Thread by @dianabutlerbass

Prof @julieingersoll has been researching & writing about the connections between these small, hyper-conservative Presbyterian (NOT the mainline Presbyterians) groups and radical right-wing theocratic politics & potential for violence.

https://twitter.com/dukekwondc/status/1122848780502614018

The most extreme forms of a theology known as "Christian Reconstruction" that argues biblical law must replace the Constitution grew from the work of Rousas John Rushdoony, who was, for a time, an OPC minister.

Rushdoony left the OPC in 1970, but his work spread through small, conservative Presbyterians denominations through the influence of seminary professors, publications, and (most especially) networks of home-schooling.

The influence of Xian Reconstruction in these churches has been a matter of conflict & argument among conservative Reformed leaders. They know HOW influential it is -- and it is sometimes denounced -- but since the 1970s it has been a constant undertow in this subculture.

And has provided much of the intellectual fire-power in the religious right -- mostly through relationships, resources, and loose networks.

Rushdoony was a Holocaust denier.

A Reformed critic says of his views: "that he held this position speaks volumes about his appalling incompetence as a historian, and one can only speculate as to why he held the position from a moral perspective… "

And Rushdoony lived in California -- where his think tank and institute still spread Christian Reconstruction.

Please spare us "sobering and troubling" about the Poway shooting. The ideas inspiring the alleged shooter come directly from a long argument abt theological ideas deep w/i this church community.

"Evil and heretical" would be a better response than "sobering and troubling."

Strongly recommend reading Julie Ingersoll's "Building God's Kingdom" from Oxford U Press. amazon.com/Building-Gods-…