DOMINIONISM – PART II

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Dominionism derives from a small fringe sect called Christian Reconstructionism, founded by a Calvinist theologian named R. J. Rushdoony in the 1960s. Christian Reconstructionism openly advocates replacing American law with the strictures of the Old Testament, replete with the death penalty for homosexuality, abortion, and even apostasy. The appeal of Christian Reconstructionism is, obviously, limited, and mainstream Christian right figures like Ralph Reed have denounced it.

But while Rushdoony was a totalitarian, he was a prolific and influential one—he elaborated his theories in a number of books, including the massive, three-volume Institutes of Biblical Law. And his ideas, along with those of his followers, have had an incalculable impact on the milieu that spawned Palin, Bachmann and Perry. 

Rushdoony pioneered the Christian homeschooling movement, as well as the revisionist history, pervasive on the religious right, that paints the U.S. as a Christian nation founded on biblical principles. He consistently defended Southern slavery and contrasted it with the greater evils of socialism: “The law here is humane and also unsentimental,” he wrote. “It recognizes that some people are by nature slaves and will always be so … Socialism, on the contrary, tries to give the slave all the advantages of his security together with the benefits of freedom, and in the process, destroys both the free and the enslaved.” 

Rushdoony’s most influential idea was the concept of Dominionism, which spread far beyond the Christian Reconstructionist fringe. “‘Dominion theologians,’ as they are called, lay great emphasis on Genesis 1:26–7, where God tells Adam to assume dominion over the animate and inanimate world,” wrote the scholar Garry Wills in his book Under God: Religion and American Politics, describing the influence of the ideology on Pat Robertson. “When man fell, his control over creation was forfeited; but the saved, who are restored by baptism, can claim again the rights given Adam.” 

The Christian Right’s attack on our country is alarming, and, millions of individuals in this country and around the world are feeling threatened by the clash growing over the separation of church and state.  

Most frightening is Dominionist and what their plans for America are. 

Actually very few individuals have even heard of this type of theology – or what its program represents or how deeply it is involved with the Tea Party as well as the Republican Party.  

Dominionism stresses the entire redesigning of the social order to follow the rules of the Bible’s Old Testament, and states that the second coming of Jesus Christ will by no means happen until “God’s kingdom” is acknowledged on earth and rules for either a thousand years or an indefinite period of time.  

They contend that all of the laws of the Old Testament, unless explicitly repealed later in the Bible, are still obligatory and they want to essentially exchange the U.S. Constitution and legal system with the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic laws of the Bible.  

For those who have read the series “God the Original Fascist,” you know what this would mean – but in case you haven’t it would look like this: 

If you don’t follow the Christian faith, or if you ever leave it (we’re talking millions of people in the U.S. alone) you’d be punished by death. Same thing for anyone who commits theft, who blasphemes (says “goddamn it”), or who commits heresy (says God does not exist). “Eternal Hostilities: The Struggle between Theocracy and Democracy”, points out that “anyone responsible for abortion” (meaning women and abortion providers) would be given the death penalty as well.

In his 2007 book, “American Fascists, the Christian Right and the War on America”, Chris Hedges describes what our country would look like if dominionists, continue their occupation of the American party-political system. 

“America becomes, in this militant Biblicism, an agent of God, and all political and intellectual opponents of America’s Christian leaders are viewed, quite simply, as agents of Satan. Under Christian dominion, America will be no longer a sinful and fallen nation but one in which the 10 Commandments form the basis of our legal system, creationism and ‘Christian values’ form the basis of our educational system, and the media and government proclaim the Good News to one and all. Labor unions, civil rights laws and public schools will be abolished. Women will be removed from the workforce to stay at home, and all those deemed insufficiently Christian will be denied citizenship. Aside from its proselytizing mandate, the federal government will be reduced to the protection of property rights and ‘homeland security…’ The only legitimate voices in this state will be Christian. All others will be silenced.” 

Now what other religion does this sound like?  The parallels between this crusade and Islamic fundamentalism are terrifying. Hedges states that both “do not tolerate other forms of belief or disbelief. They are at war with artistic and cultural expression. They seek to silence the media. They call for the subjugation of women. They promote severe sexual repression, and they seek to express themselves through violence.”

Related articles

• Dominion Theology, Christian Reconstructionism, and the New Apostolic Reformation (au4churchstateseparation.wordpress.com)
• Dominion Theology, Christian Reconstructionism, and the New Apostolic Reformation (chasdarwin.wordpress.com)
• A Dominionist Presidency, by Mike Gold – Brainiac On Banjo #237 (mdwp.malibulist.com)
• Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party Part 2 (yumaprogressive.wordpress.com)
• 5 Facts About Dominionism (huffingtonpost.com)