Thursday, October 5, 2023

Dominionism Opposes the BIBLE - Church heresies that Encourage American socio-political dysfunction, Part 4c.

This is part 4(c) in a series of articles showing how the acceptance of anti-biblical beliefs by people calling themselves Christian has led to the current political situation in America - where a large portion of the population is willing to accept fascism to maintain their perceived racial dominance. (See this post for definitions.)

Dominionism is the thoroughly unbiblical belief that politically conservative Americans (dominionists and christian nationalists, i.e., D/CNs) have been called by God to take control of all worldly institutions in order to enforce their version of white supremacist “christianity” on all Americans and ultimately to create a world theocracy under their control.

What if… Dominionism is just a strategy for world control by the evil rich?

America’s “christian” plutocrats have historically told their followers that because they are God’s elect everyone should accept the methods they used to gain control. Inspired by Calvinism, they claim that their money and/or power is proof that they were chosen and that all of their actions represent God’s sovereign will. But what if dominionism is just a long-term propaganda tactic meant to convince naive right wing political Christians to support a totalitarian form of government that will eventually be exported world-wide? What if dominionism is just a means to popularize the one percent’s quest for world domination?

Creating “Another” Jesus to justify the love of money

He who says, I know him (JESUS), but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1 Joh 2:4

In the previous post we examined the “Family,” a powerful politico-religious cult of Calvinist authoritarians who have created a false version of christianity to justify their greed and lust for political power. I promised to show how the oligarchy’s false dominionist christianity (represented in the Family’s theology) opposes the true message of the BIBLE. According to their extreme version of Calvinist double predestination, they believe that they were chosen to rule over the poor and will not be held accountable for any misdeeds because everything they do is ultimately part of God’s plan.

In the documentary about the Family, there is a scene where one of the cult leaders uses the story of David and Bathsheba in an attempt to justify this belief. In the Old Testament, king David stole another man’s wife and caused that man to be killed in an attempt to cover up the adulterous affair. 2 Sa 11  According to the Family’s false theology, GOD ignored/excused David’s terrible sins - adultery and murder - because David was chosen and “elect.” The Calvinist authoritarians claim that GOD ignores their sins on the same basis.

This false interpretation is so dangerous because:

1)    GOD made an eternal covenant with David long before this incident and there is no such covenant with modern D/CNs. The modern Calvinist oligarchs are employing biblical eisegesis – taking phrases and concepts out of their original context to try to prove something that the BIBLE does not actually teach. No credible prophet or righteous person has ever told the 1% that they now represent the elect of God – this is just an idea derived from Calvinism. In fact, the BIBLE says that those who love money and love the world are the enemies of GOD. Jas 4:4-8  1 John 2:15-17 

2)    GOD did not ignore David’s sin. 2 Sa 7:8-16  GOD pronounced a curse on David – his punishment was that he would never have peace in his household and that someone would humiliate him by publicly taking his wives just like he took the wife of Uriah. As an immediate judgement, the child that resulted from David’s adultery did not survive. Later, David’s grown son Amnon was murdered by his half-brother Absalom, after Amnon raped Absalom’s sister. Absalom eventually rebelled and started a civil war, naming himself king. Absalom captured the royal palace and took 10 of David’s wives as his own. Saddened and humiliated, David ultimately regained the throne but 20 thousand Israelites, including his son Absalom, were killed in the war.

So, unlike the false teaching of the Fellowship, GOD didn’t ignore David’s sin just because he was chosen – he paid a heavy price. Like the Puritans who murdered the native Americans to steal their land, the capitalist oligarchs who proclaim themselves to be the elect of God are using an Old Testament promise that was not made to them as a blasphemous anti-christian self-justification.

This false version of Christianity has been called "Jesus plus nothing." Members of the Family are expected to surrender themselves to “Jesus” - in exchange for which, they claim to be saved and to be working for Jesus in everything they do without having to change their worldly behavior or actually becoming Christ-like - IOW without actually obeying the commandments of JESUS. The Calvinist oligarchy’s lawless nominal christianity is just a version of hyper grace (antinominionism), i.e., they believe they are “chosen” so they are not accountable for their sins. (Whether any right-wing billionaires actually believe the Calvinist inspired version of dominionism that their minions promote or whether it is just an authoritarian strategy used to deceive the masses into supporting their regime, is a discussion beyond the scope of this article.)

What JESUS said about the rich and the poor – Lazarus and the rich man…

It is instructive that JESUS gives HIS most direct teaching about the reality of hell in the context of HIS parable about “Lazarus and the Rich man.” Luk 16:19  JESUS presents HIS attitude about the damnable greed of the rich so plainly that it is amazing that anyone pretending to be a Christian would have the audacity to promote an opposing idea.

In the parable, Lazarus, a cripple, begs for food by the gate of a rich property owner who lives a lavish, royal lifestyle. The rich man, whether through maliciousness or simple thoughtlessness, ignores the poor beggar and allows him to starve right outside his house (not even offering him scraps). When both men are dead, the spirit of the selfish rich man is shown being tormented in flames (hell) while Lazarus is seen in the eternal realm of the righteous.

Was Lazarus, crippled and reduced to begging, not among GOD’s elect because of the unfortunate circumstances of his life? Was the rich man proved to be elect and unconditionally saved because he was rich? JESUS teaches the very opposite of what Calvinists and dominionists would have you believe: the rich man was damned because of his selfish greed and the poor man was saved regardless of the dire circumstances of his earthly life. GOD stresses HIS concern for the poor dozens of times throughout the BIBLE.  

Conclusions:

1.    They aren’t really Christians

Way back in the first article of this blog, I said that the actions of American right-wing political christians (D/CNs) show that they aren’t really Christians. As provocative as that statement may sound, it was recently corroborated by Russel Moore, the former leader of the (very conservative) Southern Baptist Convention – the largest protestant denomination in America. Moore, now chief editor of Christianity Today, in a widely quoted interview said that the evangelical church is in a spiritual crisis because right wing evangelical church goers are openly and blasphemously rejecting the teachings of JESUS as sounding like “weak liberal talking points.” IOW, republican parishioners are proving themselves to be more devoted to their hateful white supremacist politics than they are to the WORD of GOD.

Dominionism / Christian Nationalism is just fascist politics masquerading as Christianity. D/CNs blatantly ignore the commandment(s) of JESUS (“love your neighbor as yourself”) and hate any realistic recounting of history that shines the light of truth on the lies they tell themselves to justify their quest for political dominion. In fact, falsifying history is a classic tactic of fascism. The BIBLE tells us that hating the truth is a major indication of end time deception. 2 Thes 2:8-12

2.    Bow down to the rich and they will care for the poor - the farce of “trickle down” economics

One of the biggest political lies in recent decades has been the “trickle down” economics theory. The idea being that if (through tax breaks) the rich and powerful could become even more rich and powerful they would, out of the goodness of their hearts, share their bounty with the poor. This concept is an outgrowth of the Family’s grossly unbiblical doctrine of helping the rich instead of helping the poor.

The concept of helping the rich to get richer so they can be more generous to the poor has proven to be a laughable farce. As we see from the current distribution of wealth in America, trickle-down economics was/is nothing more than a transparent scam – a ridiculous falsehood. In 2023, the top 1% of wealthy Americans hold 36% of the nation’s wealth. The top 10% own almost 70% of the wealth - while the bottom 50% own a mere 2.6%. There are between 700 and 800 billionaires in America. Those few hundred people own twice as much as the bottom 50% of the population (167 million people). About 12% of Americans currently live below the official poverty line, making less than $13K per year - when the average yearly rent for an apartment is $20K. At least 10% (34 million people) in the richest country in the world don’t get enough to eat, including children, while republican controlled state legislatures vote to abolish free lunch programs in public schools. World-wide, 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day, with a quarter of the world’s population, over 2 billion people, living in semi or actual starvation conditions. The idea that the rich will give more if they have more is just a sad joke.

Nevertheless, one might reasonably think that there is some merit in preaching JESUS to the rich so that they might become better people. Historically however, the greed of the rich seems to grow as their paranoia overtakes them and corrupts their souls; the love of money being the root of all evil. Unsurprisingly, the false christian doctrines that cater to the rich have emboldened them to become even more greedy. Not content with massive tax breaks (shamelessly rebranded as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” under Trump), they propose to end as many social programs as possible so they can take even more.

3.    Dominion and the New World Order – the ultimate deception?

For decades conspiracy minded Americans have been groomed by right-wing propaganda to fear a United Nations led world government - the so-called New World Order; a world-wide communistic regime that would enforce a single currency and usher in the anti-christ. What would you say to the possibility that the NWO already exists? Could the so-called New World Order that we were warned to fear in the 80s and 90s already be in place? Could it be that we are blinded by the fact that those currently implementing a NWO are nominal christian capitalists instead of godless communists?

The US has over 1000 military bases operating in at least 80 countries world-wide. The US spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined – imposing the will of its corporate oligarchy throughout the world. Who indeed, can make war with the beast? Rev 13:4  Is the US the evil empire, a dominionist NWO, that we don't recognize because we have been convinced by everything we've learned since childhood that we are the good guys?

In terms of influencing national and international politics, the Family courts “key men” – with the idea that every person in power, no matter how hypocritical or even demonstrably evil, is somehow ultimately doing god’s will. The Family will do business with that person if they are willing to play ball by calling on the name of “their” Jesus (no matter how insincerely). This false image of Jesus has allowed them to partner with some of the most overtly evil dictators and business people in the world to gain political power and access to money. Thus, the corporate oligarchs blasphemously invoke the name of JESUS to justify their support of murderous third world dictators; selling them weapons produced by America’s military industrial complex to create the havoc that allows corporations to gain control of the oil and other natural resources in their impoverished nations. For those who don’t understand, the political and economic instability purposefully created in third-world countries by the west makes it impossible for average people to continue living there – they risk everything to flee to Europe and America where they hope to find some semblance of the rule of law.  

By promoting never ending war, the oligarchs are getting paid on both ends. They own the weapons contractors who have direct access to your tax dollars and they use America’s military influence overseas to steal what they want from less powerful countries.

Consider that the D/CN promoted to the masses is just a strategic stepping stone; propaganda sponsored by the plutocracy to get right-wing political “christians,” i.e., Trump voters (including police and military), to support the installation of an authoritarian government – an actual NWO anti-christ government that would no doubt, soon set out to destroy them along with everyone else.

The Wrap up – what are they really after?

“The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it."          Billy Graham

The typical joe-sixpack D/CN doesn’t seem to realize that the plutocracy / oligarchy that they idolize are the ones who have always been pushing for total control – the kind of control that is characterized by the desire for world dominion. They are the ones sponsoring the propagandization of the masses, making them believe that democracy needs to be dispensed with in order for whites to maintain political control in America.  

If you have any doubt that the dominionist tune is being called by the billionaire oligarchy, I refer you to the current right-wing blueprint for ending democracy in America – the fascist-minded Project 2025 recently released by the billionaire controlled Heritage Foundation. (We might consider that this plan was probably already available to be implemented had the tragi-comic 1/6 insurrection been successful.) Here are two articles that give an overview of the immediate danger presented by that plan. The fact that the corporate media is not screaming its head off 24/7 about the existential danger represented by Project 2025 should give you an idea of who is in control.

Nowhere does the BIBLE say that men need to use force to gain political control of the world in the name of Christ – to do so would be the opposite of JESUS commanded. Nevertheless, the rich men of the earth seem hell-bent on imposing an international authoritarian government - as evidenced by the fascist strong men who have come to power in the west during the Trump era. A coalition of non-democratic totalitarian western governments appear to be very much like what might be required to give a world-ruling anti-christ figure immediate control – regardless of whether the oligarchy believes in an anti-christ or not. Dominionism pretends to justify itself as a means of enforcing christian morality, but at its core it is just another “man is god” world domination fantasy, white supremacy gone mad.  


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