A Dominionist Presidency, by Mike Gold – Brainiac On Banjo #237

August 22, 2011 Mike Gold 2 Comments

Wikipedia, which is generally good for this sort of thing, defines Dominionism as “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. It is also known as subjectionism. The goal is either a nation governed by Christians, or a nation governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law. The use and application of this terminology is a matter of controversy.”

That’s interesting. Back in the day I hung around people who had much the same goal, sans Christianity. They called themselves Revolutionaries. Whereas they did not succeed, for better or worse, they did not have bona fide presidential candidates as members of their movement.

According to The Daily Beast, The Texas Observer, The New Yorker and others, Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry are Dominionists. The Observer’s Forrest Wilder said the Dominionist members “believe certain Christians are destined to not just take ‘dominion’ over government, but stealthily climb to the commanding heights of what they term the ‘Seven Mountains’ of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world.” It evolved out of the work of many smaller Christian sects that have come together to “take back America.”  They are so extreme that even Ralph Reed has denounced it. In case you forgot, Reed founded the Christian Coalition in 1989. Twenty years later he started up the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

The Beast notes “Dominionism derives from a small fringe sect called Christian Reconstructionism, founded by a Calvinist theologian named R. J. Rushdoony in the 1960s. Christian Reconstructionism openly advocates replacing American law with the strictures of the Old Testament, replete with the death penalty for homosexuality, abortion, and even apostasy.” In case you didn’t know, that last bit refers to those who have renounced their religious upbringing. Rushdoony does not note if these disbelievers should be stoned to death or simply shot.

You think he’s a quack? That’s probably because you think Bachmann and Perry are quacks. But Rushdoony is the guy who started the Christian homeschooling movement. That one has been quite successful.

After digging into these movements, the previously bizarre and often comedic utterances of Bachmann and Perry are viewed in a stronger and clearer perspective. Several months ago, I was among the few who said Bachmann could be a viable candidate. Clearly, today she is just that. Sadly, there are a whole lot of scared Christians out there, and history shows us that in dire times, totalitarian movements such as Dominionism comfort the desperate, the weak and the feeble-minded.

Do the Dominionists have what it takes to get a candidate elected? Probably not – right now. But as anybody who has studied exactly how Barack Obama raised his money knows all too well, with the Internet and with sufficient organization that status can change in very short order.

Did you note that last week Bachmann said that, as president, she would overturn the same-sex laws? I don’t know how she can do it under the Constitution, but then again, Dominionists see the Constitution with its freedom of religion thing and its freedom of expression thing as just another obstacle that needs to be overcome in the name of their lord.

Jesus Christ could not be reached for comment.

Last night, media metaphysician Mike Gold resumed his Weird Sounds Inside The Gold Mind rock’n’blues show, which streams four times a week on www.getthepointradio.com and is also available at that same venue on demand for those who simply can’t wait. He also joins Martha Thomases and Michael Davis as a weekly columnist at www.comicmix.com, where he also holds the ethereal title of editor-in-chief.