Shows / Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Faith and Action is the complete collection of the essays of R. J. Rushdoony written for the Chalcedon Report between 1965 and 2001 along with several transcripts of his recorded talks. The large volume The Roots of Reconstruction only contained his Chalcedon Report essays up until 1985, so most of the essays included in Faith & Action were unavailable to readers for many years until now.
Episodes
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Are We Using Language to Confuse Ourselves?
In “Are We Using Language to Confuse Ourselves?” Rushdoony warns that statist categories especially the IRS distinction between “profit” and “nonprofit” have…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Towards a Biblical Economics
In “Towards a Biblical Economics,” Rushdoony argues that economics cannot exist as an autonomous or religiously neutral sphere but must be grounded in the…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Economics of Death
In “The Economics of Death,” Rushdoony argues that modern economics is driven by a present-oriented, debt-based, and fundamentally death-loving worldview that…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Reacting Instead of Acting
In “Reacting Instead of Acting,” Rushdoony warns that emotional outrage and vigilante responses, however understandable, are no substitute for Biblical…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Jesus and the Tax Revolt
In “Jesus and the Tax Revolt,” Rushdoony argues that Christ’s command to “render unto Caesar” rejects tax revolt as a Biblical strategy, not because Caesar was…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
What Is Law?
In “What Is Law?” Rushdoony argues that modern legal theory has deliberately severed law from God, redefining it as the will of the state or the product of…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Social Unrest
In “Social Unrest,” Rushdoony argues that rising crime and disorder are not primarily the result of increased evil, but of the collapse of godly restraint…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Fifth Amendment
In “The Fifth Amendment,” Rushdoony argues that the constitutional protection against self-incrimination is not a loophole or technicality but a deeply…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Two-Cow, No-Cow Justice
In “Two-Cow, No-Cow Justice,” Rushdoony exposes a false concept of justice rooted in envy rather than God’s law, illustrated by a missionary account from China…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Restitution
In “Restitution,” Rushdoony argues that restitution stands at the very heart of Biblical justice, grounding both God’s law and Christ’s atoning work in the…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Injustice in the Name of Justice
In “Injustice in the Name of Justice,” Rushdoony contends that modern society loudly proclaims justice while systematically denying its very foundation by…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Social Justice
In “Social Justice,” Rushdoony argues that modern social justice is not a Biblical concern but a humanistic doctrine rooted in the self-deification of…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Modern State, an Ancien Regime
In “The Modern State, an Ancient Regime,” Rushdoony argues that the modern humanistic state is not a new creation but a revival of ancient pagan sovereignty…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Justice and the State
Our prisons have become breeding grounds for violence and extortion, as illustrated by a young man murdered for refusing to pay $5 a week to a gang in Los…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Necessity Versus Law
In “Necessity Versus Law,” Rushdoony exposes how the ancient pagan maxim “necessity knows no law” steadily replaced God’s law as the governing principle of…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Natural Law
The world is facing a banking crisis fueled by massive international debt, with trillions owed by “Third World” and communist states, threatening global…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Power of Heresy
In “The Power of Heresy,” Rushdoony warns that false belief often proves more influential than faithful theology, using Marcion as a historic example of how…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Freedom Under God’s
Too often, we let fear of words charges of racism or bigotry paralyze us while taxpayers fund groups that fail obligations yet sue the government and receive…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Law and Sin
In “Law and Sin,” Rushdoony argues that God’s law addresses real, completed acts of sin rather than attempting to prevent evil through coercive control…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Covert Theonomists
There is evidence of a real return to faith in the United States, particularly within evangelical churches, which have grown significantly from 1972 to 1982…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Covenants and Law
In “Covenants and Law,” Rushdoony argues that the church’s abandonment of God’s covenantal law in favor of humanistic law has fueled the suicide of Western…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Abelard
Through our taxes, we are unwitting patrons of the arts, funding millions for projects many consider frivolous or objectionable erotic shows, feminist…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Autonomous Man
In “Autonomous Man,” Rushdoony argues that modern humanism seeks an autonomous universe—independent of God, law, and covenant—replacing God’s justice with…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Detente
U.S. foreign aid and loans often fund oppressive regimes, military projects, and even human-rights abuses abroad, effectively financing tyranny, slavery, and…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Selling Out Christ
In “Selling Out Christ,” Rushdoony warns that modern churches risk betraying Christ by surrendering their independence to the state through licensure…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The New War on Religion
History is made by people, not abstract “social forces”; men and women of faith and action shape events, drive progress, and give purpose to civilizations…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Humanism and Christ’s Kingdom
In “Humanism and Christ’s Kingdom,” Rushdoony argues that modern humanistic statism is waging a covert but aggressive war against Christ’s Kingdom by…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The War Against Christ’s Kingdom
Concerns about “book banning” in U.S. schools are often misrepresented; parents may object to certain books for moral or educational reasons, while libraries…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Cultural War
In “The Cultural War,” Rushdoony argues that history is defined by an irreconcilable conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of man, a conflict…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Christ Versus Satan
Those in positions of responsibility deserve fair compensation, but when civil officials use taxpayer money for extravagant personal benefits like $85,000…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Necessary Future
In “The Necessary Future,” Rushdoony argues that history is moving inexorably toward the collapse of statism, a faith that has repeatedly sought to replace God…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
We Are at War
The passage argues that trade controls and protectionism ultimately harm consumers more than they help producers. While some domestic industries may complain…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Van Til’s Christian-Theistic Ethics
In “Van Til’s Christian Theistic Ethics,” Rushdoony argues that Cornelius Van Til’s 1947 work provides a powerful theological foundation for an eschatology of…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
A Letter on Logic and Idolatry
The passage argues that deficit spending is both economically and morally harmful. Economically, running annual deficits accumulates national debt, threatens…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Dr. Cornelius Van Til
Cornelius Van Til is presented as a watershed figure whose thought confronts every thinker with an unavoidable ultimatum: begin and end with the triune God of…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Van Til I Knew: An Interview With R.J. Rushdoony
This passage argues that the United States does not have a permanent dynasty of wealth. While some inherited fortunes exist, the majority of the richest…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Moral Paralysis
In “Moral Paralysis,” Rushdoony argues that modern society is increasingly incapable of decisive moral action because it has abandoned belief in absolute truth…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Abortion
This passage emphasizes that the primary caregivers for the poor in the U.S. are not government agencies, but private and voluntary institutions. The family…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Moral Disarmament
In “Moral Disarmament,” Rushdoony argues that before societies are conquered politically or militarily, they are first defeated morally, as distinctions…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Epistemological Self-Consciousness
In “Epistemological Self-Consciousness,” Rushdoony argues that every worldview must eventually face the implications of its own foundations, and that atheism…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Kwan-Yin Versus Christ
In “Kwan-Yin Versus Christ,” Rushdoony contrasts Biblical Christianity with the relativistic, equalitarian impulse he traces to Eastern religions, arguing that…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Relativism
This passage argues that fears of overpopulation and overpollution are largely myths. Citing Dr. Julian L. Simon’s The Ultimate Resource, it emphasizes that…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Moral Force
In “Moral Force,” Rushdoony argues that all lasting authority rests not on brute power but on moral force rooted in faith, and that when societies abandon…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Smiling Face of Evil
In “The Smiling Face of Evil,” Rushdoony warns that evil rarely appears brutal or grotesque but commonly presents itself as kind, helpful, idealistic, and…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Abominations
In “Abominations”, Rushdoony explains that Scripture’s strong language about sin reflects God’s holiness and justice, not vulgarity or excess, and that the…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Blind Faith
In “Blind Faith” (Chalcedon Report No. 419), Rushdoony argues that Darwinism functions not as proven science but as a massive act of blind faith, embraced…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Humanism and Education
In “Humanism and Education” (Chalcedon Report No. 54), Rushdoony argues that modern vandalism, campus unrest, and the collapse of public education are not…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Exaggeration and Denial
This passage argues that the courts, rather than serving justice, have increasingly become instruments of relativism and majority rule, often harming victims…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
The Disastrous War
In “The Disastrous War” (Chalcedon Report No. 369), Rushdoony argues that the American Civil War was the greatest tragedy in U.S. history, not only because of…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Hostility to Christianity
This passage critiques the uncritical glorification of science and technological enhancements, using the “bionic man” as a symbol of this trend. The author…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Depending on Evil
In “Depending on Evil” (Chalcedon Report No. 112), Rushdoony argues that modern states consistently trust and support evil regimes because corruption is…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Justice and Authority
This passage explores the origin and meaning of the word nag, tracing it from its Scandinavian roots meaning “to gnaw, bite, or burrow” to its modern sense of…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
History
In “History” (Chalcedon Report No. 108), Rushdoony argues that history is not merely a record of past events but the remembered past shaped by faith, memory…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
History
In “History” (Chalcedon Report No. 108), Rushdoony argues that history is not merely a record of past events but the remembered past shaped by faith, memory…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Loss of the Past
In “Loss of the Past” (Chalcedon Report No. 320), Rushdoony argues that modern society’s deliberate forgetting and moralizing distortion of history has severed…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Anti-Christianity on the Rise
In a 1993 Chalcedon Report, R.J. Rushdoony warned of rising anti-Christian hostility in America, tracing it to Supreme Court decisions eroding Biblical…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Dream of Total Justice
This passage examines how well-intentioned social and labor programs can be exploited, often favoring the wrong parties. The “Burglar Cops of Hollywood” case…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Doing Nothing
In “Doing Nothing” (Chalcedon Report No. 159), Rushdoony argues that Western society’s failure to resist tyranny is not intellectual confusion but religious…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Crusading
This passage critiques the modern legal system’s focus on technicalities over substantive justice. Minor procedural errors, once considered irrelevant, now…
- Faith and Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony, 1965-2004
Children’s Crusade
In “Children’s Crusade” (Chalcedon Report No. 152), Rushdoony argues that the belief in the natural innocence and saving power of children is a recurring…