Tools of Dominion

Gary North, Tools of Dominion (Institute for Christian Economics 1990).

From Mr. North:

This is a fat book. . . . Thin and medium sized books have their rightful place in initiating social transformations. But to maintain such a transformation, there had better be some fat back-up books on the shelf. ‘What should we do now?’ the initially victorious revolutionaries inescapably ask. Fat books provide the answers.

Gary North, Tools of Dominion 2, 3 (Institute for Christian Economics 1990).

While the fatness (1216 pages, plus indices) of this book makes it a poor candidate for summer beach reading or tucking into the suitcase for that weekend getaway, it is an interesting resource.

Dr. North covers every American cultural hot-button, from slavery to prisons to pollution to oaths to poverty and much more, and discusses each in the light of Old Testament law. His sharp edge will offend many, and his theonomic perspective and Christian Reconstructionism will put off a few more. In the end, however, there are few books that make the effort at taking seriously the case laws and commands of the Old Testament in relation to the modern cultural crisis of law and morals. This fat book makes that effort, though North’s judgments “differ from the common judgment” and may “cause offence to the godly.” Id. at 24 (quoting Richard Baxter, A Christian Directory (1673)). The general index and scripture index make it usable as a reference work, despite its radical conclusions.