"Great book. At age 58, and someone who embraces Reformed theology, I was surprised to find myself shaken by the fear of God while reading this book. May God grant us as Christians repentance and faith to demand a return to the perfect law of God in America ."
— Michael Sawyer
"With God’s grace, God Is Just: A Defense Of The Old Testament Civil Laws will be used to bring American Christians to repentance and back to honoring God’s Word through their daily decisions."
— Buddy Hanson, Grace and Law Christian Worldview Resource Center
"'God is Just' covers a very important set of topics: the applicability of God's law to civil society. Contrasting the perfection of God's law with the tyranny of modern law, Stephen Halbrook presents a well-reasoned and well documented case for God and His law.
"No one, including myself, will agree with everything in the book (I disagree with his cavalier dismissal of the levirate and land laws, for example; as well as his entire treatment of female slaves) but that must be expected in a book of such length. These books all must be more of the beginning of a discussion than the be all and end all.
"This book should prove useful both as an introduction for those Christians who are confused or uninformed about the role of God's law in civil society and a valuable resourced for those of us already committed to the theonomic thesis."
— Vaughn Ohlman, The Practical Theonomist
Hardcover version
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About God is Just: A Defense of the Old Testament Civil Laws: Biblical Theocracy, Justice, and Slavery versus Humanistic Theocracy, "Justice," and Slavery
About the Author
Steve C. Halbrook writes for, and manages, the blog Theonomy Resources. He holds an M.A. in Government from Regent University’s Robertson School of Government (2008), with a focus on biblical civil government. Halbrook’s master’s thesis was “God is Just: A Defense of the Old Testament Civil Laws,” which this book is an expansion of.
Chapter 12: Authority for Criminal Punishment
Part Three: Biblical Slavery versus
Humanistic Slavery
Bibliography
Scripture Index
Read excerpts in our archive here.
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About God is Just: A Defense of the Old Testament Civil Laws: Biblical Theocracy, Justice, and Slavery versus Humanistic Theocracy, "Justice," and Slavery
This book is a defense of biblical civil law, on topics despised not only by humanists, but by professing Christians. It is, in short, theonomic apologetics. God is Just takes our culture and its attacks on the Bible to task. It defends biblical theocracy, justice, and slavery, and cuts humanistic opposition down to size by its own self-destructive foolishness, and, most importantly, by the sword of God’s word.
In addition, the book includes appendices defending theonomy biblically and historically, as well as appendices refuting alternative political philosophies.
God is Just includes contributions from two of the most prolific next-generation theonomic writers, Buddy Hanson and Daniel F. N. Ritchie. Hanson (of Grace and Law Resource Center) wrote the forward, and Ritchie (of Reformed Worldview Books) wrote an appendix.
Additionally, the second edition includes a new appendix by Vindiciae Legis, who gives an excellent historical treatment of the theonomic views of the Westminster divines. Legis has previously written defenses of historical theonomy for Theonomy Resources.
About the Author
Steve C. Halbrook writes for, and manages, the blog Theonomy Resources. He holds an M.A. in Government from Regent University’s Robertson School of Government (2008), with a focus on biblical civil government. Halbrook’s master’s thesis was “God is Just: A Defense of the Old Testament Civil Laws,” which this book is an expansion of.
Table of Contents:
Forward (by Buddy Hanson)
Introduction
Forward (by Buddy Hanson)
Introduction
Part One: Biblical Theocracy versus
Humanistic Theocracy
Humanistic Theocracy
Chapter 1: What is Biblical Theocracy?
Chapter 2: Biblical Theocracy is not Ecclesiocracy
Chapter 3: Humanistic Church/State Fallacies
Chapter 2: Biblical Theocracy is not Ecclesiocracy
Chapter 3: Humanistic Church/State Fallacies
Chapter 4: The Neutrality Myth
Chapter 5: The Tyranny of “Neutrality”
Chapter 6: “Neutrality” Condemned by the Bible
Chapter 11: Only Two Theocratic Choices
Part Two: Biblical Justice versus
Chapter 6: “Neutrality” Condemned by the Bible
Chapter 7: All Law is Religious
Chapter 8: All Law is Theocratic
Chapter 9: Is Biblical Theocracy “Christian Fascism”?
Chapter 10: Faith and Imposition
Part Two: Biblical Justice versus
Humanistic "Justice"
Chapter 12: Authority for Criminal Punishment
Chapter 13: Eye for Eye
Chapter 14: Questioning God’s Justice
Chapter 15: Primitive Humanistic Injustice
Chapter 15: Primitive Humanistic Injustice
Chapter 16: Purge the Land
Chapter 17: Privacy “Rights”
Chapter 17: Privacy “Rights”
Chapter 18: “Controversial” Capital Sanctions: Blasphemy
Chapter 19: “Controversial” Capital Sanctions: Seduction to Idolatry
Chapter 20: “Controversial” Capital Sanctions: Sabbath-Breaking
Chapter 21: “Controversial” Capital Sanctions: Rebellion Against Parents
Chapter 22: “Controversial” Capital Sanctions: Sodomite Acts
Chapter 22: “Controversial” Capital Sanctions: Sodomite Acts
Chapter 23: Old Testament Capital Punishment Methods
Chapter 24: The Question of Abuse
Chapter 24: The Question of Abuse
Part Three: Biblical Slavery versus
Humanistic Slavery
Chapter 25: Old Testament Slave LawsChapter 26: The Rod and Abuse
Part Three Epilogue: The One True Liberator
Conclusion
Chapter 27: Humanistic Criticisms of Biblical Slavery
Chapter 28: Slavery Inescapable
Chapter 29: What About Racism?
Chapter 30: Enslavement to God versus Enslavement to the State
Chapter 31: Humanists Seek to Enslave Others
Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix A: The Biblical Basis for the Old Testament Civil Code’s Abiding Validity
Appendix B: Answering Objections to Keeping the Old Testament Civil Code Today
Appendix C: What About Natural Law?
Appendix D: Conservatism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, and Moderatism
Appendix E: The Christian Right
Appendix F: Is the Rape of an Unbretrothed Virgin a Capital Offense?
Appendix G: The Bond of Law: A Theonomic Reply to “The Bond of Love” (by Daniel F. N. Ritchie)
Appendix H: Understanding the Westminster Confession of Faith, Section 19.4, on the Judicial Law and General Equity (by Vindiciae Legis)
Bibliography
Scripture Index
Read excerpts in our archive here.
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About the Second Edition
We did not originally intend to release a second edition so soon. However, after deciding to change printing companies, we thought we'd go ahead and make a few updates in the process.
Besides some minor editorial changes, the main difference between the first and second edition is that the second edition has a textbook-style cover (as opposed to the first edition's removable cover), a Scripture index, and an appendix that addresses section 19.4 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. (Those who have the first edition can download the appendix here.)
Also, in Appendix B, there are improvements to the refutation of the argument that says that since Christ's kingdom is not of this world, Christianity has nothing to do with civil government.
(Note: the second edition has a significant page increase from the first edition [it is now around 650 pages],pages do not coincide with the content of the first edition's pages.)
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Media
Also, in Appendix B, there are improvements to the refutation of the argument that says that since Christ's kingdom is not of this world, Christianity has nothing to do with civil government.
(Note: the second edition has a significant page increase from the first edition [it is now around 650 pages],pages do not coincide with the content of the first edition's pages.)
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Media
Book review by a reader, Spencer Cory
A preview of God of Just by Jerry Johnson in his "Against the World" series
Halbrook discusses the importance of the Old Testament civil laws on the Colin Gunn show
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