Gary Kilgore North (February 11, 1942 – February 24, 2022) was an American writer,

Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian schoo ...

economic historian Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...

, and leading figure in the Christian reconstructionist movement. North authored or coauthored over fifty books on topics including

Reformed Protestant Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...

theology,

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. He was an Associated Scholar of the Mises Institute. He is known for his advocacy of biblical or "radically libertarian" economics and also as a theorist of dominionism and

theonomy Theonomy, from ''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 ...

. He supported the establishment and enforcement of Bible-based

religious law Religious law includes ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, ...

, a view which put him in conflict with other libertarians. He believed that

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

is appropriate punishment for male

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, blasphemy,

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, and

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

Early life and education

North was born in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, on February 11, 1942, and grew up in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

, the son of

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

special agent Samuel W. North Jr. and his wife Peggy. North converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in high school and, after attending a rally where anti-communist activist Fred Schwarz spoke, began frequenting conservative book-stores in the Los Angeles area during his college years. Between 1961 and 1963, while an undergraduate student at

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, North became acquainted with the works of Wilhelm Röpke, Rose Wilder Lane, Cornelius Van Til,

economists Eugen Böhm von Bawerk,

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and Sociology, sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberali ...

, F. A. Hayek and

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...

, and also read the works of

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

philosopher

Rousas John Rushdoony Rousas John Rushdoony (April 25, 1916 – February 8, 2001) was an American Calvinist philosopher, historian, and theologian. He is credited as being the father of Christian Reconstructionism and an inspiration for the modern Christian hom ...

. Later he married Rushdoony's daughter, collaborated with him and eulogized Rushdoony in a blog post on LewRockwell.com.

Career

Starting in 1967, North became a contributor to the libertarian journal '' The Freeman'' where he had first read the work of

and

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...

. In the 1970s, he was the director of seminars for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). North received a PhD in history from the

in 1972. His dissertation was ''The Concept of Property in Puritan New England, 1630–1720''. He served as research assistant for libertarian

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Congressman Ron Paul in Paul's first term (1976). North was a regular contributor to the

LewRockwell.com Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit dedicated to ...

website, which lists an extensive archive of his articles there. North's own website, Garynorth.com, posts commentary on religious, social, and political issues and offers paid access to investment advice and other premium content. North also published a blog called ''Deliverance from Debt'' which provided advice about relief from debt. Another North website, "Free Christian Curriculum", seeks to provide a free Christian homeschooling curriculum for children from age 3 through grade 12.

Ron Paul curriculum

In addition, North offered the ''Ron Paul Curriculum'', a home school online curriculum associated with former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, which is free for grades K–5 and available to paid members from grades 6–12. As director of curriculum development, North outlined four goals of the educational project: providing a "detailed study" of the "history of liberty"; teaching a "thorough understanding of Austrian economics"; serving as "an academically rigorous curriculum that is tied to primary source" material rather than textbooks; and teaching "the Biblical principle of self-government and personal responsibility", which North called "the foundation of the market economy".

Christian, Bible-based economic methodology

North wrote that the "starting point for all economic analysis" lies in accepting that "God ascursed the earth" in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...

3:17–19; this "made scarcity an inescapable fact of man's existence". In his 1982 ''Dominion Covenant: Genesis'', North wrote that mainstream modern economics, whether libertarian, conservative or liberal, is "in disintegration" because it is "humanist" in its approach and consequently rejects the notion that "biblical revelation" is necessary for sound economic theory. He also wrote that economics "must begin with the iblicalstory of creation" if it is not to collapse into "total chaos".''Dominion Covenant: Genesis''
Institute for Christian Economics, June 1982.

Proposed "Christian theocratic" political and social order

A 2011 article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' identified North as a central figure in

Christian reconstructionism Christian reconstructionism is a fundamentalist Calvinist theonomic movement. It developed primarily under the direction of Rousas Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen and Gary North and has had an important influence on the Christian right in the United ...

, the philosophy which advocates the institution of "a Christian theocracy under Old Testament law sthe best form of government, and a radically libertarian one." North wrote: "I certainly believe in biblical theocracy." The article also described North as "the leading proponent of 'Christian economics,' which applies biblical principles to economic issues and the free market." North supported the abolition of the

fractional-reserve banking Fractional-reserve banking is the system of banking operating in almost all countries worldwide, under which banks that take deposits from the public are required to hold a proportion of their deposit liabilities in liquid assets as a reserve, ...

system and a return to the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the l ...

. According to the ''Times'', North believed that the Bible forbids inflation, welfare programs, and also writes that "God would prefer gold money to paper".

Range of capital offenses

North favored

for a range of offenders, including murderers, blasphemers, children who curse their parents, male homosexuals, and other people who commit some of the acts deemed capital offenses in the Old Testament.Gary North, ''Boundaries and Dominion'' (1994)
chapter 23
(North believed that the death penalty for sabbath breaking and some other crimes no longer applies.) North stated that the biblical admonition to kill homosexuals in the

Book of Leviticus The book of Leviticus (, from grc, Λευιτικόν, ; he, וַיִּקְרָא, , "And He called") is the third book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and of the Old Testament, also known as the Third Book of Moses. Scholars generally agree ...

is God's "law and its morally appropriate sanction", arguing that "God is indeed a homophobe" who "hates the practice f homosexualityand those who practice it" and "hates the sin and hates the sinner."Gary North
Boundaries and Dominion: An Economic Commentary on Leviticus
(2nd ed., Vol. 1, p. xxvi; 221), 1999. North said that capital punishment should be carried out by

stoning Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. The Torah and Ta ...

, because it is the biblically approved method of execution and it is cheap due to the plentiful and convenient supply of stones.

Religious liberty

North said: "We must use the doctrine of

religious liberty Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.""Invitation to a Stoning: Getting cozy with theocrats"
by Walter Olson, ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

'', November 1998, pages 1 and 2 Adam C. English suggests that this quote implies that "religious liberty is a useful tool to Christians in the present, yet is ultimately to be denied to anyone who is not Christian once the Christians are in power". English argues that although this may seem inconsistent (advocating religious liberty but denying the reality of the notion), North and his fellow reconstructionists understand "liberty" in a theological sense. According to the reconstructionists, "anyone outside of the Christian faith is in bondage," and so "government by rigorous theonomy is not oppressive but liberating".

Y2K

North was also a prominent promoter of exaggerated predictions of computer failure from the

Year 2000 problem The year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K problem, Y2K scare, millennium bug, Y2K bug, Y2K glitch, Y2K error, or simply Y2K refers to potential computer errors related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates in and after ...

(Y2K) during the late 1990s, earning him the nickname "Scary Gary." His main website became dominated by links to extremist predictions for Y2K damage, including widespread collapse of governments and financial institutions. North declared on his home page that Y2K "may be the biggest problem that the modern world has ever faced" and labeled 2000 as "The Year the Earth Stands Still". Critics said the motivation for North's predictions was linked to his Christian reconstructionist aims, which require widespread

societal collapse Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of socioeconomic complexity, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible cause ...

to set the stage for a new theocratic order. North made the connection explicit in communications with fellow reconstructionists: "The Y2K crisis is systemic. It cannot possibly be fixed. I think it will wipe out every national government in the West. Not just modify them—destroy them...That is what I have wanted all my adult life. In my view, Y2K is our deliverance."

Death

North was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017, and underwent treatment for about five years. He died in

Dallas, Georgia Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2010, was 11,544. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for ...

, on February 24, 2022, at the age of 80.

Publications

Institute for Christian Economics

North was the founder of the Institute for Christian Economics (ICE), which publishes online books and magazines focusing on Christian ethics. ICE, along with Dominion Press in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

, are important sources for reconstructionist publications.

Books and newsletters

North authored or coauthored more than fifty books, many of which are available for free download. For many years, North was the author and editor of the newsletter ''The Remnant Review''. He also provided ''Gary North's Reality Check'', a free e-newsletter. Back Issues of Gary North's Reality Check
accessed July 27, 2013.

Documentary and educational film

* ''Unknown History of the 20th Century'' (DVD) (2006)

References

External links

*
Biography and works by North
at Mises Institute
Digitized books by Gary North
at

The Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several feat ...

* – video by North, fo
Lowest cost colleges
which links t
Zero debt degrees
{{DEFAULTSORT:North, Gary 1942 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Writers from California University of California, Riverside alumni American bloggers American Calvinist and Reformed theologians American economics writers American finance and investment writers American libertarians American male non-fiction writers American Presbyterians Austrian School economists Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Christian reconstructionism Christian libertarians Dominion theology Mises Institute people American male bloggers Bible commentators