On Dominionism and Christian Nationalism | "Does God Want America to be a Christian Nation?"
On February 17, Wayne Ibara and Neal MacPherson offered a workshop on addressing dominionism and Christian nationalism, "Does God Want America to be a Christian Nation?"
View a recording of the presentation and resources below:
Presentation outline
Does God Want America to be a Christian Nation?
THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION
DOMINIONISM
THE ARCHITECTS (three among others)
C. Peter Wagner “The New Apostolic Churches” 1998
Lance Wallnau “God’s Chaos Candidate”
Paula White-Cain
HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Christian Movements
Rise of Pentecostalism/Charismatic Christianity
“Waves of the Spirit”
First Wave 1920-1948
Pentecostal Movement/ Holiness Movement
Speaking in Tongues -Azusa Street
New Order of the Latter Rain
Second Wave
Charismatic Renewal 1960’s
Spread to traditional churches
Shepherding/Discipleship Movement
Third Wave
The New Apostolic Reformation
John Wimber and the Vineyard Movement
The 60’s Forward
Civil Rights Movement
Woman’s Right to Choose
1973 – Roe v. Wade
LGBTQIA2S+
Prayer in Public Schools Dismantled – Home Schooling
Victimhood – Family Values – James Dobson
White Homogenous Society
Racism
Political/Evangelical/Social Movements
Barry Goldwater - 1964
Jimmy Carter and Election of Ronald Reagan - 1980
The John Birch Society - 1958
Jerry Falwell and The Moral Majority
Paul Wayrich
“Godfather of New Religious Right”
Adulation of Strong Men – Orbàn – Putin
Richard Viguerie
James Dobson and “Focus on the Family”
THE 2020 ELECTION
Support for Donald Trump
84% of white evangelicals
57% of white nonevangelical Protestants
57% of white Catholics
Should the U.S. be a Christian Nation?
81% of white Christian evangelicals think that the U.S. should be a Christian nation
65% of Black Protestants think the same
62% of all Christians think the same
45% of American public think that the U.S. should be a Christian nation
(Pew Research, 2022)
What is Christian Nationalism?
“The term describes a religious and political belief system that argues that the United States was founded to be a Christian nation. In the survey, supporters of Christian nationalism were identified by their responses to five statements, including “The U.S. should be declared a Christian nation,” and “God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.”
Among white evangelical Protestants, nearly two-thirds are either white Christian nationalism adherents or sympathizers. Support for Christian nationalism is significantly smaller among other Christians and the American public as a whole. –Public Policy Research Institute
Alignment of Christian nationalism and political far right
Mike Lindell, Ted Cruz, Michael Flynn, Mike Pompeo, Mike Johnson, Ben Carson, Marjorie
Taylor Greene
The Role of QAnon
NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION / DOMINIONISM
Christian Nationalism
Dominion Theology
7 Mountain Strategy (Lance Wallnau) religion, education, business, government, arts & entertainment, media, family
Eschatology – End Times and Christian Zionism
Hal Lindsey – “The Late Great Planet Earth
Christo-fascism – Christian Supremacy
Spiritual Warfare
BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
Literalism and Anachronism
Lance Wallnau – Trump is Cyrus of Persia
Trump is King David
Trump is Jesus (God’s new messiah)
Key Scriptures
Genesis 1:26-28
The Lord’s Prayer
“Thy Kingdom Come”
“Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory
Ephesians 4:11
Ephesians 6:12
The Problem of Selectivity
“Thy kingdom come”
“Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory”
John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world”
Temptation in the Wilderness
WHITE CHRISTIAN EVANGELICALS/ CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE
Evangelical People of Color
Hidden Racism
Rev. John C. Richards. Rev. John Onwuchekwa
“The relentless focus on White Christian nationalism is spreading a racist myth” – John Blake, CNN
The Pentecostal/Charismatic tradition included
People of color
Prosperity Gospel
Assimilation
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
Democracy or Theocracy?
Remembering our constitutional legacy
Roger Williams
John Locke
Thomas Jefferson
Bibliography
Tim Alberta, “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory” 2023
André Gagné, “American Evangelicals for Trump – Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times” 2024
Bradley Onishi “Preparing for War” 2024
John M. Barry, “Roger Williams and The Creation of the American Soul” 2012
RESOURCES
Commentary by Paul Rosenberg
“A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation” (Three parts) By Frederick Clarkson and André Gagné
Part I: “Christian Right Denialism Is More Dangerous than Ever: A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation” (September 7, 2022)
Part II: “When it Comes to Societal Dominion, the Details Matter” (October 11, 2022)
Part III: “Call it ‘Christian Globalism’” (November 30, 2022)
Analysis by John Blake, CNN
Podcasts, YouTube Videos
PBS News report on "Christian Nationalism," featuring an interview with Bradley Onishi, whose podcast "Straight White American Jesus" first broadcast the "Charismatic Revival Fury" series documenting the rise of independent charismatic churches and their involvement in politics. (The interview with Onishi begins just before the 31-minute mark.)
Straight White American Jesus podcast: Bradley Onishi interviews Dan Partland, Director of God and Country
Brad’s interview with Dan Partland, director of God and Country, a new documentary that examines Christian nationalism in the United States. Based partly on Katherine Stewart’s The Power Worshippers, it includes many prominent voices speaking out against Christian nationalism – Andrew Whitehead, Jemar Tisby, Andrew Seidel, Anthea Butler, and many more. Brad speaks with Dan about what drew him to this project, what he learned about the threats
Christian nationalism poses to democracy, and why it was important to him to include so many Christian voices in the project. (Feb. 19, 2024) https://www.straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/episodes/dan-partland-director-of-god-and-country-bonus-content/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
This YouTube interview with Frank Schaeffer is an interesting hour-long interview overall, but the highlight to me comes at the 59-minute mark, where he passionately expresses why no niggling unhappiness with Joe Biden means squat next to the catastrophe another Trump administration will mean for any and every concern we may have. He uses "colorful metaphors" so you don't want young ears in range, but it's an eloquent six minutes and a heck of an end to the interview.
Books
American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times, André Gagné, 2023.
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, 2020.
Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next, Bradley Onishi, 2023.
The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right’s Assault on American Democracy, David Neiwert, 2023.
The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy, Jim Wallis (to be released April 2, 2024).
The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, Katherine Stewart. 2020.
Movie
God and Country, a documentary produced by Rob Reiner, 2024.
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