America the Theocracy 

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As Jerry Falwell -- not technically a Reconstructionist because of theological nuances, but a preacher who generally follows the movement's tactical plan for creating a Christian government -- proclaimed earlier this year, "God is pro-war." And, Atlanta's Rev. Charles Stanley, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and another dominion theology tagalong, was among the first in line wanting to dispatch his missionaries alongside American troops in Iraq.

Stanley wrote last year, "God favors war for divine reasons and sometimes uses it to accomplish His will." That, of course, is balm to the neo-conservatives in the Bush administration.

As for the Reconstruction economy, it would be a libertarian's dream -- as long as biblical laws, such as prohibiting usury, were adhered to.

DeMar said last month, "There's much (libertarian talk-show host) Neal Boortz and I agree on." Primarily, government isn't needed when it comes to economic issues.

Unions would be illegal, as would any government role in workplace safety. Employers could discriminate for any and all reasons. Minimum wage, unemployment benefits, Social Security, welfare -- all history. Adios environmental protection laws, as well as regulation on who can call themselves a physician or lawyer.

Public schools are anathema. One of the great successes of Reconstruction has been promoting home-schooling programs. Home schooling is much broader than Reconstruction, of course. But Illinois Reconstructionist Paul Lindstrom has devised texts used by tens of thousands of home-schooling families.

The arena that generates the most attention -- and shock -- is dominion theology's radical plans to make capital punishment part of America's daily routine.

Ringgold's Don Boys -- who as a one-term Indiana state official in the 1970s authored legislation that restored capital punishment there -- spoke cheerfully of a time when Americans will witness 10,000 executions a year. And Gary North suggests the method -- stoning -- because rocks are "cheap, plentiful and convenient." Reconstructionists also favor other biblical forms of execution -- burning, hanging and the sword.

Sins suitable for execution are those mentioned in the Old Testament. Interestingly, although male homosexuals would be among the first in line for the Reconstructionists' gallows, lesbians would be exempted because no specific reference to executing them can be found in the Books of Moses.

Acts of the Apostles
Don't dismiss the dominion theologians and their movement as fringe. Christian Reconstruction "has been the driving force behind the Christian right for some time," says Daniel Levitas, an Atlanta author who follows extremist groups, many of whom, such as the racist "Christian Identity" sects, have found succor in the words of Rushdoony and his disciples.The movement holds sway over a broad spectrum of conservative religion, and its power extends throughout local and federal governments. George Bush, for example, has called Reconstructionist Marvin Olasky "compassionate conservatism's leading thinker." Olasky, according to the New York Times, was one of Bush's "original advisers" on the creation of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives -- but became a critic after the agency's first director sought to rein in taxpayer-paid-for proselytizing.

Reconstruction's spread is a classic case of "tentacle influence," says Bill Berkowitz, a California journalist who has reported on Reconstructionists' stealth attack on that state's politics. One of the beneficiaries of the movement was California Sen. Tom McClintock, much of whose funding and campaign strategy came from Reconstruction heavyweights. McClintock was a moving force behind the recall of Gov. Gray Davis. The senator finished third in the election to replace Davis.

"I'm not saying everyone involved in conservative religious politics is a Reconstructionist," Berkowitz says. "But, obviously, their ideological footprints overlap. You could argue that Rushdoony had no political following per se. But he had believers who carried his message into the political world."

Gary North in 1989 candidly described his mission: "The long-term goal of Christians in politics should be to gain exclusive control over the franchise. Those who refuse to submit to the eternal sanctions of God ... must be denied citizenship, just as they were in ancient Israel."

Marietta's Pastor Morecraft in 1993 proclaimed that the government he wants to create has this as its primary purpose: "Terrorize evil-doers. ... Bring down the wrath of God to bear on all those who practice evil."

In America's South, there's fertile ground awaiting Reconstruction's seeds. The region is deeply suspicious of the federal government, and Southerners have long had churches that defended their ideals -- and prejudices. With Reconstruction, there's a special, if ugly, attraction: overt and unapologetic racism.

Rushdoony wrote in 1973, "All men are not created equal; the facts ... make clear that they are not equal," and "Segregation and separation is thus a basic principle of biblical law."