far. But let's talk about that apathy for a moment. It's actually just two sides of the same legalistic coin. Recons can't do enough to earn salvation. The other extreme wants to know how little they can get away with doing while still remaining saved. Neither side comes from a place of loving Christ.

Sorry for skipping October's episode - I had no laptop for almost two months due to repairs, so I couldn't work on anything! Recons are so taken up with judging others and cleaning up this earthly institution that they don't bother to rejoice because their names are written in heaven. ...This is just yet another one of the incredible results of their godless Christianity.

Theonomic Reconstructionism is similar to Fundamentalism. Both guilt trip people's beavior. Fundamentalists usually have rules that aren't in Scripture, while Reconstructionists usually have a different angle... One inconsistency with reconstructionists is that they often comment on insignificant behavior, while being silent on huge things that a brother in Christ should offer loving council concerning, like not getting addiction help, or having an affair. How can those extremes coexist?

It's not what they claim it is. The dangers are subtle and will many times lead to other problems you are likely familiar with. The observations on this podcast are primarily addressing the sect found within conservative Christianity and mainly within Reformed Presbyterianism/Calvinism, but many of these Reconstructionist doctrines are also found among liberal Christian denominations and non-Presbyterians, and the outworkings might look slightly different there.