Bahnsen Affirms Core Tenet of Lancastrian Theonomy
The Lancaster Patriot Podcast
In this episode of The Lancaster Patriot Podcast, Chris Hume examines a key section from Greg Bahnsen’s Theonomy in Christian Ethics in which Bahnsen describes the structure of civil authority under the judges and the kings of Israel. Bahnsen notes that the kings “do not seem to have had legislative power, but they were essentially judges or governors.”
This observation directly supports a core claim of Lancastrian theonomy: the civil magistrate’s duty is adjudication according to God’s revealed Law, not the creation of new laws. Hume walks through why Bahnsen’s historical reading matters for contemporary debates about the magistrate’s role, then addresses a common objection from 1 Samuel 30:25 regarding David’s “statute.”
This episode is dedicated to Matt Doyle, whose consistent engagement with Lancastrian theonomy has helped many others see and embrace the position.
