Twentieth-Century Plans of Salvation

In this analysis, R.J. Rushdoony reflects on the many “plans of salvation” that dominated the twentieth century—salvation through politics (like Wilson’s world state), education (Dewey’s humanistic schooling), and psychology (Freud and Jung’s redefinition of sin). He argues that all these human-centered approaches have failed to truly define good and evil or transform mankind. As the twenty-first century begins, Rushdoony warns that society continues to reject the biblical solution of salvation by God’s grace, instead embracing statist “grace” in the form of monetary handouts and secular programs. He calls for a renewed focus on the full biblical vision of salvation, encompassing not only individual souls but the regeneration of all life areas under God’s law, urging the church to rise from its provincialism and engage the world’s universal claims with biblical truth.