Date
5-20-2026
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Apologetics (PhD)
Chair
Steve Lemke
Keywords
Ruscism, Russo-Ukrainian war, social ontology, divine institutions, dispensational political theory, geopolitics, Aleksandr Dugin, fourth political theory, Dasein, Großraum, рашизм, Олександр Дугін, четверта політична теорія, геополітика, диспенсаціоналізм, Александр Дугин, четвертая политическая теория, геополитика
Disciplines
Political Science | Religion
Recommended Citation
Miles, Paul, "Refuting Ruscism: A Critique from Biblical Social Ontology" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8522.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8522
Abstract
This dissertation argues that the ideology of Ruscism is incompatible with biblical Christianity on the basis of God’s design for the individual, the family, and the country. Indeed, the extent of incompatibility between these two worldviews renders any attempt to syncretize them a significant departure from biblical Christianity. God’s design for society is an absolute standard by which political ideologies may be evaluated, and these three societal units will suffice to demonstrate that Christians must reject Ruscism.
This dissertation will describe these three societal units—the individual, the family, and the country—as they are described in biblical Christianity and contrast their biblical descriptions with those found in Ruscist sources. Ruscism is the worldview of Russian fascism, which is characterized by a desire for a few great powers instead of many distinct countries, an emphasis on group identities over great expanses, and compatibility with the Russian Orthodox Church’s interfaith mission of symphonia with the Russian state. It is also the ideological basis for Russia’s genocide of the Ukrainian people as part of its great struggle against the West. Biblical Christianity posits that humans are designed to be a part of each of the three societal units—the individual, the family, and the country—by God’s design. As will be seen, the Bible makes authoritative claims to the absolute nature of these units, while Ruscism allows for more subjective cultural definitions through traditions.
