Sin and Virtue

In Sin and Virtue, R.J. Rushdoony dismantles the ancient and enduring myth that virtue lies in simplicity and poverty, while sin resides in wealth and luxury. He argues that this false doctrine—found in Rome, socialism, primitivism, and modern ecological and political ideologies—misidentifies the root of evil, locating it in material conditions rather than in the heart of man. Scripture, by contrast, teaches that sin is man's rebellion against God, not his possessions or lifestyle. Thus, neither wealth nor poverty produces virtue; only the grace of God in Jesus Christ does. According to Rushdoony, clinging to humanistic definitions of sin and virtue leads to cultural suicide, whether through utopian redistribution or a romanticized return to primitivism.