Intro to Dominionism -- some reading materials

Apologies. This was going to be a more substantive post, but RL has a way of getting in the way of blogging, so here are some links, with brief notes about each.

--------------------

Lengthy but very readable article on Christian Reconstructionism --

The Public Eye Magazine, Vol. VIII, Nos. 1 & 2, March/June 1994
Christian Reconstructionism
Theocratic Dominionism Gains Influence
by Frederick Clarkson

Covers: the Calvinist [think Puritans squared, and then some] beginnings of the movement; its spread into Evangelical and Pentecostal denominations; its further spread into politics, schools, arts and other social arenas; its objectives and methods [often by stealth].

From the intro to the article --

Generally, Reconstructionism seeks to replace democracy with a theocratic elite that would govern by imposing their interpretation of "Biblical Law." Reconstructionism would eliminate not only democracy but many of its manifestations, such as labor unions, civil rights laws, and public schools. Women would be generally relegated to hearth and home. Insufficiently Christian men would be denied citizenship, perhaps executed. So severe is this theocracy that it would extend capital punishment beyond such crimes as kidnapping, rape, and murder to include, among other things, blasphemy, heresy, adultery, and homosexuality.

--------------------

Dominionism and the Rise of Christian Imperialism
By Sarah Leslie

Covers primarily the Evangelical sects that fell under the influence of the Calvinist Reconstructionists. Gets into theology [not my thing, so I skimmed much of the article]. Some information on Rick Warren, of recent Saddleback fame.

Intro to the article --

For the past several decades the political Left has focused attention on the Christian Right’s political activism in America. Particularly, the Left has been highly critical of a select group of dominionists called Reconstructionists, whose aggressive verbiage, extreme Calvinist theologies, and religious political agendas have made it an ideal target for outrage. But, as Leftist researcher Sara Diamond has astutely observed, “the Reconstructionists’ religion of Calvinism. . . makes them unlikely to appeal to most evangelicals.”4 Indeed, few Reconstructionists would consider themselves to be evangelicals. Nevertheless, their influence has been considerable over the much larger group of patriotic evangelicals.

There are two other dominionist sects within evangelicalism that have escaped in-depth scrutiny from the Left. These dominionists have been able to function virtually incognito for several reasons: 1) They have been deeply embedded within the evangelical subculture; 2) They cloaked their dominionism with new terminologies and doctrines over a period of thirty years; and 3) They figured out how to package dominionism using sophisticated mass marketing techniques. Also noteworthy: these two other dominionist camps have been operating in a dialectical fashion – while one group appealed to the TBN charismatics with all of its emotional excesses, the other group carefully managed its more intellectual public image to conform to traditional evangelical standards.

This paper is a brief overview of the three main dominionist movements operating inside evangelicaldom and examines how all three of these sects are now converging around a global “kingdom” agenda. This paper is not a treatise on doctrine, nor is it an historical record, nor is it a thorough analysis of the multifarious streams of evangelical dominionism. This paper does not cover the broader issue of dominionist sects within other world religions, except for a few brief noteworthy mentions. To examine the totality of the individuals, the organizations, and their cross-linkages would require an exhaustive study which is beyond the scope of this brief synopsis. Even so, every point made in this paper could be validated by dozens, sometimes hundreds, of pieces of documentation. The inquiring reader may check out the footnotes and references.

--------------------

Wikipedia entry on Dominionism

--------------------

Archive of dogemperor's posts at dKos and at Talk To Action [not as extensive, but link included for those boycotting Cheetopia]

dogemperor is a walkaway

--------------------

Archive of troutfishing's posts at dKos

Bruce Wilson [aka troutfishing] is one of the founders of Talk To Action and also writes at HuffPo.

--------------------

Y'all wanted a glossary, and a scorecard [can't blame ya]... Dark Christianity, a LiveJournal community dedicated to "Exploring and Exposing Dominionist Christianity," has started a wiki. Check out the sidebar on the left for a glossary; a list of Dominionist Players; lists of organizations, businesses, denominations; a listing of state and federal laws "which advance religious agendas ... not exclusively Dominionist- other religious organizations are also working to make laws that favor their various tenets"; lists of writers, articles, books, periodicals; and more.

--------------------

I'm hoping to see the Is Sarah Palin A Dominionist? debate between Paul Lukasiak and bringiton materialize.