Recent article have associated several GOP/Tea party presidential candidates with what is termed Christian Dominionism. This is a movement that appears to have surfaced in the late 60’s, although it certainly has much deeper roots, and has come to the fore in the upcoming election. One can research it’s meaning but I did find a very helpful article that offeres the following explanation (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chip-berlet/what-is-dominionism-palin_b_124037.html):
“This highly politicized concept of dominionism is based on the Bible's text in Genesis 1:26:
• "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (King James Version).
• "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.'" (New International Version).
The vast majority of Christians read this text and conclude that God has appointed them stewards and caretakers of Earth. As Sara Diamond explains, however, some Christian read the text and believe, ‘that Christians alone are Biblically mandated to occupy all secular institutions until Christ returns.’ That, in a nutshell, is the idea of ‘dominionism.’"
I have often talked about how taking Biblical quotes literally and out of context is very dangerous. Further, doing so has been a tool of the right to distort, twist and justify the most ungodly actions. It is one thing to promote ‘worn out dogma,’ it is another to twist that dogma for nefarious ends. The above quotes are at the root of anti-environmental actions on the part of big business as they see biblical justification to do with the planet as they see fit. I guess they figure that God will fix anything they screw up, which ‘He’ did when he caused the ‘Great Flood.’ I don’t see how they might find any comfort in that thought. See the part about secular institutions? Let’s examine this more closely.
“Christian Reconstructionism is a form of theocratic dominion theology. The core theme of dominion theology is that the Bible mandates Christians to take over and "occupy" secular institutions.
Soft Dominionists are Christian nationalists. They believe that Biblically-defined immorality and sin breed chaos and anarchy. They fear that America's greatness as God's chosen land has been undermined by liberal secular humanists, feminists, and homosexuals. Purists want litmus tests for issues of abortion, tolerance of gays and lesbians, and prayer in schools. Their vision has elements of theocracy, but they stop short of calling for supplanting the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Hard Dominionists believe all of this, but they want the United States to be a Christian theocracy. For them the Constitution and Bill of Rights are merely addendums to Old Testament Biblical law. They claim that Christian men with specific theological beliefs are ordained by God to run society. Christians and others who do not accept their theological beliefs would be second-class citizens. This sector includes Christian Reconstructionists, but it has a growing number of adherents in the leadership of the Christian Right.”
Any sane and rational person should see the danger and the hypocrisy in this co called ‘Christian ‘philosophy. This is religion at its worst. It is a hate philosophy that says unless you’re one of us, you are evil, the spawn of Satan, and if we get into power, we will get you. There is no Jesus here; no love your neighbor, no forgiveness, no peace, no light; only darkness and hatred. These beliefs merely replace the swastika with cross — onward Christian soldiers; hate/kill those who are not like us. In the Waking God Trilogy, we talked about the collapse of the ‘Church’ and the rise of radical religious groups. Fiction is now fact as those who hold to these beliefs have the money, corporate wealth at their disposal, and the politicians willing to do their bidding. This is a dangerous combination that should not be ignored. With all of the social and political turbulence in this country, it is quite possible that, like their National Socialists predecessors in pre-WWII Germany, they could sneak into power if all are not diligent.
