Dominionism Is Left-Wing Birtherism

Not only am I a conservative, I'm a Southern Baptist who started going to church when I was knee-high. Moreover, most of my friends could fairly be called Christian conservatives. That being said, the first time I ever even heard the word "Dominionism" was on a left-wing website that was probably about as hostile to Christianity as Andre Carson is to the Tea Party.

Yet and still, if you listen to liberal newspapers, you'd think every other GOP presidential contender is a theocratic dominionist even though I've never met a single conservative in my entire life who favors turning the United States into a theocracy.

The Daily Beast/Newsweek recently published an article titled "A Christian Plot for Domination?" claiming that Perry and Bachmann are "deeply associated with a theocratic strain of Christian fundamentalism" known as Dominionism. A widely discussed article in the Texas Observer claimed that Dominionists -- a "little-known movement of radical Christians" -- are readying an "army of God" to "commandeer civilian government," with Perry the "vessel" for their ambitions. Finally, the New Yorker published a long article claiming that Bachmann believes "Christians, and Christians alone, are Biblically mandated to occupy all secular institutions until Christ returns."

Surveying those articles, the executive editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller, concludes that "an unusually large number" of Republican candidates "belong to churches that are mysterious or suspect to many Americans." Perry and Bachmann, in particular, are connected to "fervid subsets of evangelical Christianity," which Keller says "has raised concerns about their respect for the separation of church and state, not to mention the separation of fact and fiction." Fearing that Perry or Bachmann could be a "Trojan horse" for a religious takeover of the government, Keller advocates strict questioning of candidates on doctrinal issues.

If you want to make the 2012 campaign about religion, I have two words for you: Jeremiah Wright.

Beyond that, much time has been spent deservedly mocking "birthers" for pushing the idea that Barack Obama wasn't born in Hawaii. Yet, the idea that Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are dominionists is every bit as laughable, silly, and unproven as the idea that Barack Obama wasn't born in America. Yet some of the biggest liberal news sources in America are treating the idea seriously.

What's next? Is Ron Paul really a moon man? Is Herman Cain bionic? Does Mitt Romney have a secret second wife who's actually a Bigfoot? Maybe the New York Times, The New Yorker, and the Daily Beast/Newsweek can find out for us right after they get to the bottom of this Dominionism story.

 

Follow John Hawkins on Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnhawkinsrwn

Comments

[John Douglas Chitty]

05:28 PM on 09/20/2011

If Perry is a theocrat for being associated with so-called Dominionists, and must want to violate the separation of church and state, then Obama is a theocrat of sorts because he was a member for 20 years of a church pastored by the "Irreverend" Jeremiah Wright, who is a proponent of Black Liberation Theology (BLT). BLT is an African-American application of the older Liberation Theology which was devised by Roman Catholic intellectuals to promote violent Communist revolutions in South America.

I've uploaded this reductio ad absurdum argument along with a direct question to Gov. Perry to address whether or not he is a theocrat to the FoxNews Channel's YouTube page in the hopes it'll be aired on Thursday night's debate. Watch it at the following link, and vote "thumbs up" if you'd like to see it aired.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fyt-debates.appspot.com%2Fquestion%2F5482875&h=0AQD_2nq7AQCoUDgEuefz60Cve4MEMEL31ivhNafm28FJMg

[duchessdorleans]

04:19 PM on 09/11/2011

Why have I been unable to find a reasoned, plausible argument against this idea? This response seems particularly childish. "the idea that Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are dominionists is every bit as laughable, silly, and unproven as the idea that Barack Obama wasn't born in America." How so? If you were one of my writing students I would give you a big fat D for failure to support your claims and using exaggerated comparisons that seek to derail the validity of another's argument rather than present a counter-argument.

[Redhunteur]

07:15 AM on 09/06/2011

Oh my… is this author really serious? The goal of dominionism is the majority rule by christians, and if he’s listened to any for the past ten+ years he would hear that many of them already think that America is a christian country founded on christian ideals for christians to worship their christian god.

Here are a few topics and ideas punted about by many (not all) christians in the political arena with nauseating frequency:

The topic of abortion
The topic of gay marriage
They strive to “Take back America”
They claim “America is a xtian country based on xtian morals/law”
They are constantly pushing and fighting for Ten Commandments monuments on court house lawns
They want creationism taught in schools
They fear atheists teaching their children

Not to mention:

They got “God” printed on money in 1957
They got “God” added to pledge of allegiance in 1954
They got directly and I believe illegally involved in Proposition 8
GWB said that the christian god told him to invade Iraq


Then to compare it to the birther movement? Ugh. What utter hor$e$hit.

The birthers are/were sore loser/racists who don’t know when to fold 'em and go home and the others are those seeing dominionists as the reality they are. Make no mistake; strong xtians want the USA to be run like a church under the banner of jesus and more likely than not they will outright tell you as much. The author is living in fantasy world.

[Mike Ddd]

02:06 PM on 09/08/2011

"They are constantly pushing and fighting for Ten Commandmen­ts monuments on court house lawns"

Yes, but they won't actually want to make it an actual crime to curse your parents, skip church, mow your grass on Sunday. They just want a sign that says that in front of a court house, which enforces all the other laws. So no, I wouldn't call them dominionists.

[Redhunteur]

06:49 AM on 09/09/2011

Short Definition of Dominionism: The tendency among some politically active conservative Christians to seek influence or control over secular civil government.

So christians just want a sign--list of the biblical ten commandments--outside the building where laws are enforced and justice is doled out, which will remind everyone including non-christians that they need to obey all laws but that DOESN'T make them dominionists?

So... a religious group known as christians, want a statue of the christian ten commandments of which only 3 are even close to being enforceable laws and the other seven or so (lot of grey area in there) are to basically be ignored on the front lawn of our courthouses where local, state and national laws of the USA are enforced but that has nothing to do with christians wanting the USA and christianity mixed in any form or fashion?

SO… “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” in the courthouse lawn is NOT an attempt by religion to influence secular government?

Oh… kaaaaaaaaay…

[JohnnyRivers]

11:42 PM on 09/04/2011

First I've heard of this...

[gabriel72]

02:17 PM on 09/06/2011

Dominionism, in the context of politics and religion, is the tendency among some politically active conservative Christians to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action, especially in the United States.

[37919KJ]

12:39 AM on 09/04/2011

Many theocrats find the term "Dominionism" insulting, They prefer "Christian Reconstruction", "Theonomy" or "Christian Worldview." But they are still theocrats.

[isadora]

08:57 AM on 09/06/2011

They like their own buzz words and phrases that give them a self congratulatory high. Mario Rubio (US Senator from Florida) gave a high profile speech at the Reagan Library recently and a man who had been his colleague in the state legislature made note of the fact that Rubio is a different man now. The speech was all right wing dog whistle, as are "Christian Reconstruction," "Theonomy" and "Christian Worldview." Bow-wow.

[georgiasurvey]

03:20 PM on 10/09/2011

You know, you would be taken more seriously if you actually knew the guys name! LOL

[phal4875]

08:10 PM on 09/03/2011

Other than Dick Cheney, I have never seen anyone so thoroughly rebutted in posts on HP.

[Vic22]

02:57 PM on 09/03/2011

"Squirrel!"

So that was your best attempt as distracting us? Perry and Bachman are devoutly anti science and are blatant about wanting to govern in a way that is based on their version of the bible (the one devoid of Jesus's teachings about helping the poor)

[Bluetiger]

11:20 AM on 09/03/2011

I have this question. Maybe a historian in the crowd can answer it for me. What is the difference between "Dominionism" and the Holy Roman Empire? Did they not have similar goals and aspirations?

Since "Trickle Down Economics" is the same as the economics use by kings in Europe where wealth was allowed to trickle down to the serfs from the lords associated with the King, does not the combination of the two philosophies represent a desire to return to the dark ages. Further more if you add the elimination of funding for scientific efforts, weather satellites, NASA, EPA, and other agencies involved in the furtherance of enlightenment, it is not an all out assault on intellectual progress

Or is it just the other guy in my head talking to me again.

[garysgary]

11:13 AM on 09/03/2011

I have two words for ya'll......Christian Caliphate.

[datenutloaf]

10:51 AM on 09/03/2011

Hawkins

You're just buying into the right-wing religiosity smarm. An 'exclusive' Xian who is willing to rewrite the New Testament to reflect the Go$pel of Pro$perity..... which is being re-written by some Texas-TeaXians (Bible scholars need NOT apply). In their version, Je$u$ is not angry with the money changers for defiling the temple. Rather he is angry that they're not charging a high enough exchange rate......

Read "The Family" by Jeff Sharlet.

BTW---- I was raised Southern Baptist. Married a Methodist in a Presbyterian church.

But I'm getting bettah......

[Deacon2]

10:08 AM on 09/03/2011

So John, I guess that you have not met Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Bryan Fischer, any of the 15,500 military leaders of Officers for a Christian Fellowship, anyone from the Christian Revisionists or the New Apostolic Reformists, or the God of the Old Testament.

[Mike Ddd]

02:22 PM on 09/08/2011

But Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Bryan Fischer aren't running for to be the GOP frontrunners. Bachmann, Perry, Santorum are. Two different groups of people.

[Peguy]

09:45 AM on 09/03/2011

... and I have one word for you "Huckabee" let's see his quote would be: ""But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

While Huckabee may not be running, he is still a power within the Republican power, witness how many tents he was a guest in at the Ames Iowa straw poll event.

Also, let's not forget Perry's "Prayer" event in Texas, where he invited all the extreme "right-wing" dominion preachers to the Reliant Stadium to preach and pray for America...

Obama on the other hand, publicly disavowed Wright's opinions in his speech in Philadelphia - while Perry has done none of that.

Sorry, Hawkins... your chosen candidates aren't standing up for a separation of Church and State - they are busy blurring the lines. They aren't being inclusive of other religions and non-believers... they are only being inclusive of "Christians" in their speech and actions.

[Thremnir]

08:58 AM on 09/03/2011

Of course you're right. This "dominionist" fear mongering is just an attempt to "energise the progressive base", as a progressive I can see this clearly. It's disconcerting to me, because
I ( and other progressives ) can clearly see FASCISM as the greater threat, and one that is only
tightening it's grip on Washington.
What ? Fascism ? The Corporate Elites, the Aristocracy, seems to have succeeded in buying off
both democrats and republicans, they (Wall Street) have become more powerful than our Gov't. Yet
their is little discussion in our corporate media / propaganda ministry.

[sneakysis]

07:02 AM on 09/03/2011

The thing I like about the author's false equivalence is that he doesn't bother to even TRY to present contrary evidence.

Let's remember that there's a difference between news reporting that many people are questioning the truth of X, and news reporting that Y is true.

[CateManhattan]

06:05 AM on 09/03/2011

The right wingers have never heard of any of the bad things their GOPers have done. Why does Hawkins think we should believe him? As long as we all come to Jesus, they won't have to invoke Dominism.

[MikeCm]

01:16 PM on 09/03/2011

You wingers of the left are always missing the main point.

This isn't about a Dominionism. This is about pundit-ism.

There is literally a formulary to follow if you want to break into the right wing political pundit racket.

First you have to establish yourself by being as offensive to liberals as possible while appearing to defend conservative causes. The most important trait to display, which is highly revered by the right, is obnoxiousness. Here's the author of this article working on an early version of his schtick:

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=5xQnSJXAH­Xo&feature­=related