Theonomy (from Greek theos "God" and nomos "law") is a hypothetical Christian form of government in which society is ruled by divine law. Theonomists hold that divine law, particularly the judicial laws of the Old Testament, should be observed by modern societies. The precise definition of theonomy is the presumption that the Old Covenant judicial laws given to Israel have not been abrogated, and therefore all civil governments are morally obligated to enforce them (including the specific penalties). Theonomy holds that all civil governments must refrain from coercion if Scripture has not prescribed their intervention (the "regulative principle of the state"). Theonomy is distinct from the "theonomous ethics" proposed by Paul Tillich. Origin Thomas Aquinas held, "if a sovereign were to order these judicial precepts to be observed in his kingdom, he would not sin." Some have mistakenly referred to that as "General Equity Theonomy" but it is in fact distinct from theonomy insofar as Aquinas believed the specifics of the Old Testament judicial laws were no longer binding. He instead taught that the judicial precepts contained varying degrees of universal principles of justice that reflected natural law. In Christian reconstructionism, theonomy is the idea that God provides the basis of both personal and social ethics in the Bible. Theonomic ethics asserts that the Bible has been given as the abiding standard for all human government (individual, family, church, and civil) and that biblical law must be incorporated into a Christian theory of biblical ethics' Some critics see theonomy as a significant form of dominion theology, which they define as a type of theocracy. Theonomy posits that the biblical law is applicable to civil law, and theonomists propose biblical law as the standard by which the laws of nations may be measured and to which they ought to be conformed. Goals Various theonomic authors have stated such goals as "the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics," exclusion of non-Christians from voting and citizenship, and the application of Biblical law by the state. Under such a system of biblical law, homosexual acts, adultery, witchcraft, and blasphemy would be punishable by death. Propagation of idolatry or "false religions" would be illegal and could also be punished by the death penalty. More recent theonomic writers such as Joel McDurmon, former President of American Vision, have moved away from this position, stating that these death penalties are no longer binding in the new covenant.