Theocracy In America--Who wants this?

[sky dancer]

Theocratic Organizations

Alliance for Marriage
American Center for Law and Justice
American Family Association
American Vision - founded by Gary Demar, leading theocratic ideologue
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Chalcedon Foundation - led by R. J. Rushdoony
Christian Action Network
Christian Business Men's Committee
Christian Coalition of America
Christian Exodus
ChristianAmerica.Com
Citizens for Excellence in Education - arm of National Association of Christian Educators
CitizenLink.Com - an arm of Focus on the Family
Coalition on Revival - Applying Biblical Principles to Every Sphere of Life and Thought
Concerned Women for America
Constitutional Law for Enlightened Citizens
Coral Ridge Ministries - led by D. James Kennedy
Council for National Policy - secret government council policy formed by Tim LaHaye
Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Creation Resource Foundation
Eagle Forum
Family Policy Network
Family Research Council
Free Congress Foundation
Home School Foundation - funded by the HSLDF
Home School Legal Defense Foundation (HSLDF)
Institute for Christian Economics - led by Gary North
National Association of Christian Educators (NACE)
Joshua Generation - aimed at 11 to 19 year olds; affiliated with Patrick Henry College
National Center for Home Education - affiliated with HSLDF
National Clergy Council
National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI)- funded by HSLDF
Operation Rescue
Restore America
Rutherford Institute
Traditional Values Coalition
Vision America - founded by Rick Scarborough, Baptist
Vision Forum Ministries
Wall Builders - led by David Barton
Worldview Weekend

Theocratic Educational Institutions

Patrick Henry College - for homeschooled children, partner of HSLDF
Regent University - "Regent" refers to Christian rulers who will govern the nation

Theocratic Publications and Media

A Christian Manifesto - address by Francis A. Schaeffer; summary of theocratic views
A Manifesto for the Christian Church - endorsed by the major theocratic players
American Vision Home School Online Store
Biblical Worldview Magazine
Citizen Magazine - published by Focus on the Family
Civilized Revolt (Formerly Virtue Magazine)
FreeBooks - from the Institute for Christian Economics
Generations - Radio Program
Home School Heartbeat (Radio program)
LifeWay Homeschool, Southern Baptist Convention - affiliated with HSLDF & NHERI
WorldView Magazine

American Theocracy: Who Wants to Turn America into a Theocracy?

 

[Southpaw]

History of religion in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't have a problem with there not being a national religion or a state church. In fact, I greatly prefer it that way as I'm somewhat of a stickler on doctrine and would probably get in WAY too many arguments with the established clergy.

My issue on this is twofold:

A. Too many Americans think 'Wall of Separation' is in the Constitution or that it was a common way of interpreting the Constitution since the Founding. It simply wasn't.

B. Too many people try to claim the Founders were not Christians. Now it is obvious that a significant portion were deists including TJ and BF. However, if you take the words of most of the rest at face value, you get fundie Christians.

 

[Southpaw]

Sky, it seems like any type of organization which is Christian is automatically theocratic to you.

Let's approach this another way. Give me a few examples of Christian organizations that are active which you do not consider to be theocratic. I'm just curious to find the characteristics that you think differentiate the two.

 

[sky dancer]

Let's talk about Christian Right Dominionism and tendencies toward authoritarian theocratic governance.

This highly politicized concept of dominionism is based on the Bible's text in Genesis 1

"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."

In her 1989 book Spiritual Warfare, sociologist Sara Diamond discussed how dominionism as an ideological tendency in the Christian Right had been significantly influenced by Christian Reconstructionism. Over the past 20 years the leading proponents of Christian Reconstructionism and dominion theology have included Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony, Gary North, Greg Bahnsen, David Chilton, Gary DeMar, and Andrew Sandlin.

Diamond explained that "the primary importance of the [Christian Reconstructionist] ideology is its role as a catalyst for what is loosely called 'dominion theology.'" According to Diamond, "Largely through the impact of Rushdoony's and North's writings, the concept that Christians are Biblically mandated to 'occupy' all secular institutions has become the central unifying ideology for the Christian Right."

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.

Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party

 

[sky dancer]

Sky, it seems like any type of organization which is Christian is automatically theocratic to you.

Let's approach this another way. Give me a few examples of Christian organizations that are active which you do not consider to be theocratic. I'm just curious to find the characteristics that you think differentiate the two.

That's not true. Some Christians take the bible teaching on dominion and do not apply it to theocratic politics, and some do. I just put another link that outlines the differences.

 

[sky dancer]

No matter what the belief system or religion," wrote Lawrence Butt, February 20, 2005, "theocracies all have similar characteristics."

1. The society and its leaders believe they have a divine right.
2. The divine mandate is interpreted in specific political contexts.
3. Civil rights and a code of conduct are dictated by religious dogma.
4. Individual aspirations are subordinate to the priorities of the state/religion.
5. Domestic and foreign policy is guided by a religious ideology.
6. Leaders are part of a theologically trained elite.
7. Leadership is limited by religious dogma and is rarely skilled in economics. [1]
The Bush Theocracy - SourceWatch

 

[dilloduck]

Christian Right Dominionism

and you see them everywhere beating people into submission.

 

[Southpaw]

If I had to guess, I'd say 95% of all fundies fall into the definition of Soft Dominionists above. The other 5% generally smell bad and go to weird conferences.

I'm somewhat unusual in my stances because doctrinally I'm uber-conservative while politically, I'm a right-leaning libertarian.

 

[sky dancer]

Christian Right Dominionism

and you see them everywhere beating people into submission.

You certainly see them putting gays and lesbians in their place as second class citizens.

 

[sky dancer]

The term stealth candidate was first coined by the coalition's executive director, Ralph Reed, to refer to a political unknown with no previous record who conceals his or her radical religious support and loyalty. Reed said that running stealth candidates is "just good strategy. It's like guerrilla warfare. . . . It's better to move quietly, with stealth, under cover of night."

One of the problems with the Christian Coalition's attempts to achieve political power is not only that its members actually deny their associations, as their executive director Reed has asked them to do, but that they also hide or distort the truth at other points.
Anatomy of a stealth candidate - Watch on the Right - Column | Humanist | Find Articles at BNET

Four page article at link.

 

[dilloduck]

You certainly see them putting gays and lesbians in their place as second class citizens.

Garbage--they just don't want them to redefine the term marriage. Come up with the homosexually equivalent word.

 

[catzmeow]

Christian Right Dominionism

and you see them everywhere beating people into submission.

Just because you're completely paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you.

 

[dilloduck]

Just because you're completely paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you.

No shit---I mean I bet I have at least 1 person try to convert me every 30 years or so.

 

[catzmeow]

I don't have a problem with there not being a national religion or a state church. In fact, I greatly prefer it that way as I'm somewhat of a stickler on doctrine and would probably get in WAY too many arguments with the established clergy.

I am anti-authoritarian by nature.

My issue on this is twofold:

A. Too many Americans think 'Wall of Separation' is in the Constitution or that it was a common way of interpreting the Constitution since the Founding. It simply wasn't.

Well, you do have people like Madison and Jefferson saying it repeatedly around the time of the constitution and that's good enough for me. Also, I see dangers inherent in giving any one branch of any faith power over the others or state sanctioning. I find that dangerous, both to religion, and to the rest of us.

B. Too many people try to claim the Founders were not Christians. Now it is obvious that a significant portion were deists including TJ and BF. However, if you take the words of most of the rest at face value, you get fundie Christians.

Absolutely. However, Jefferson and Madison were RIGHT.

 

[catzmeow]

No shit---I mean I bet I have at least 1 person try to convert me every 30 years or so.

Well, I live in the South, so I get it more frequently. I discourage these attempts by swearing a lot and being generally incorrigible.

 

[catzmeow]

No shit---I mean I bet I have at least 1 person try to convert me every 30 years or so.

Is anyone besides me distracted by what appears to be a 1970s style bush on the pubic region of Windy's new avatar?

 

[dilloduck]

Well, I live in the South, so I get it more frequently. I discourage these attempts by swearing a lot and being generally incorrigible.

I'm more likely to get hit up by the Hare Krishnas for spare change.

 

[sky dancer]

Mormons and Catholics campaigned hard and spent a ton of money to make sure that gays and lesbians are unable to marry and share the same rights and privileges as heterosexuals.

The evidence of 22 million dollars is hardly a fantasy.

 

[catzmeow]

I'm more likely to get hit up by the Hare Krishnas for spare change.

You live at the Newark Airport?

 

[Southpaw]

Is anyone besides me distracted by what appears to be a 1970s style bush on the pubic region of Windy's new avatar?

Absolutely terrifying.

Well, I live in the South, so I get it more frequently. I discourage these attempts by swearing a lot and being generally incorrigible.

I would be interesting to be a fly on the wall at your family reunions.