Showing posts with label CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM. Show all posts
Friday, September 04, 2026
Monday, August 31, 2026
Monday, August 03, 2026
The Summer of Taking Christian Nationalism Seriously
MEGAN FOWLER
Presbyterians and Lutherans, among others, voted at annual conventions to study how to respond to the political movement.
CHRISTIANITY TODAY
JULY 30, 2026
Sollina Images / Getty
At denominational gatherings across the country this summer, one topic of conversation has been a near constant: Christian nationalism.
Denominations discuss and debate a wide range of subjects at their annual conventions, occasionally making headlines, as Southern Baptists did in June with a vote to ban women from preaching. But among Baptists, Presbyterians, and other evangelical groups, a quieter work has been underway in committees and working groups as churches grapple with how to address growing efforts to marry Christianity with the tools of government.
At its annual synod in June, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) voted to form a Christian nationalism study committee that will present a report in 2028. The same month, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) heard a partial report from a Christian nationalism study committee it created last year and approved the group continuing its work for another year.
Such projects, which on their face might seem like academic exercises, have met resistance within some denominations, in part stemming from disagreements over whether Christian nationalism is a serious theological problem or a passing fad.
The Christian Reformed Church narrowly approved—by a 93–84 vote—a resolution to form its study committee. The group will define the term Christian nationalism, examine how different forms of the teaching have appeared throughout church history, and guide CRC churches on what it means for them.
The goal of the resolution is, in part, to reject “theological frameworks that conflate ecclesial identity with national identity.”
Sollina Images / Getty
At denominational gatherings across the country this summer, one topic of conversation has been a near constant: Christian nationalism.
Denominations discuss and debate a wide range of subjects at their annual conventions, occasionally making headlines, as Southern Baptists did in June with a vote to ban women from preaching. But among Baptists, Presbyterians, and other evangelical groups, a quieter work has been underway in committees and working groups as churches grapple with how to address growing efforts to marry Christianity with the tools of government.
At its annual synod in June, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) voted to form a Christian nationalism study committee that will present a report in 2028. The same month, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) heard a partial report from a Christian nationalism study committee it created last year and approved the group continuing its work for another year.
Such projects, which on their face might seem like academic exercises, have met resistance within some denominations, in part stemming from disagreements over whether Christian nationalism is a serious theological problem or a passing fad.
The Christian Reformed Church narrowly approved—by a 93–84 vote—a resolution to form its study committee. The group will define the term Christian nationalism, examine how different forms of the teaching have appeared throughout church history, and guide CRC churches on what it means for them.
The goal of the resolution is, in part, to reject “theological frameworks that conflate ecclesial identity with national identity.”
Sunday, July 05, 2026
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Saturday, February 03, 2024
Saturday, August 04, 2018
Rowdy right-wing rally-goers flood Portland park amid heavy police presence
Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY
Published 10:37 a.m. ET Aug. 4, 2018 | Updated 3:42 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2018
(Photo: Mark Graves, The Oregonian, AP)
Portland police, braced for possible violent clashes, manned barricades and metal detectors downtown Saturday as the right-wing group Patriot Prayer gathered for a rally amid boisterous counter-protesters in the third such face-off in two months.
The event also comes ahead of the one-year anniversary of the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August that deteriorated into clashes between protesters and counter-protesters and left one person dead.
People on both sides swarmed the area wearing protective pads or vests, many also wearing masks or covering themselves with bandanas. Police kept the two groups separated by barricades and by a street in front of the waterfront park.
Police warned via Twitter that no one carrying a rifle, shotgun or other long-gun in Tom McCall park, site of the rally.
At one point, police said on bullhorns that they had observed some people among the counter-protesters carrying weapons, and ordered a section of the event area cleared.
Police also said that any item, such as a flag pole, or a homemade shield, that could be used as a weapon, will be confiscated.
"I continue to strongly reject the idea that violence or hate speech are legitimate means to a political end," Mayor Ted Wheeler said on the eve of the event, adding that he and the Portland police chief "have serious concerns about the potential for violence" at the events.
As groups began to gather, a Patriot Prayer leader who identified himself only as "Tiny" told a KATU-TV reporter that he was there to "stand up for freedom and our constitution."
Wearing a partial mask and a black t-shirt that read "Pinochet did nothing wrong," Tiny said he and other supporters were wearing protective gear against counter-protesters.
"Last time I showed up without these, I got smashed with a wooden stick," "We are going to gear up."
"Unarmed people have been attacked for standing up for a president they support, just for standing up for freedom," he said.
The march, planned for months, has been organized by Joey Gibson, leader of the Patriot Prayer group, and a long-shot Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in the state of Washington.
It comes five weeks after clashes between left and right on June 30 in which both sides, including masked anti-fascist groups, battled in downtown Portland, pummeling and striking each other. Police declared the event a riot and revoked rally permits.
A similar Patriot Prayer event on June 4 devolved into fistfights and assaults by both sides as police struggled to keep the groups apart.
As supporters jostled among the crowds and media at the park, Gibson took a mic at one point to rally the already boisterous crowd, saying, "We are going to make change. We just keep going."
He said the group was there to express their views as guaranteed by the constitution, not to fight.
Gibson said in a live video on Facebook earlier this week that he won’t stop bringing his followers to Portland until they can express their right-wing views without interference.
“I refuse to do what Portland wants me to do because what Portland wants me to do is to shut up and never show up again," he said. "So yeah, I refuse to do that, but I will not stop going in, and I will not stop pushing, and I will not stop marching until the people of Portland realize that and realize that their methods do not work,” he said.
Organizers say that while Patriot Prayer denies being a white supremacist group, it affiliates itself with known white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazi gangs.
In addition, self-described anti-fascists – or “antifa” – have been organizing anonymously online to confront Patriot Prayer and an affiliated group, the Proud Boys, in the streets.
The Facebook page for Resist Patriot Prayer: Violent Alt-Right Bigots Off Our Streets," the group said it is willing to use physical force if necessary against "Joey and his Alt Right goons."
"History has shown that militant resistance is a necessary and important tool in the fight against fascism," the event page said. "We make no apologies for the use of force in keeping our communities safe from the scourge of right-wing violence. Make no mistake, these people are coming here with the intent to harm and threaten people."
Effie Baum, a spokesperson with Popular Mobilization, said her group was formed solely to mobilize counter-protesters for Saturday, OregonLive reports.
"One thing we all have in common is our opposition to white supremacy, transphobia and homophobia," said Baum said, according to OregonLive.
“Patriot Prayer is continuing to commit violence in our city, and their events are becoming more and more violent,” she said. “Leaving them a small group to attack in the streets is only going to allow them to perpetuate their violence.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Christian Patriots
Danny Vierra
Published on Jun 27, 2014
Danny Vierra reveals how the Hegelian Dialectic applies to end-time Bible prophecy and how religious laws will be enforced in the United States in the near future.
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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Cannibalism, 'mommy porn' and sexting, oh my!
By Joel C. Rosenberg Published June 22, 2012 FoxNews.com
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/06/22/cannibalism-mommy-porn-and-sexting-oh-my/?intcmp=trending#ixzz21m9xYH1d
Forget the stagnant American economy, our severe debt crisis and the rapidly mounting financial troubles in Greece and Spain, at least for a moment. Consider what’s driving American headlines these days"
Pornography – The #1, #2 and #3 books on the New York Times fiction best-seller list, and on the USA Today best-seller list, and on Amazon for the last few weeks have been the "Fifty Shades of Grey," erotic novels by E.L. James that are being widely described as “Mommy Porn.” The sexually explicit trilogy has become an overnight, viral phenomenon among American girls in their young teens all the way up through grandmothers in their seventies and eighties and is making headlines across the nation.
Cannibalism — Have stories about human beings eating other human beings ever been a major story in the United States, much less a series of headlines that lasted day after day? The Drudge Report and media outlets across the U.S. have been dominated in recent weeks by stories of six different instances of cannibalistic acts, some here in America and some around the world. Such stories are almost too horrifying to read, yet where is the outrage? People are almost treating these stories as bizarre but even a bit humorous, it as if it were no big deal, just another news story.
"Sexting” – A teacher in Texas was arrested for “sexting” with a student only days after he was named Teacher of the Year. “Sexting,” sending nude photos or videos of oneself via cell phone, is on the rise in high schools across the country as students seek approval in the wrong places from their classmates and teachers. A recent survey shows that even among adults the practice is on the rise, with 1 out of 5 smartphone users admitting to “sexting.”
What in the world is going on? With a stagnant U.S. economy, more than $15 trillion in national debt, and some $65 trillion in unfunded federal liabilities fast coming due, America faces the very real possibility of an economic collapse in the not-too-distant future. But is it possible we’re already imploding culturally? Is there any hope of turning this around?
These are not normal times. Americans have been gripped by a widespread and deeply rooted pessimism in recent years. They are openly asking whether our nation can survive. A growing number of Americans fear that this period of our history is different and the crises we face today – and those coming up over the horizon – may be far worse than anything we have experienced in the past. Many Americans genuinely fear that God is preparing to remove his hand of protection and blessing from our country, or perhaps already has.
We must not kid ourselves. The evidence suggests we may very well be aboard the Titanic, heading for icebergs and inexplicably increasing our speed toward disaster. So many on board are unaware of the dangers fast approaching and not concerned in the slightest. We haven’t hit the icebergs yet, but if we don’t make a sharp turn fast, we soon will, and we will sink. Who will serve as our captain and crew going forward? Will they understand the gravity of the threat and have the wisdom, courage and speed to take appropriate action before it is too late? What is our role as passengers? Are we to succumb to decadence, indulging ourselves in amusements and entertainment and alcohol with no regard for our own safety or the safety of others aboard? Or will we rise up, sound the alarm, and take action while we can?
The good news is that God has shown mercy to our country in the past. In the early 1700s we experience what became known as the first Great Awakening. In the early 1800s, we experienced the Second Great Awakening. These were massive, widespread, game-changing eras of spiritual revival. In 1770, for example, there were fewer than two dozen Methodist churches in America. By 1860, there were nearly 20,000. In roughly the same time frame, the number of Baptists went from under 200,000 to more than one million.
These revivals were not a panacea. They did not save every soul or solve every social ill. No revival ever has or will. But the good news is this: the historical evidence is clear and compelling that many Americans found salvation during these periods, and American society as a whole was dramatically impacted and improved by both of these revivals.
One piece of observable evidence in this regard is the explosive growth in the number of church congregations that were established in the wake of both Great Awakenings. At the same time, Christians during this period sought to put their faith into action to improve their neighborhoods and communities and the nation as a whole. They persuaded millions of children to enroll in Sunday school programs to learn about the Bible and pray for their nation. They opened orphanages and soup kitchens to care for the poor and needy. They started clinics and hospitals to care for the sick, elderly and infirm. They founded elementary and secondary schools for girls as well as boys. They established colleges and universities dedicated to teaching both the Scriptures and the sciences. They led social campaigns to persuade Americans to stop drinking so much alcohol and to abolish the evil of slavery. These Christians didn’t expect the government to take care of them. They believed it was the Church’s job to show the love of Christ to their neighbors in real and practical ways. They were right, and they made America a better place as a result – not perfect, but better.
Today, the central question of our time for Americans is this: Will the American people experience a Third Great Awakening? The Tea Party movement and to some extent the Occupy Wall Street Movement have launched a constitutional revival, returning to the principles of 200 years ago.
Maybe it’s time to go back 2,000 years for a spiritual renaissance. If not, our days may be numbered and a terrible implosion is coming. There is no more middle ground. It is one or the other.
Joel C. Rosenberg is a New York Times best-selling author with more than 2.5 million copies in print. His new book, "Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time?
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/06/22/cannibalism-mommy-porn-and-sexting-oh-my/?intcmp=trending#ixzz21m9xYH1d
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Evangelicals Engaged In Spiritual Warfare
August 24, 2011
VListen to the Story
Fresh Air from WHYY
[39 min 11 sec]
VListen to the Story
Fresh Air from WHYY
[39 min 11 sec]
David J. Phillip/AP
Texas Gov. Rick Perry prays at The Response, his call to prayer for a nation in crisis, on Aug. 6 in Houston. The event was organized, in part, by members of the New Apostolic Reformation.
August 24, 2011
An emerging Christian movement that seeks to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and the return of Jesus, is becoming more of a presence in American politics. The leaders are considered apostles and prophets, gifted by God for this role.
The international "apostolic and prophetic" movement has been dubbed by its leading American architect, C. Peter Wagner, as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Although the movement is larger than the network organized by Wagner — and not all members describe themselves as part of Wagner's NAR — the so-called apostles and prophets of the movement have identifiable ideology that separates them from other evangelicals.
Two ministries in the movement planned and orchestrated Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent prayer rally, where apostles and prophets from around the nation spoke or appeared onstage. The event was patterned after The Call, held at locations around the globe and led by Lou Engle, who has served in the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders of the NAR. Other NAR apostles endorsed Perry's event, including two who lead a 50-state "prayer warrior" network. Thomas Muthee, the Kenyan pastor who anointed Sarah Palin at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church in 2005, while praying for Jesus to protect her from the spirit of witchcraft, is also part of this movement.
On Wednesday's Fresh Air, Rachel Tabachnick, who researches the political impact of the religious right, joins Terry Gross for a discussion about the growing movement and its influence and connections in the political world.
Tabachnick says the movement currently works with a variety of politicians and has a presence in all 50 states. It also has very strong opinions about the direction it wants the country to take. For the past several years, she says, the NAR has run a campaign to reclaim what it calls the "seven mountains of culture" from demonic influence. The "mountains" are arts and entertainment; business; family; government; media; religion; and education.
"They teach quite literally that these 'mountains' have fallen under the control of demonic influences in society," says Tabachnick. "And therefore, they must reclaim them for God in order to bring about the kingdom of God on Earth. ... The apostles teach what's called 'strategic level spiritual warfare' [because they believe that the] reason why there is sin and corruption and poverty on the Earth is because the Earth is controlled by a hierarchy of demons under the authority of Satan. So they teach not just evangelizing souls one by one, as we're accustomed to hearing about. They teach that they will go into a geographic region or a people group and conduct spiritual-warfare activities in order to remove the demons from the entire population. This is what they're doing that's quite fundamentally different than other evangelical groups."
The organizers of Perry's rally were from ministries founded by two apostles/prophets of the movement — The Call, and the International House of Prayer founded by Mike Bickle. Bickle, who led part of Perry's event, has claimed that Oprah Winfrey is a precursor of the Antichrist, and Engle has claimed that gay people are controlled by "demonic spirits." Both have served on the Council of Prophetic Elders initiated by Wagner.
"Lou Engle [has spoken] at length about how one of his sons has started an International House of Prayer in the Castro district of San Francisco and that his son is now expelling demons from homosexuals, and supposedly then this cures them of their homosexuality," says Tabachnick. "He has also held [prayer rallies] around the world."
One of Engle's previous rallies took place in Uganda in May 2010, shortly after an anti-homosexuality bill had been proposed.
"Various people got on the stage [at his rally] and promoted the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda, which is a very draconian bill that would allow for executions for certain offenses, and would also allow for people who don't report homosexual history to be jailed," she says. "The apostles have had a long history in Uganda, and some of them have had close relationships with both political and religious leaders there. In fact, an apostle in Uganda takes credit for promoting the anti-homosexuality bill and was recognized by the parliament in Uganda when the bill was introduced."
Engle has another rally planned in November in Detroit. The purpose of the prayer rally, says Tabachnick, is to "fight the demonic spirit of Islam."
"In other words, [they want] to conduct spiritual warfare against the spiritual demons which they claim hold Muslims in bondage and keep them from converting," she says. "Of course, this is expressed in terms of love. They say 'We don't hate Muslims. We love Muslims. But we hate that they are in spiritual bondage and don't convert to Christianity.' "
A 'Different' Evangelicalism
Tabachnick, who has been researching and writing about the apostles for a decade, says her own religious background has helped her with her research. She grew up as a Southern Baptist and converted to Judaism as an adult.
"Having the Southern Baptist background and growing up in the Deep South has helped me to be able to do this research and has also helped me realize something that might not be apparent to some other people looking at the movement," she says. "This is quite radically different than the evangelicalism of my youth. The things that we've been talking about are not representative of evangelicalism. They're not representative of conservative evangelicalism. So I think that's important to keep in mind. This is a movement that's growing in popularity, and one of the ways they've been able to do that [is because] they're not very identifiable to most people. They're just presented as nondenominational or just Christian — but it is an identifiable movement now with an identifiable ideology."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview Highlights
On the issues of the international "apostolic and prophetic" movement
"[Their issues are] anti-abortion, anti-gay rights — but they also have ... the belief that government should not be involved in social safety nets, that the country is becoming socialist, if not communist ... — all of what we've come to call 'Tea Party issues' of very small government. In the case of the apostles, they believe this because they believe that a large government that handles the safety net is taking away what is the domain of the church and of Christianity."
On dominionism
"Dominionism is simply that Christians of this belief system must take control over the various institutions of society and government. Some things that make this group unique is that they have some unusual concepts of what they call spiritual warfare that have not been seen before in other groups. Spiritual warfare is a common term in evangelicalism and in Christianity, but they have some unique approaches and some unique spins on this that distinguish them from other groups."
On Thomas Muthee's video series
"The process [in these videos] is that the people come together, repent, pray together, expel the demons from their community — which they describe in terms of witches and witchcraft — and then the community undergoes a transformation in which there can be miraculous healing, the growth of very large vegetables [and] the end of corruption and crime. What was totally missed by the press was that Muthee was an international leader in the [NAR] movement at the time and recognized because of his role in this series of videos."
On the topics at Rick Perry's rally
"The major topics at these events [are] anti-abortion, anti-gay rights and the conversion of Jews in order to advance the end times. And this was very visible at Perry's events as these apostles led all of these different prayers and repentance ceremonies at [his rally]."
Source
.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry prays at The Response, his call to prayer for a nation in crisis, on Aug. 6 in Houston. The event was organized, in part, by members of the New Apostolic Reformation.
August 24, 2011
An emerging Christian movement that seeks to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and the return of Jesus, is becoming more of a presence in American politics. The leaders are considered apostles and prophets, gifted by God for this role.
The international "apostolic and prophetic" movement has been dubbed by its leading American architect, C. Peter Wagner, as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Although the movement is larger than the network organized by Wagner — and not all members describe themselves as part of Wagner's NAR — the so-called apostles and prophets of the movement have identifiable ideology that separates them from other evangelicals.
Two ministries in the movement planned and orchestrated Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent prayer rally, where apostles and prophets from around the nation spoke or appeared onstage. The event was patterned after The Call, held at locations around the globe and led by Lou Engle, who has served in the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders of the NAR. Other NAR apostles endorsed Perry's event, including two who lead a 50-state "prayer warrior" network. Thomas Muthee, the Kenyan pastor who anointed Sarah Palin at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church in 2005, while praying for Jesus to protect her from the spirit of witchcraft, is also part of this movement.
On Wednesday's Fresh Air, Rachel Tabachnick, who researches the political impact of the religious right, joins Terry Gross for a discussion about the growing movement and its influence and connections in the political world.
Tabachnick says the movement currently works with a variety of politicians and has a presence in all 50 states. It also has very strong opinions about the direction it wants the country to take. For the past several years, she says, the NAR has run a campaign to reclaim what it calls the "seven mountains of culture" from demonic influence. The "mountains" are arts and entertainment; business; family; government; media; religion; and education.
"They teach quite literally that these 'mountains' have fallen under the control of demonic influences in society," says Tabachnick. "And therefore, they must reclaim them for God in order to bring about the kingdom of God on Earth. ... The apostles teach what's called 'strategic level spiritual warfare' [because they believe that the] reason why there is sin and corruption and poverty on the Earth is because the Earth is controlled by a hierarchy of demons under the authority of Satan. So they teach not just evangelizing souls one by one, as we're accustomed to hearing about. They teach that they will go into a geographic region or a people group and conduct spiritual-warfare activities in order to remove the demons from the entire population. This is what they're doing that's quite fundamentally different than other evangelical groups."
The organizers of Perry's rally were from ministries founded by two apostles/prophets of the movement — The Call, and the International House of Prayer founded by Mike Bickle. Bickle, who led part of Perry's event, has claimed that Oprah Winfrey is a precursor of the Antichrist, and Engle has claimed that gay people are controlled by "demonic spirits." Both have served on the Council of Prophetic Elders initiated by Wagner.
"Lou Engle [has spoken] at length about how one of his sons has started an International House of Prayer in the Castro district of San Francisco and that his son is now expelling demons from homosexuals, and supposedly then this cures them of their homosexuality," says Tabachnick. "He has also held [prayer rallies] around the world."
One of Engle's previous rallies took place in Uganda in May 2010, shortly after an anti-homosexuality bill had been proposed.
"Various people got on the stage [at his rally] and promoted the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda, which is a very draconian bill that would allow for executions for certain offenses, and would also allow for people who don't report homosexual history to be jailed," she says. "The apostles have had a long history in Uganda, and some of them have had close relationships with both political and religious leaders there. In fact, an apostle in Uganda takes credit for promoting the anti-homosexuality bill and was recognized by the parliament in Uganda when the bill was introduced."
Engle has another rally planned in November in Detroit. The purpose of the prayer rally, says Tabachnick, is to "fight the demonic spirit of Islam."
"In other words, [they want] to conduct spiritual warfare against the spiritual demons which they claim hold Muslims in bondage and keep them from converting," she says. "Of course, this is expressed in terms of love. They say 'We don't hate Muslims. We love Muslims. But we hate that they are in spiritual bondage and don't convert to Christianity.' "
A 'Different' Evangelicalism
Tabachnick, who has been researching and writing about the apostles for a decade, says her own religious background has helped her with her research. She grew up as a Southern Baptist and converted to Judaism as an adult.
"Having the Southern Baptist background and growing up in the Deep South has helped me to be able to do this research and has also helped me realize something that might not be apparent to some other people looking at the movement," she says. "This is quite radically different than the evangelicalism of my youth. The things that we've been talking about are not representative of evangelicalism. They're not representative of conservative evangelicalism. So I think that's important to keep in mind. This is a movement that's growing in popularity, and one of the ways they've been able to do that [is because] they're not very identifiable to most people. They're just presented as nondenominational or just Christian — but it is an identifiable movement now with an identifiable ideology."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
courtesy of the guest
Rachel Tabachnick is an independent researcher and a contributor to Talk To Action. She is also the co-founder of the blog NARWatch.
Rachel Tabachnick is an independent researcher and a contributor to Talk To Action. She is also the co-founder of the blog NARWatch.
Interview Highlights
On the issues of the international "apostolic and prophetic" movement
"[Their issues are] anti-abortion, anti-gay rights — but they also have ... the belief that government should not be involved in social safety nets, that the country is becoming socialist, if not communist ... — all of what we've come to call 'Tea Party issues' of very small government. In the case of the apostles, they believe this because they believe that a large government that handles the safety net is taking away what is the domain of the church and of Christianity."
On dominionism
"Dominionism is simply that Christians of this belief system must take control over the various institutions of society and government. Some things that make this group unique is that they have some unusual concepts of what they call spiritual warfare that have not been seen before in other groups. Spiritual warfare is a common term in evangelicalism and in Christianity, but they have some unique approaches and some unique spins on this that distinguish them from other groups."
On Thomas Muthee's video series
"The process [in these videos] is that the people come together, repent, pray together, expel the demons from their community — which they describe in terms of witches and witchcraft — and then the community undergoes a transformation in which there can be miraculous healing, the growth of very large vegetables [and] the end of corruption and crime. What was totally missed by the press was that Muthee was an international leader in the [NAR] movement at the time and recognized because of his role in this series of videos."
On the topics at Rick Perry's rally
"The major topics at these events [are] anti-abortion, anti-gay rights and the conversion of Jews in order to advance the end times. And this was very visible at Perry's events as these apostles led all of these different prayers and repentance ceremonies at [his rally]."
Source
.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Appeal of the Religious Right
A Sense of Belonging
The goal of dominion is alien to moderate Republicans and may not be shared by many members of fundamentalist, Pentecostal and charismatic churches. These church members should be made aware of how they are being politically manipulated by their leadership.
It's important to note that there are good reasons why so many people join fundamentalist, Pentecostal and charismatic churches. First of all, many of the churches I visited had very lively services which I enjoyed; that is until the preacher started talking about Satan, the role of women, the biblical call to beat children, the Rapture, or God's mandate to get involved politically.
These churches have been very successful in helping people give up drug addictions. And people have told me that the quality of their lives improved significantly once they took Jesus Christ as their Savior. This personal relationship with Christ can be a very positive experience, especially when it infuses one's life with a sense of a loving light.
And most of all, the churches offer practitioners a real sense of belonging. Whenever I attended church services, I was always warmly greeted by people who gave me a sense that if I joined, I would never feel alone. This sense of belonging goes right to the core of one of the most troubling aspects of our modern, affluent society - a feeling of alienation. It is this need to belong and have a higher purpose to life which is, unfortunately, being politically exploited by the Religious Right.
Some of the Church services I have attended have been very emotional. Sometimes members seem to be ecstatic. Some of the churches appear to offer a kind of group catharsis, not unlike some forms of therapy. In a time of great stress, the Holy Laughter Movement, which encourages deep belly laughing and weeping, is growing rapidly. The Holy Laughter Movement makes me think of the physician, Patch Adams who advocates healing through laughter. There is a reason so many people are drawn to these ministries, and it's useful to understand the appeal.
Read story by Joan Bokaer called Getting Saved in Amarillo.
This article about the popularity of the Passion Experience for young people demonstrates the appeal of the form of worship found in Pentecostal and charismatic churches. This worship can be a positive experience if it is not overlain with a political message that is anti-women, anti-environment, anti-arms control, anti-social justice, and anti-democratic. Unfortunately, a joyful experience becomes grounds for political manipulation. Photographer: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times.
The goal of dominion is alien to moderate Republicans and may not be shared by many members of fundamentalist, Pentecostal and charismatic churches. These church members should be made aware of how they are being politically manipulated by their leadership.
It's important to note that there are good reasons why so many people join fundamentalist, Pentecostal and charismatic churches. First of all, many of the churches I visited had very lively services which I enjoyed; that is until the preacher started talking about Satan, the role of women, the biblical call to beat children, the Rapture, or God's mandate to get involved politically.
These churches have been very successful in helping people give up drug addictions. And people have told me that the quality of their lives improved significantly once they took Jesus Christ as their Savior. This personal relationship with Christ can be a very positive experience, especially when it infuses one's life with a sense of a loving light.
And most of all, the churches offer practitioners a real sense of belonging. Whenever I attended church services, I was always warmly greeted by people who gave me a sense that if I joined, I would never feel alone. This sense of belonging goes right to the core of one of the most troubling aspects of our modern, affluent society - a feeling of alienation. It is this need to belong and have a higher purpose to life which is, unfortunately, being politically exploited by the Religious Right.
Some of the Church services I have attended have been very emotional. Sometimes members seem to be ecstatic. Some of the churches appear to offer a kind of group catharsis, not unlike some forms of therapy. In a time of great stress, the Holy Laughter Movement, which encourages deep belly laughing and weeping, is growing rapidly. The Holy Laughter Movement makes me think of the physician, Patch Adams who advocates healing through laughter. There is a reason so many people are drawn to these ministries, and it's useful to understand the appeal.
Read story by Joan Bokaer called Getting Saved in Amarillo.
This article about the popularity of the Passion Experience for young people demonstrates the appeal of the form of worship found in Pentecostal and charismatic churches. This worship can be a positive experience if it is not overlain with a political message that is anti-women, anti-environment, anti-arms control, anti-social justice, and anti-democratic. Unfortunately, a joyful experience becomes grounds for political manipulation. Photographer: Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times.
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Thursday, August 26, 2010
Far From Ground Zero, Obscure Pastor Is Ignored No Longer
Chip Litherland for The New York TimesPastor Terry Jones plans to burn multiple copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
By DAMIEN CAVE
Published: August 25, 2010
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If building an Islamic center near ground zero amounts to the epitome of Muslim insensitivity, as critics of the project have claimed, what should the world make of Terry Jones, the evangelical pastor here who plans to memorialize the Sept. 11 attacks with a bonfire of Korans?
Mr. Jones, 58, a former hotel manager with a red face and a white handlebar mustache, argues that as an American Christian he has a right to burn Islam’s sacred book because “it’s full of lies.” And in another era, he might have been easily ignored, as he was last year when he posted a sign at his church declaring “Islam is of the devil.”
But now the global spotlight has shifted. With the debate in New York putting religious tensions front and center, Mr. Jones has suddenly attracted thousands of fans and critics on Facebook, while around the world he is being presented as a symbol of American anti-Islamic sentiment.
Muslim leaders in several countries, including Egypt and Indonesia, have formally condemned him and his church, the Dove World Outreach Center.
An Islamic group in England has also incorporated his efforts into a YouTube video that encourages Muslims to “rise up and act,” widening a concern that Mr. Jones — though clearly a fringe figure with only 50 members in his church — could spark riots or terrorism.
“Can you imagine what this will do to our image around the world?” said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington. “And the additional danger it will add whenever there is an American presence in Iraq or Afghanistan?”
Mr. Jones, in a lengthy interview at his church, said he sincerely hoped that his planned Koran-burning would not lead to violence. He dismissed the idea that it could put American troops at greater risk, and — echoing his sermons — he said that his church was being persecuted.
He said his bank recently demanded immediate repayment of the $140,000 balance on the church mortgage; that his property insurance had been canceled since he announced in late July that he intended to burn copies of the Koran; and that death threats now come in regularly.
“We have to be careful,” he said. He tapped a holster on the right hip of his jean shorts; it held a .40-caliber pistol, which he said he was licensed to carry. “The overall response,” he added, “has been much greater than we expected.”
Mr. Jones who seems to spend much of his time inside a dank, dark office with a poster from the movie “Braveheart” and a picture of former President George W. Bush, appears to be largely oblivious to the potential consequences of his plans. Speaking in short sentences with a matter-of-fact drawl, he said that he could not understand why other Christians, including the nation’s largest evangelical association, had called for him to cancel “International Burn a Koran Day.”
He acknowledged that it had brought in at least $1,000 in donations. But he said that the interviews he had done with around 150 news outlets all over the world were useful mainly because they had helped him “send a message to Islam and the pushers of Shariah law: that it is not what we want.”
Mr. Jones said that nothing in particular had set him off. Asked about his knowledge of the Koran, he said plainly: “I have no experience with it whatsoever. I only know what the Bible says.”
Nonetheless, his position and variations on his tactics have become more common, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Florida in particular has had a rise in anti-Islamic activity. In May, an arsonist set off a pipe bomb at a mosque in Jacksonville in what authorities called an actof domestic terrorism. A mosque and Islamic school south of Miami was vandalized twice last year, the first time with a spray of 51 bullets.
Just as disturbing to Florida’s Muslims, and to many Christians and Jews, is that anti-Islamic rhetoric has begun to enter the mainstream through Republican political candidates.
Some of the opposition predated the controversy about the proposed Islamic center near ground zero. In March, for example, Allen West, a retired Army officer running for Congress in Broward County, told a group of supporters that “Islam is not a religion” but rather “a vicious enemy” that was “infiltrating” the United States. (A campaign spokesman said last week that Mr. West meant to refer to radical Islam, not Islam generally.)
Ron McNeil, a candidate for Congress in the Florida Panhandle, told a group of high school and middle school students last week that Islam’s plan “is to destroy our way of life.” He added: “It’s our place as Christians to stand up for the word of God and what the Bible says.”
Similar sentiments now flow daily into the e-mail inbox of the Dove World Outreach Center. Mr. Jones said that the negative e-mails outnumbered the positive by about 3 to 1, but that strangers had sent 20 copies of the Koran and a church worker produced hundreds of supportive e-mails that had come in over the past three weeks.
A dozen of those messages revealed a wide range of motivations. For a few people — a Christian in Afghanistan, an Iraqi in Massachusetts, a Jew who called his co-religionists in the United States “soft in the head” — direct experience with Islamic extremists seemed to have darkened their views. Others seemed motivated by little more than hate, arguing that Korans should be barbecued with pork, which is banned by Islam.
Mr. Jones’s plan faced a new hurdle last week when the Gainesville Fire Department rejected his request for a burning permit. Mr. Jones said he would go ahead anyway (“it’s just politics”), and he predicted a quite a scene.
Some of his neighbors, like Shirley Turner, a retiree who shivered with disgust when Mr. Jones’s name came up in conversation, are already planning to protest with signs calling for unity. More than a dozen houses of worship, of various faiths, also intend to respond collectively on the weekend of Sept. 11 by “affirming the validity of all sacred books,” said Larry Reimer, pastor of the United Church of Christ.
Some pastors even plan to read from the Koran in their services.
For local Muslims like Saeed Khan, who came here in the 1970s to study for a Ph.D. in biology at the University of Florida, the collective rejection of Mr. Jones represents the America they want to believe in. In an interview at an Islamic center that used to be a Brown Derby restaurant, Dr. Khan said that “Mr. Jones is hijacking Christianity” just as “Al Qaeda hijacked Islam.”
What saddens him most, he said, is the lasting effect on Muslim youth. He now has three grandchildren under age 3 growing up in Gainesville, and he shook his head at the story of a friend’s daughter who woke up in the middle of the night and asked her mother, “Why don’t they like us?”
Still, like many others, he rejected the moment’s swirl of anger. Even if Muslims outside the United States respond to the planned Koran burning with protests, or worse, Mr. Khan said he would spend his Sept. 11 doing the same thing he did last year. He will be downtown, a few miles from Mr. Jones, feeding the homeless.
A version of this article appeared in print on August 26, 2010, on page A14 of the New York edition.
.
.
Friday, July 30, 2010
A Clarion Call for Patriots?
July 30, 2010
Calling All Patriot Business Owners
Accordingly, today I am extending a clarion call to all patriot business owners across America to stand and be counted! In just a matter of days, we will post a brand new PATRIOT BUSINESSES page to our web site. As with the Black Regiment page, we will list patriot business owners State by State, so fellow patriots across the country can locate and support those businesses that are friendly to the cause of freedom. Frankly, I am sick and tired of supporting businesses (many of them big businesses) that have absolutely no fidelity whatsoever to the cause of liberty or independence.........
Calling All Patriot Business Owners
Accordingly, today I am extending a clarion call to all patriot business owners across America to stand and be counted! In just a matter of days, we will post a brand new PATRIOT BUSINESSES page to our web site. As with the Black Regiment page, we will list patriot business owners State by State, so fellow patriots across the country can locate and support those businesses that are friendly to the cause of freedom. Frankly, I am sick and tired of supporting businesses (many of them big businesses) that have absolutely no fidelity whatsoever to the cause of liberty or independence.........
by Pastor Chuck Baldwin
.
Monday, April 05, 2010
The Christian Right and Congress
THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND CONGRESS
Matthew C. Moen
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa and London
Matthew C. Moen
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa and London
Copyright © 1989
The University of Alabama Press
Box 870380
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Paperback Edition 1992
The University of Alabama Press
Box 870380
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Paperback Edition 1992
Preface
The manner in which the Christian Right influenced the agenda of the
U.S. Congress during the Reagan years is the central focus of this book.
The answers that are provided about this subject have been derived from
some objective indices, such as the number of bills introduced and hear-
ings held on their issues, and more importantly, from personal interviews
with about three dozen individuals who were involved in various ways
in the Christian Right's struggles on Capitol Hill.
Ever since it arose in the late 1970s, the Christian Right has attracted
the interest of scholars. Those from different academic disciplines began
early to examine such facets of the movement as its historical roots, its
electoral influence, and its theological underpinnings. When I embarked
upon this project, researchers had almost entirely ignored the impact of
the Christian Right on Capitol Hill. It was an understandable omission,
given the problems they faced in ascertaining interest-group influence on
legislative struggles in the nation's capital; it was also an unfortunate
omission because the Christian Right was resolute in taking its grievances
to Congress for a good deal of the Reagan presidency. As conservative
activist Paul Weyrich explained it so succinctly in 1980, when queried
by a reporter about the need to focus attention on Capitol Hill: "If you
want to change America, you have to change the Congress."
The subject of this book was approached with few preconceptions.
After completing about a dozen interviews, it seemed to me that any
influence of the Christian Right on Congress that existed was minimal.
After completing more interviews and weighing some of the empirical
indices, however, I came to a rather different conclusion. Of course, the
view that the movement was influential, particularly in the first Reagan
term, will not surprise one early interviewee, who mischievously pointed
out that the mere fact that I was poking around Capitol Hill asking
questions about the impact of the movement was testimony to its effec-
tiveness.
This book has been written for several different audiences. It is
hoped that scholars will appreciate my attempt to tackle the subject;
students of social movements, interest groups, and Congress will benefit
from the tale that is told; historians will find useful the "snapshot" of
Christian Right activity during the first decade of its existence; and in-
terviewees will be interested in the detailed treatments of struggles in
which they were personally involved. Because the book is grounded in
interviews and is therefore non-technical, it should serve a wide read-
ership.
The debts incurred during the course of this project are numerous.
The American Political Science Association's Congressional Fellowship
Program and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center,
at the University of Oklahoma, provided me the opportunity to conduct
personal interviews in Washington. The interviewees graciously donated
time from their busy schedules to converse with an academic who had
little to offer them in return. Ronald M. Peters, Jr., Director and Curator
of the Carl Albert Center, and Gary W. Copeland, its Associate Director,
provided sagacious counsel during that period and subsequently on drafts
of a number of the chapters.
The office of Congressman Phil Sharp, where I spent my fellowship
year on the Hill, provided a hospitable environment for my interview
forays. My warmest thanks go to Phil Sharp, Mike Kraft, Tom Wanley,
Donna Imus, Lita Levine Kleger, Don Kaufman, John DeLap, and Frank
Meinhold for their interest and constant encouragement. It was clear
what an honorable group they were when in absentia I won the office
lottery for the one available ticket to President Reagan's 1984 State of
the Union speech.
A number of scholars offered valuable suggestions at various points,
including Larry B. Hill, Donald J. Maletz, and Rob Griswold. Frederic
D. Ogden, formerly of Eastern Kentucky University, and Anson Shupe,
Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Indiana
University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, graciously provided detailed
suggestions from which I profited immensely. I thank them for their
efforts. Of course, none of the people mentioned should be held respon-
sible for the book's interpretations or shortcomings.
My departmental colleagues at the University of Maine have pro-
vided a pleasant milieu in which to work. Chairman Ed Collins supported
the project in every possible way, managing to find both time and re-
sources whenever I needed them. Bahman Bakhtiari and Kenneth Palmer
provided written suggestions about the manuscript. During the latter
stages of the project, Carol MacMannus supplied valuable research and
typing assistance. Finally, the Faculty Research Fund Committee and
Greg Brown, Vice-President for Research and Public Service, graciously
offered monies in support of the project.
The University of Alabama Press has been extraordinarily helpful
throughout the publication process, for which I am very grateful. Mal-
colm MacDonald, Director of the Press, kindly took interest in the proj-
ect, steered it through the review process, and kept me abreast of its
status. Judith Knight assisted in a variety of ways thereafter, and Robert
Ferris did a superb job of editing. It has been both an educational and
enjoyable experience working with them.
Finally, thanks of a different sort must be accorded Donna Lynn
Shalley, whose willingness to tackle some of the pedestrian aspects of life
during the time I was busy with this study was a godsend. Her acceptance
of a marriage proposal along Maine's rocky coast on a foggy summer
evening, while I was in the midst of writing this book, was a glorious
day in the life of this political scientist.
Questia Media America, Inc. http://www.questia.com/
Publication Information: Book Title: The Christian Right and Congress. Contributors: Matthew C. Moen - author. Publisher: University of Alabama. Place of Publication: Tuscaloosa, AL. Publication Year: 1989.
The manner in which the Christian Right influenced the agenda of the
U.S. Congress during the Reagan years is the central focus of this book.
The answers that are provided about this subject have been derived from
some objective indices, such as the number of bills introduced and hear-
ings held on their issues, and more importantly, from personal interviews
with about three dozen individuals who were involved in various ways
in the Christian Right's struggles on Capitol Hill.
Ever since it arose in the late 1970s, the Christian Right has attracted
the interest of scholars. Those from different academic disciplines began
early to examine such facets of the movement as its historical roots, its
electoral influence, and its theological underpinnings. When I embarked
upon this project, researchers had almost entirely ignored the impact of
the Christian Right on Capitol Hill. It was an understandable omission,
given the problems they faced in ascertaining interest-group influence on
legislative struggles in the nation's capital; it was also an unfortunate
omission because the Christian Right was resolute in taking its grievances
to Congress for a good deal of the Reagan presidency. As conservative
activist Paul Weyrich explained it so succinctly in 1980, when queried
by a reporter about the need to focus attention on Capitol Hill: "If you
want to change America, you have to change the Congress."
The subject of this book was approached with few preconceptions.
After completing about a dozen interviews, it seemed to me that any
influence of the Christian Right on Congress that existed was minimal.
After completing more interviews and weighing some of the empirical
indices, however, I came to a rather different conclusion. Of course, the
view that the movement was influential, particularly in the first Reagan
term, will not surprise one early interviewee, who mischievously pointed
out that the mere fact that I was poking around Capitol Hill asking
questions about the impact of the movement was testimony to its effec-
tiveness.
This book has been written for several different audiences. It is
hoped that scholars will appreciate my attempt to tackle the subject;
students of social movements, interest groups, and Congress will benefit
from the tale that is told; historians will find useful the "snapshot" of
Christian Right activity during the first decade of its existence; and in-
terviewees will be interested in the detailed treatments of struggles in
which they were personally involved. Because the book is grounded in
interviews and is therefore non-technical, it should serve a wide read-
ership.
The debts incurred during the course of this project are numerous.
The American Political Science Association's Congressional Fellowship
Program and the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center,
at the University of Oklahoma, provided me the opportunity to conduct
personal interviews in Washington. The interviewees graciously donated
time from their busy schedules to converse with an academic who had
little to offer them in return. Ronald M. Peters, Jr., Director and Curator
of the Carl Albert Center, and Gary W. Copeland, its Associate Director,
provided sagacious counsel during that period and subsequently on drafts
of a number of the chapters.
The office of Congressman Phil Sharp, where I spent my fellowship
year on the Hill, provided a hospitable environment for my interview
forays. My warmest thanks go to Phil Sharp, Mike Kraft, Tom Wanley,
Donna Imus, Lita Levine Kleger, Don Kaufman, John DeLap, and Frank
Meinhold for their interest and constant encouragement. It was clear
what an honorable group they were when in absentia I won the office
lottery for the one available ticket to President Reagan's 1984 State of
the Union speech.
A number of scholars offered valuable suggestions at various points,
including Larry B. Hill, Donald J. Maletz, and Rob Griswold. Frederic
D. Ogden, formerly of Eastern Kentucky University, and Anson Shupe,
Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Indiana
University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, graciously provided detailed
suggestions from which I profited immensely. I thank them for their
efforts. Of course, none of the people mentioned should be held respon-
sible for the book's interpretations or shortcomings.
My departmental colleagues at the University of Maine have pro-
vided a pleasant milieu in which to work. Chairman Ed Collins supported
the project in every possible way, managing to find both time and re-
sources whenever I needed them. Bahman Bakhtiari and Kenneth Palmer
provided written suggestions about the manuscript. During the latter
stages of the project, Carol MacMannus supplied valuable research and
typing assistance. Finally, the Faculty Research Fund Committee and
Greg Brown, Vice-President for Research and Public Service, graciously
offered monies in support of the project.
The University of Alabama Press has been extraordinarily helpful
throughout the publication process, for which I am very grateful. Mal-
colm MacDonald, Director of the Press, kindly took interest in the proj-
ect, steered it through the review process, and kept me abreast of its
status. Judith Knight assisted in a variety of ways thereafter, and Robert
Ferris did a superb job of editing. It has been both an educational and
enjoyable experience working with them.
Finally, thanks of a different sort must be accorded Donna Lynn
Shalley, whose willingness to tackle some of the pedestrian aspects of life
during the time I was busy with this study was a godsend. Her acceptance
of a marriage proposal along Maine's rocky coast on a foggy summer
evening, while I was in the midst of writing this book, was a glorious
day in the life of this political scientist.
Questia Media America, Inc. http://www.questia.com/
Publication Information: Book Title: The Christian Right and Congress. Contributors: Matthew C. Moen - author. Publisher: University of Alabama. Place of Publication: Tuscaloosa, AL. Publication Year: 1989.
.
-Read it online@
.,
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Missouri State Police Think You And I Are Terrorists
March 17, 2009
Thanks to a concerned Missouri state policeman, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host stated that he was alerted last week to a secret Missouri state police report that categorized supporters of Congressman Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and myself as "'militia' influenced terrorists." The report, he said, "instructs the Missouri police to be on the lookout for supporters displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for Liberty, and Libertarian parties."
Ignoring the threat of Muslim terrorists, the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) report focuses on the so-called "militia movement" and "conflates it with supporters of Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, the so-called patriot movement and other political activist organizations opposed to the North American Union and the New World Order."
This report is not original, of course. During the Clinton administration, a Phoenix Federal Bureau of Investigation and Joint Terrorism Task Force explicitly designated "defenders" of the Constitution as "right-wing extremists." However, the MIAC report significantly expands on earlier documents and is the first known document to actually name names.
According to the MIAC, opposition to world government, NAFTA, federalization of the states, and restrictive gun laws are a potential threat to the police. The MIAC report also refers to Aaron Russo's film, "America: Freedom to Fascism."
The story exposing the MIAC report states, "The MIAC report is particularly pernicious because it indoctrinates Missouri law enforcement in the belief that people who oppose confiscatory taxation, believe in the well-documented existence of a New World Order and world government (a Google search of this phrase will pull up numerous references made by scores of establishment political leaders), and are opposed to the obvious expansion of the federal government at the expense of the states as violent extremists who are gunning for the police. It specifically targets supporters of mainstream political candidates and encourages police officers to consider them dangerous terrorists."
See the report here:
http://www.infowars.com/secret-state-police-report-ron-paul-bob-barr-chuck-baldwin-libertarians-are-terrorists/
The Columbia Daily Tribune also carried the story last Saturday. It quoted Missouri resident Tim Neal of Miller County. "When Neal read the report, he couldn't help but think it described him. A military veteran and a delegate to the 2008 Missouri Republican state convention, he didn't appreciate being lumped in with groups like the Neo-Nazis.
"'I was going down the list and thinking, "Check, that's me,"' he said. 'I'm a Ron Paul supporter, check. I talk about the North American union, check. I've got the "America: Freedom to Fascism" video loaned out to somebody right now. So that means I'm a domestic terrorist? Because I've got a video about the Federal Reserve?'"
The Tribune's report also acknowledges, "The [MIAC] report's most controversial passage states that militia 'most commonly associate with third-party political groups' and support presidential candidates such as Ron Paul, former Constitutional [sic] Party candidate Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate last year."
The Tribune report also said, "Neal, who has a Ron Paul bumper sticker on his car, said the next time he is pulled over by a police officer, he won't know whether it's because he was speeding or because of his political views."
See the Columbia Tribune report here:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/mar/14/fusion-center-data-draws-fire-over-assertions/
I realize that there are people who will dismiss this kind of story as insignificant. They shouldn't. This is very serious and should be treated as such. Anyone who knows anything at all about history knows that before a state or national government can persecute--and commit acts of violence against--a group of people, they must first marginalize the group from society's mainstream and categorize it as dangerous.
Rome did exactly that to Christians, as did Mao's China; Hitler's Germany did the same thing to Jews; Stalin's Russia did the same thing to political dissenters, etc. That a State police agency in America would actually infer that people who supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself in a political campaign are somehow indistinguishable from violence-prone "militias" is beyond insulting: it is a smear campaign, and might should even be regarded as a hate crime!
Beyond that, the MIAC report paints with a very broad brush. In addition to supporting Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself, a review of the report reveals that opposition to any of the following risks someone being classified as a potential "domestic terrorist":
The New World Order
The United Nations
Gun Control
The violation of Posse Comitatus
The Federal Reserve
The Income Tax
The Ammunition Accountability Act
A possible Constitutional Convention (Con Con)
The North American Union
Universal Service Program
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Abortion on demand
Illegal Immigration
Again, if you oppose any of the above, or if you supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself, you risk being labeled a "domestic terrorist," according to the MIAC.
Do you not see how dangerous this kind of slanderous labeling can become? It could affect your flight status when you try to board an airline. It could affect your application for sensitive jobs. It could affect your adjudication before a court or judge. It could make you a target for aggressive law enforcement strategies. It could affect your being able to obtain a passport. It could affect one's ability to purchase a firearm or receive a State concealed weapon permit.
This is very serious business! We are not talking about private opinions. We are talking about law enforcement agencies. And remember, most law enforcement agencies share these types of reports; therefore, how many other state police agencies have similar reports floating around? Probably several. Plus, how do we know that this report was not influenced by federal police agencies? We don't.
Rest assured, I do not plan to take this lying down. As one who is personally named in the above report, I demand a public retraction and apology from the MIAC and Missouri State Police. I can tell you that my family is extremely distraught that their husband, father, and grandfather would be labeled in such a manner. I am also not ruling out legal action. In addition, I am discussing an appropriate response with Ron Paul and Bob Barr. I will keep readers posted as to what comes of these discussions (as I am at liberty to do so, of course).
In the meantime, I encourage everyone who believes in the freedom of speech and who believes that the MIAC report is an egregious miscarriage of justice to contact the appropriate Missouri police officials. Here is the contact information:
Email address: Brandon.middleton@mshp.dps.mo.gov
Missouri Information Analysis Center
Division of Drugs & Crime Control
P. O. Box 568
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0568
Phone: 573-751-6422
Toll Free: 866-362-6422
Fax: 573-751-9950
And lest one thinks that none of this concerns him or her, I would like to remind you of the lament of Martin Niemoeller back in the days of Hitler's Germany. Niemoeller was a decorated U-Boat Captain and pastor of great distinction. An avid anti-communist, Niemoeller at first supported Hitler's rise to power and was hesitant to oppose the violations of civil rights against various groups he personally found distasteful. It did not take long, however, before Niemoeller realized that when laws protecting the rights of all were removed from some, no one was safe--including him. Unfortunately, he learned his lesson too late, as he, too, was persecuted and imprisoned by Hitler's State Police. Here is what Niemoeller said about his indifference:
"They came first for the communists, and I did not speak up-
because I was not a communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up-
because I was not a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up-
because I was not a Jew;
And then they came for me-
and there was no one left to speak up."
So, those of you who think you have nothing to fear because you did not vote for Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or me, or because you do not live in the State of Missouri need to think again. As I have repeatedly said, we either have freedom for all, or we have freedom for none. Truly, secret police reports such as the one above threaten the liberties of us all.
So, will you speak up now or wait until they come for you and no one is left to speak up?
*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php
© Chuck Baldwin
This column is archived as
Thanks to a concerned Missouri state policeman, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host stated that he was alerted last week to a secret Missouri state police report that categorized supporters of Congressman Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and myself as "'militia' influenced terrorists." The report, he said, "instructs the Missouri police to be on the lookout for supporters displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for Liberty, and Libertarian parties."
Ignoring the threat of Muslim terrorists, the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) report focuses on the so-called "militia movement" and "conflates it with supporters of Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, the so-called patriot movement and other political activist organizations opposed to the North American Union and the New World Order."
This report is not original, of course. During the Clinton administration, a Phoenix Federal Bureau of Investigation and Joint Terrorism Task Force explicitly designated "defenders" of the Constitution as "right-wing extremists." However, the MIAC report significantly expands on earlier documents and is the first known document to actually name names.
According to the MIAC, opposition to world government, NAFTA, federalization of the states, and restrictive gun laws are a potential threat to the police. The MIAC report also refers to Aaron Russo's film, "America: Freedom to Fascism."
The story exposing the MIAC report states, "The MIAC report is particularly pernicious because it indoctrinates Missouri law enforcement in the belief that people who oppose confiscatory taxation, believe in the well-documented existence of a New World Order and world government (a Google search of this phrase will pull up numerous references made by scores of establishment political leaders), and are opposed to the obvious expansion of the federal government at the expense of the states as violent extremists who are gunning for the police. It specifically targets supporters of mainstream political candidates and encourages police officers to consider them dangerous terrorists."
See the report here:
http://www.infowars.com/secret-state-police-report-ron-paul-bob-barr-chuck-baldwin-libertarians-are-terrorists/
The Columbia Daily Tribune also carried the story last Saturday. It quoted Missouri resident Tim Neal of Miller County. "When Neal read the report, he couldn't help but think it described him. A military veteran and a delegate to the 2008 Missouri Republican state convention, he didn't appreciate being lumped in with groups like the Neo-Nazis.
"'I was going down the list and thinking, "Check, that's me,"' he said. 'I'm a Ron Paul supporter, check. I talk about the North American union, check. I've got the "America: Freedom to Fascism" video loaned out to somebody right now. So that means I'm a domestic terrorist? Because I've got a video about the Federal Reserve?'"
The Tribune's report also acknowledges, "The [MIAC] report's most controversial passage states that militia 'most commonly associate with third-party political groups' and support presidential candidates such as Ron Paul, former Constitutional [sic] Party candidate Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate last year."
The Tribune report also said, "Neal, who has a Ron Paul bumper sticker on his car, said the next time he is pulled over by a police officer, he won't know whether it's because he was speeding or because of his political views."
See the Columbia Tribune report here:
http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/mar/14/fusion-center-data-draws-fire-over-assertions/
I realize that there are people who will dismiss this kind of story as insignificant. They shouldn't. This is very serious and should be treated as such. Anyone who knows anything at all about history knows that before a state or national government can persecute--and commit acts of violence against--a group of people, they must first marginalize the group from society's mainstream and categorize it as dangerous.
Rome did exactly that to Christians, as did Mao's China; Hitler's Germany did the same thing to Jews; Stalin's Russia did the same thing to political dissenters, etc. That a State police agency in America would actually infer that people who supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself in a political campaign are somehow indistinguishable from violence-prone "militias" is beyond insulting: it is a smear campaign, and might should even be regarded as a hate crime!
Beyond that, the MIAC report paints with a very broad brush. In addition to supporting Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself, a review of the report reveals that opposition to any of the following risks someone being classified as a potential "domestic terrorist":
The New World Order
The United Nations
Gun Control
The violation of Posse Comitatus
The Federal Reserve
The Income Tax
The Ammunition Accountability Act
A possible Constitutional Convention (Con Con)
The North American Union
Universal Service Program
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Abortion on demand
Illegal Immigration
Again, if you oppose any of the above, or if you supported Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or myself, you risk being labeled a "domestic terrorist," according to the MIAC.
Do you not see how dangerous this kind of slanderous labeling can become? It could affect your flight status when you try to board an airline. It could affect your application for sensitive jobs. It could affect your adjudication before a court or judge. It could make you a target for aggressive law enforcement strategies. It could affect your being able to obtain a passport. It could affect one's ability to purchase a firearm or receive a State concealed weapon permit.
This is very serious business! We are not talking about private opinions. We are talking about law enforcement agencies. And remember, most law enforcement agencies share these types of reports; therefore, how many other state police agencies have similar reports floating around? Probably several. Plus, how do we know that this report was not influenced by federal police agencies? We don't.
Rest assured, I do not plan to take this lying down. As one who is personally named in the above report, I demand a public retraction and apology from the MIAC and Missouri State Police. I can tell you that my family is extremely distraught that their husband, father, and grandfather would be labeled in such a manner. I am also not ruling out legal action. In addition, I am discussing an appropriate response with Ron Paul and Bob Barr. I will keep readers posted as to what comes of these discussions (as I am at liberty to do so, of course).
In the meantime, I encourage everyone who believes in the freedom of speech and who believes that the MIAC report is an egregious miscarriage of justice to contact the appropriate Missouri police officials. Here is the contact information:
Email address: Brandon.middleton@mshp.dps.mo.gov
Missouri Information Analysis Center
Division of Drugs & Crime Control
P. O. Box 568
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0568
Phone: 573-751-6422
Toll Free: 866-362-6422
Fax: 573-751-9950
And lest one thinks that none of this concerns him or her, I would like to remind you of the lament of Martin Niemoeller back in the days of Hitler's Germany. Niemoeller was a decorated U-Boat Captain and pastor of great distinction. An avid anti-communist, Niemoeller at first supported Hitler's rise to power and was hesitant to oppose the violations of civil rights against various groups he personally found distasteful. It did not take long, however, before Niemoeller realized that when laws protecting the rights of all were removed from some, no one was safe--including him. Unfortunately, he learned his lesson too late, as he, too, was persecuted and imprisoned by Hitler's State Police. Here is what Niemoeller said about his indifference:
"They came first for the communists, and I did not speak up-
because I was not a communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up-
because I was not a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up-
because I was not a Jew;
And then they came for me-
and there was no one left to speak up."
So, those of you who think you have nothing to fear because you did not vote for Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or me, or because you do not live in the State of Missouri need to think again. As I have repeatedly said, we either have freedom for all, or we have freedom for none. Truly, secret police reports such as the one above threaten the liberties of us all.
So, will you speak up now or wait until they come for you and no one is left to speak up?
*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:
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© Chuck Baldwin
This column is archived as
P.S. Highlight added for emphasis........... Arsenio
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Dominionism
DOMINIONISM
(A.K.A. CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTIONISM,DOMINION THEOLOGY, AND THEONOMY)
History:
Dominionism, Dominion Theology, Christian Reconstructionism, Theocratic Dominionism, and Theonomy are not denominations or faith groups. Rather, they are interrelated beliefs which are followed by members of a wide range of Christian denominations. They have no connection at all to Reconstructionist Judaism, which is a liberal group within Judaism.
Generally speaking:
Dominionism & Dominion Theology are derived from Genesis 1:26 of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament):
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" (NIV)
Most Christians interpret this verse as meaning that God gave mankind dominion over the animal kingdom. Dominion theologians believe that that this verse commands Christians to bring all societies, around the world, under the rule of the Word of God.
Theonomy (Greek for "God's Law") includes the concept that "God’s revealed standing laws are a reflection of His immutable moral character and, as such, are absolute in the sense of being nonarbitrary, objective, universal, and established in advance of particular circumstances (thus applicable to general types of moral situations)." 6,7 Thus, each of the 613 laws given to Moses and recorded in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures) are binding on people of all nations, cultures, and religions forever, except for those laws which have been specifically rescinded or modified by further revelation.
Christian Reconstructionism arose out of conservative Presbyterianism in the early 1970's. Followers believe "that every area dominated by sin must be 'reconstructed' in terms of the Bible." 1
The term Reconstructionism has been used to refer to various combinations of the preceding three terms. This type of confusion is common in the field of religion. Many theological terms such as Christian, Fundamentalist, Occult, New Age, Reconstructionism, Unitarian etc. have been assigned so many different interpretations by different groups in different eras that they are almost meaningless.
Its most common form, Dominionism, represents one of the most extreme forms of Fundamentalist Christianity thought. Its followers, called Dominionists, are attempting to peacefully convert the laws of United States so that they match those of the Hebrew Scriptures. They intend to achieve this by using the freedom of religion in the US to train a generation of children in private Christian religious schools. Later, their graduates will be charged with the responsibility of creating a new Bible-based political, religious and social order. One of the first tasks of this order will be to eliminate religious choice and freedom. Their eventual goal is to achieve the "Kingdom of God" in which much of the world is converted to Christianity. They feel that the power of God's word will bring about this conversion. No armed force or insurrection will be needed; in fact, they believe that there will be little opposition to their plan. People will willingly accept it. All that needs to be done is to properly explain it to them.
All religious organizations, congregations etc. other than strictly Fundamentalist Christianity would be suppressed. Nonconforming Evangelical, main line and liberal Christian religious institutions would no longer be allowed to hold services, organize, proselytize, etc. Society would revert to the laws and punishments of the Hebrew Scriptures. Any person who advocated or practiced other religious beliefs outside of their home would be tried for idolatry and executed. Blasphemy, adultery and homosexual behavior would be criminalized; those found guilty would also be executed. At that time that this essay was originally written, this was the only religious movement in North America of which we were aware which advocates genocide for followers of minority religions and non-conforming members of their own religion. Since then, we have learned of two conservative Christian pastors in Texas who have advocated the execution of all Wiccans. Ralph Reed, the executive director of the conservative public policy group the Christian Coalition has criticized Reconstructionism as "an authoritarian ideology that threatens the most basic civil liberties of a free and democratic society."
Leading writers in the movement are:
Greg L. Bahnsen of the Southern California Center for Christian Studies.
David Chilton. He adopted hyper-preterism, (a.k.a. full or complete perterism) a particular belief about end time events. He was basically ostracized from the Christian Reconstruction camp afterwards.
Gary DeMar.
Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.
Gary North of the Institute for Christian Economics. He is a prolific author.
Larry Pratt: head of the Gun Owners of America and English First, a group opposed to non-English speaking immigrants and bilingual education. Author of "Armed People Victorious" which documents Guatemalan and Philippine militias and para-military death squads. He was campaign co-chair of the Buchanan presidential campaign in 1996.
John Quade.
Rousas John Rushdoony of the Chalcedon Foundation is often considered the founder of Christian Reconstructionism. Author of Institutes of Biblical Law.
Rev. Andrew Sandlin.
Beliefs:
According to Gary DeMar, a popular Reconstructionist author, the foundation of Reconstructionism is a unique combination of three Biblical doctrines:
Regeneration of the individual, through an intimate relationship with Christ
Individuals guiding their lives closely by following a specified subset of Biblical laws
Promoting of the world-wide Kingdom of God. 2
Specific beliefs include
A rejection of Antinomianism: the belief that salvation is obtained totally through faith and not through performing good works and living a moral life
Presuppositionalism: the acceptance on faith that the Bible is true. They do not attempt to prove that God exists or that the Bible is true.
Inerrancy: the belief that the Bible, as originally written, is totally free of error.
Postmillennialism: the belief that Christ will not return to earth until much of the world has converted to Christianity. This will not take place for some considerable time; it will not be a painless transition. Most Fundamentalists and other Evangelists hold to a different view. They are Premillenialists and believe that all (or almost all) of the preconditions of Christ's return have been met. They expect Jesus' second coming to occur very soon.
The 613 laws contained in the Hebrew Scriptures' Mosaic Code can be divided into two classes: moral and ceremonial. Christians are not required to follow the ceremonial laws, because Jesus has liberated them from that responsibility. However, all persons must follow those moral laws which were not specifically modified or cancelled by further revelation --generally in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament). In contrast:
Non-reconstructionist Christians generally divide these laws into three classes: moral, civil and ceremonial law, and generally believe that most Old Testament laws are no longer binding on Christians.
Jews generally believe that the Mosaic Code is binding only on Jews.
The moral laws given by God to the ancient Israelites reflect of God's character, which is unchangeable. Most of the laws are intended for all nations, cultures, societies, religions and all eras, including the present time. However, there are a few laws, in such areas as personal safety and sanitation, which are no longer applicable because of changes in architecture and sewage disposal. These do not need to be obeyed.
The primacy of the Hebrew Scriptures, relative to the Christian Scriptures (New Testament). All of the Hebrew Scriptures' non-ceremonial laws are still in force, unless they have been specifically rescinded or modified by verses in the Christian Scriptures. "Only if we find an explicit abandonment of an Old Testament law in the New Testament, because of the historic fulfillment of the Old Testament shadow, can we legitimately abandon a detail of the Mosaic law." 3 This is largely supported by their interpretation of Matthew 5:17:
"Do you think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (NIV)
Civil laws must be changed to match the Bible's moral rules. That is, anything that is immoral (by their standards) is also to be criminalized.
The only valid legislation, social theory, spiritual beliefs, economic theory are those derived from the Bible
In every aspect of life, there are only two options: God-centered or man-centered; Theonomy or autonomy. Their political goal is to ban the latter, everywhere. Each individual, family, church, government and society must be reconstructed to eliminate sin. Each Christian has the responsibility to contribute to this conversion.
They oppose inter-faith, inter-racial, and same-sex marriages. R.J. Rushdoony wrote about opposition to:
"inter-religious, inter-racial, and inter-cultural marriages, in that they normally go against the very community which marriage is designed to establish." 4
Rushdoony's condemnation of inter-racial marriage appears to have been his own and unrelated to the biblical text. It was not shared by other Reconstructionists.
Reconstructionists regard the Gods and Goddesses of all other religions to be "the devil," and their teachings to be false. They would attempt to replace all religions with their version of Christianity. For example, David Chilton wrote about Judaism:
"The god of Judaism is the devil. The Jew will not be recognized by God as one of His chosen people until he abandons his demonic religion and returns to the faith of his fathers--the faith which embraces Jesus Christ and His Gospel." 5
Of course, there exists diversity of opinion within the Reconstructionist movement. Not all followers will necessarily agree with all the above statements of the movement's leaders
Practices:
If they gained control of the US or Canadian federal government, there would be many changes:
The use of the death penalty would be greatly expanded, when the Hebrew Scriptures' laws are reapplied. People will be executed for adultery, blasphemy, heresy, homosexual behavior, idolatry, prostitution, evil sorcery (some translations say Witchcraft), etc. The Bible requires those found guilty of these "crimes" to be either stoned to death or burned alive. Reconstructionists are divided on the execution method to be used.
A church or congregation which does not accept the Mosaic Law has another god before them, and is thus guilty of idolatry. That would be punishable by death. That would include all non-Christian religious organizations. At the present time, non-Christians total two-thirds of the human race.
The status of women would be reduced to almost that of a slave as described in the Hebrew Scriptures. A woman would initially be considered the property of her father; after marriage, she would be considered the property of her husband.
It would be logical to assume that the institution of slavery would be reintroduced, and regulated according to Biblical laws. Fathers could sell their daughters into slavery. Female slaves would retain that status for life. Slave owners would be allowed to physically abuse them, as long as the slaves lived for at least a day before dying of the beating. 9
Polygyny and the keeping of concubines were permitted in the Old Testament. However, Reconstructionists generally believe in marriage between one man and one woman only. Any other sexual expression would be a capital crime. Those found guilty of engaging in same-sex, pre-marital or extra-marital sex would be executed.
The Old Testament "Jubilee Year" system would be celebrated once more. Every 50 years, the control of all land reverted to its original owners. In theory, this would require every part of North American land to be returned to the original Aboriginal owners (or perhaps to those persons of Aboriginal descent who are now Christians). Hawaii would be given back to the native Hawaiians.
Governments would all have balanced budgets.
Income taxes would be eliminated.
The prison system would be eliminated. A system of just restitution would be established for some crimes. The death penalty would be practiced for many other crimes. There would be little need for warehousing of convicted criminals.
Legal abortions would be banished; those found to be responsible for abortions would be charged with murder and executed.
The reinstitution of slavery appears to be a hot button item among Reconstructionists. We have received a few negative E-mails which complained that the movement does not recommend the resumption of human slavery. But we have received many more Emails from Reconstructionists claiming that legalizing slavery would be good for North America.
Joseph Busche and Bill Curry have written a Tennessee Law Book. Their intent was to show that laws to implement various Old Testament laws would sound extremely intrusive today. See: http://www.sullivan-county.com/nf0/fundienazis/tn_law.htm.
Interface with other Fundamentalist Christian groups:
Dominionism differs from more common forms of Fundamentalism in a number of key areas.
Dominionists:
Emphasize the importance of the Hebrew Scriptures vs. the Christian Scriptures.
Believe that all Christians must attempt to reconstruct society along Biblical lines.
Believe that, once they attain power, they will suppress other religions through genocide and mass murder, rather than through proselytizing.
Would require all religious groups to strictly follow the Mosaic law.
Believe that Jesus' second coming is in the far future.
Dominionism thought is finding considerable support among Pentecostal and Charismatic denominations and churches. According to the Public Eye Magazine: "Gary North claims that 'the ideas of the Reconstructionists have penetrated into Protestant circles that for the most part are unaware of the original source of the theological ideas that are beginning to transform them.' North describes the 'three major legs of the Reconstructionist movement [as] the Presbyterian oriented educators, the Baptist school headmasters and pastors, and the charismatic telecommunications system'." 8
References used for the above essay:
Rev. Andrew Saldlin, "The Creed of Christian Reconstruction," at: http://www.chalcedon.edu/creed.html
J. Ligon Duncan, III, "Moses' Law for Modern Government: The Intellectual and Sociological Origins of the Christian Reconstructionist Movement", Premise, Vol II, No. 5, 1995-MAY-27. See: http://capo.org/premise/95/may/ssha2.html
Gary North, "The Sinai Strategy: Economics and the Ten Commandments," Institute for Christian Economics (1986)
R.J. Rushdoony, "The Institutes of Biblical Law", Craig Press, Nutley, NJ (1973), P. 257.
David Chilton, "The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation", Dominion Press, Ft. Worth, TX (1984), P. 127.
Rev. Andrew Saldlin, "The Creed of Christian Reconstruction," at: http://www.chalcedon.edu/creed.html
Greg Bahnsen, "By This Standard," Pages 345-347. Available free at http://www.freebooks.com/
Frederick Clarkson, "Theocratic Dominionism gains influence," The Public Eye Magazine, Volume 8, #1 and 2, 1994-MAR/JUN. Online at: http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre3.html
See Exodus 21:21
Additional resources:
An essay on Dominionism with many links is at: http://abacus.oxy.edu/qrd/www/rrr/recon.html
The Chalcedon Foundation of Dr. R.J. Rushdoony is at: http://www.chalcedon.edu/
The Southern California Center for Christian Studies (founded by the late Dr. G.L. Bahnsen) is at: http://www.cleaf.com/~covenant/
The Institute for Christian Economics, (ICE) founded by Dr. Gary North, has many Christian books free for downloading. See: http://www.freebooks.com/
An essay on Christian Reconstructionism with many links is at: http://abacus.oxy.edu/qrd/www/rrr/recon.html
The Chalcedon Foundation of Dr. R.J. Rushdoony is at: http://www.chalcedon.edu/
The Southern California Center for Christian Studies (founded by the late Dr. G.L. Bahnsen) is at: http://www.cleaf.com/~covenant/
The Institute for Christian Economics, (ICE) founded by Dr. Gary North, has many Christian books free for downloading. See: http://www.freebooks.com/
Joseph Conn, "Christians Stoning Teens," at: http://members.aol.com/timgore/teenstone.htm
Books:
G.L. Bahnsen "Theonomy in Christian Ethics"
G.L. Bahnsen "By This Standard"
G.L. Bahnsen "No Other Standard"
David Chilton's "Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators"
Gary DeMar, "Christian Reconstruction: What it Is, What it Isn’t"
George Grant and Mark Horne, "Legislating Immorality: The Homosexual Movement Comes Out Of The Closet." (This book advocates the death penalty for homosexual behavior.)
R.J. Rushdoony "Institutes of Biblical Law"
Copyright 1998 to 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious ToleranceLatest update: 2005-MAY-18Author: B.A. Robinson
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
THE EVANGELICAL MANIFESTO: WHAT IT MEANS
The Evangelical Manifesto: What It Means
An important new statement says theological principles should trump policy preferences
By Jay Tolson
Posted May 13, 2008
Charging that the word "evangelical" has been hijacked by politics, a group of prominent evangelicals last week announced the publication of a 19-page manifesto asserting that theological principles should be more important than any policy preferences in defining a movement that now claims roughly 4 out of 10 Americans. But while the drafters of the manifesto hoped to raise evangelicalism above the political fray, some reactions to the document are already revealing a strongly political tenor.
Worshippers gather for a service led by Dr. James Dobson, a child psychologist and founder of Focus on the Family.
(Kevin Horan/Aurora for USN&WR)
Not so, say the drafters of the document, who claim that they seek to move evangelicalism out of fealty to any one political camp. Using faith "to express essentially political points" leads to Christians becoming " 'useful idiots' for one party or the other," the document reads. And more pointedly, the manifesto goes on to say that "it would be no improvement to respond to a weakening of the religious right with a rejuvenation of the religious left."
Yet it is hard not to hear both in the document itself and in the words of the drafters a somewhat harder critique of the right's influence on evangelicalism—perhaps understandably, given the prominent role of the religious right in bringing evangelicalism more to the center of public life and debate in the past four decades. "Those on the right say that they aren't acknowledged for what conservatives have accomplished, whether in the Supreme Court or the battle to preserve the historic meaning of marriage or in keeping the debate over abortion alive," says Michael Cromartie, director of the Evangelical Studies Project at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He also reports that some conservative activists see the document as an overly academic criticism by "those who critique those who do."
Speaking for his fellow drafters, Guinness insists that they were not trying to repudiate the substance of what the religious right has fought for but instead the manner in which its leaders often fought. "The issues of life and marriage are crucial," he says, "but the appeal to fear or hatred is not a Christian approach."
Far from calling on evangelicals to withdraw from public life, the manifesto urges them to fight for issues deriving from Christian beliefs in a way that preserves a civil public square and that never "equates" them with any party or party ideology. It also takes issue with partisans of either the "sacred public square" in which any religion is given a preferred place or the "naked public square" in which religious perspectives are entirely excluded. The civil public square, the manifesto says, "is a vision of public life in which citizens of all faiths are free to enter and engage the public square on the basis of their faith, but within a framework of what is agreed to be just and free for other faiths too." The authors of the document add that secularists are just as entitled to this space as any believers are.
If all that seems to suggest a reasonable middle way, why are some leading evangelical thinkers not adding their names to the manifesto? Richard Land, head of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, says he was not invited to sign—an oversight, the manifesto authors say, but not an intentional slight. Now that he has read it, Land says that he agrees with 90 percent of its contents but still will not sign. A crucial 10 percent, he says, suffers from language that is "at the very best imprecise or at the very best obtuse," problems that he finds typical of most documents written by committees.
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Source: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/05/13/the-evangelical-manifesto-what-it-means.html
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
IS A THEOCRACY BIBLICAL?
NOTE 8. PAGE 603.
A THEOCRACY IS A GOVERNMENT WHICH DERIVES ITS POWER IMMEDIATELY FROM GOD. THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL WAS A TRUE THEOCRACY. THAT WAS REALLY A GOVERNMENT OF GOD. AT THE BURNING BUSH, GOD COMMISSIONED MOSES TO LEAD HIS PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT. BY SIGNS AND WONDERS AND MIGHTY MIRACLES MULTIPLIED, GOD DELIVERED ISRAEL FROM EGYPT AND
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LED THEM THROUGH THE WILDERNESS AND FINALLY INTO THE PROMISED LAND. THERE HE RULED THEM BY JUDGES "UNTIL SAMUEL THE PROPHET," TO WHOM, WHEN HE WAS A CHILD, GOD SPOKE, AND BY WHOM HE MADE KNOWN HIS WILL. IN THE DAYS OF SAMUEL THE PEOPLE ASKED THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE A KING. THIS WAS ALLOWED, AND GOD CHOSE SAUL, AND SAMUEL ANOINTED HIM KING OF ISRAEL. SAUL FAILED TO DO THE WILL OF GOD; AND AS HE REJECTED THE WORD OF THE LORD, THE LORD REJECTED HIM FROM BEING KING AND SENT SAMUEL TO ANOINT DAVID KING OF ISRAEL; AND DAVID'S THRONE GOD ESTABLISHED FOREVERMORE. WHEN SOLOMON SUCCEEDED TO THE KINGDOM IN THE PLACE OF DAVID HIS FATHER, THE RECORD IS: "THEN SOLOMON SAT ON THE THRONE OF THE LORD AS KING INSTEAD OF DAVID HIS FATHER." 1 CHRONICLES 29:23. DAVID'S THRONE WAS THE THRONE OF THE LORD, AND SOLOMON SAT ON THE THRONE OF THE LORD AS KING OVER THE EARTHLY KINGDOM OF GOD. THE SUCCESSION TO THE THRONE DESCENDED IN DAVID'S LINE TO ZEDEKIAH, WHO WAS MADE SUBJECT TO THE KING OF BABYLON, AND WHO ENTERED INTO A SOLEMN COVENANT BEFORE GOD THAT HE WOULD LOYALLY RENDER ALLEGIANCE TO THE KING OF BABYLON. BUT ZEDEKIAH BROKE HIS COVENANT, AND THEN GOD SAID TO HIM: {PP 761.7}
"THOU, PROFANE WICKED PRINCE OF ISRAEL, WHOSE DAY IS COME, WHEN INIQUITY SHALL HAVE AN END, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD; REMOVE THE DIADEM, AND TAKE OFF THE CROWN: THIS SHALL NOT BE THE SAME: EXALT HIM THAT IS LOW, AND ABASE HIM THAT IS HIGH. I WILL OVERTURN, OVERTURN, OVERTURN, IT: AND IT SHALL BE NO MORE, UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS; AND I WILL GIVE IT HIM." EZEKIEL 21:25-27. SEE ALSO CHAPTER 17:1-21. {PP 762.1}
THE KINGDOM WAS THEN SUBJECT TO BABYLON. WHEN BABYLON FELL, AND MEDO-PERSIA SUCCEEDED, IT WAS OVERTURNED THE FIRST TIME. WHEN MEDO-PERSIA FELL AND WAS SUCCEEDED BY GREECE, IT WAS OVERTURNED THE SECOND TIME. WHEN THE GREEK EMPIRE GAVE WAY TO ROME, IT WAS OVERTURNED THE THIRD TIME. AND THEN SAYS THE WORD, "IT SHALL BE NO MORE, UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS; AND I WILL GIVE IT HIM." WHO IS HE WHOSE RIGHT IT IS? "THOU . . . SHALT CALL HIS NAME JESUS. HE SHALL BE GREAT, AND SHALL BE CALLED THE SON OF THE HIGHEST: AND THE LORD GOD SHALL GIVE UNTO HIM THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID: AND HE SHALL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER; AND OF HIS KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE NO END." LUKE 1:31-33. AND WHILE HE WAS HERE AS "THAT PROPHET," A MAN OF SORROWS AND ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF, THE NIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAYED HE HIMSELF DECLARED, "MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD." THUS THE THRONE OF THE LORD HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THIS WORLD AND WILL "BE NO MORE, UNTIL HE COME WHOSE RIGHT IT IS," AND THEN IT WILL BE GIVEN HIM. AND THAT TIME IS THE END OF THIS WORLD, AND THE BEGINNING OF "THE WORLD TO COME." {PP 762.2}
TO THE TWELVE APOSTLES THE SAVIOUR SAID, "I APPOINT UNTO YOU A KINGDOM, AS MY FATHER HATH APPOINTED UNTO ME; THAT YE MAY EAT AND DRINK AT MY TABLE IN MY KINGDOM, AND SIT ON THRONES, JUDGING THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL." LUKE 22:29, 30. FROM MATTHEW'S ACCOUNT OF
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CHRIST'S PROMISE TO THE TWELVE WE LEARN WHEN IT WILL BE FULFILLED; "IN THE REGENERATION WHEN THE SON OF MAN SHALL SIT IN THE THRONE OF HIS GLORY, YE ALSO SHALL SIT UPON TWELVE THRONES, JUDGING THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL." MATTHEW 19:28. IN THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS, CHRIST REPRESENTS HIMSELF UNDER THE FIGURE OF A NOBLEMAN WHO "WENT INTO A FAR COUNTRY TO RECEIVE FOR HIMSELF A KINGDOM, AND TO RETURN." LUKE 19:12. AND HE HIMSELF HAS TOLD US WHEN HE WILL SIT UPON THE THRONE OF HIS GLORY: "WHEN THE SON OF MAN SHALL COME IN HIS GLORY, AND ALL THE HOLY ANGELS WITH HIM, THEN SHALL HE SIT UPON THE THRONE OF HIS GLORY: AND BEFORE HIM SHALL BE GATHERED ALL NATIONS." MATTHEW 25:31, 32. {PP 762.3}
TO THIS TIME THE REVELATOR LOOKS FORWARD WHEN HE SAYS, "THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; AND HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER AND EVER." REVELATION 11:15. THE CONTEXT CLEARLY SHOWS WHEN THIS WILL TAKE PLACE: "THE NATIONS WERE ANGRY, AND THY WRATH IS COME, AND THE TIME OF THE DEAD, THAT THEY SHOULD BE JUDGED, AND THAT THOU SHOULDEST GIVE REWARD UNTO THY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS, AND TO THE SAINTS, AND THEM THAT FEAR THY NAME, SMALL AND GREAT; AND SHOULDEST DESTROY THEM WHICH DESTROY THE EARTH." VERSE 18. IT IS AT THE TIME OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT, THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS, AND THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED THAT THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST WILL BE SET UP. WHEN ALL WHO OPPOSE THE SOVEREIGNTY OF CHRIST HAVE BEEN DESTROYED, THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST. {PP 763.1}
THEN CHRIST WILL REIGN, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." REVELATION 19:16. "AND THE KINGDOM AND DOMINION, AND THE GREATNESS OF THE KINGDOM UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN, SHALL BE GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE OF THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH." AND "THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH SHALL TAKE THE KINGDOM, AND POSSESS THE KINGDOM FOREVER, EVEN FOREVER AND EVER." DANIEL 7:27, 18. {PP 763.2}
UNTIL THAT TIME THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED ON THE EARTH. HIS KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. HIS FOLLOWERS ARE TO ACCOUNT THEMSELVES "STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS ON THE EARTH." PAUL SAYS, "OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN; FROM WHENCE ALSO WE WAIT FOR A SAVIOUR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST." HEBREWS 11:13; PHILIPPIANS 3:20, R.V. {PP 763.3}
SINCE THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL PASSED AWAY, GOD HAS NEVER DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO ANY MAN OR BODY OF MEN TO EXECUTE HIS LAWS AS SUCH. "VENGEANCE IS MINE; I WILL REPAY, SAITH THE LORD." ROMANS 12:19. CIVIL GOVERNMENTS HAVE TO DO WITH THE RELATIONS OF MAN WITH MAN; BUT THEY HAVE NOTHING WHATEVER TO DO WITH THE DUTIES THAT GROW OUT OF MAN'S RELATION TO GOD. {PP 763.4}
EXCEPT THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL, NO GOVERNMENT HAS EVER EXISTED ON THE EARTH IN WHICH GOD BY INSPIRED MEN DIRECTED THE AFFAIRS OF STATE. WHENEVER MEN HAVE ENDEAVORED TO FORM SUCH A GOVERNMENT AS THAT OF ISRAEL, THEY HAVE, OF NECESSITY, TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES TO INTERPRET AND ENFORCE THE LAW OF GOD. THEY HAVE ASSUMED THE RIGHT TO
764
CONTROL THE CONSCIENCE, AND THUS HAVE USURPED THE PREROGATIVE OF GOD. {PP 763.5}
IN THE FORMER DISPENSATION, WHILE SINS AGAINST GOD WERE VISITED WITH TEMPORAL PENALTIES, THE JUDGMENTS EXECUTED WERE NOT ONLY BY DIVINE SANCTION, BUT UNDER HIS DIRECT CONTROL, AND BY HIS COMMAND. SORCERERS WERE TO BE PUT TO DEATH. IDOLATERS WERE TO BE SLAIN. PROFANITY AND SACRILEGE WERE PUNISHED WITH DEATH. WHOLE NATIONS OF IDOLATERS WERE TO BE EXTERMINATED. BUT THE INFLICTION OF THESE PENALTIES WAS DIRECTED BY HIM WHO READS THE HEARTS OF MEN, WHO KNOWS THE MEASURE OF THEIR GUILT, AND WHO DEALS WITH HIS CREATURES IN WISDOM AND MERCY. WHEN MEN, WITH HUMAN FRAILTIES AND PASSIONS, UNDERTAKE TO DO THIS WORK, IT NEEDS NO ARGUMENT TO SHOW THAT THE DOOR IS OPENED TO UNRESTRAINED INJUSTICE AND CRUELTY. THE MOST INHUMAN CRIMES WILL BE PERPETRATED, AND ALL IN THE SACRED NAME OF CHRIST. {PP 764.1}
FROM THE LAWS OF ISRAEL, WHICH PUNISHED OFFENSES AGAINST GOD, ARGUMENTS HAVE BEEN DRAWN TO PROVE THE DUTY OF PUNISHING SIMILAR SINS IN THIS AGE. ALL PERSECUTORS HAVE EMPLOYED THEM TO JUSTIFY THEIR DEEDS. THE PRINCIPLE THAT GOD HAS DELEGATED TO HUMAN AUTHORITY THE RIGHT TO CONTROL THE CONSCIENCE IS THE VERY FOUNDATION OF RELIGIOUS TYRANNY AND PERSECUTION. BUT ALL WHO REASON THUS LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE NOW LIVING IN A DIFFERENT DISPENSATION, UNDER CONDITIONS WHOLLY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF ISRAEL; THAT THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL WAS A TYPE OF THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST, WHICH WILL NOT BE SET UP UNTIL HIS SECOND COMING; AND THAT THE DUTIES WHICH PERTAIN TO MAN'S RELATION TO GOD ARE NOT TO BE REGULATED OR ENFORCED BY HUMAN AUTHORITY. {PP 764.2}
Patriarchs and Prophets, Appendix, E. G. White, pg.761-764.
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