An important caveat here, as these people also claim Francis Shaeffer as their own. There is a starting point which is scriptural - that Christians are to be salt, to influence and to preserve the culture they are in. Francis Shaeffer and C. S. Lewis said as much, and they are restating scripture in doing so. And, by the by, Bill Bright and others did some very good work spreading the Gospel back in the day.
Where things get weird, and NOT scriptural, is where there is this jump to take over and fuse with government operations, wordly conflicts, and the transfer of material wealth. That is NOT a part of Christianity as perceived by the past two thousand years of Christian thought. That is new, and dovetails with neocon secular agendas. This is something to be VERY wary of.
It is very much NOT a part of mainstream, low church Protestant thought. The name of Evangelicals is dragged through the mud being associated with this bizarre and frankly carnal and aggressive doctrine. It is essentially a rudimentary doctrine of jihad, camouflaged as Christianity.
‘Where things get weird, and NOT scriptural, is where there is this jump to take over and fuse with government operations, wordly conflicts, and the transfer of material wealth. That is NOT a part of Christianity as perceived by the past two thousand years of Christian thought. That is new, and dovetails with neocon secular agendas. This is something to be VERY wary of.
It is very much NOT a part of mainstream, low church Protestant thought. The name of Evangelicals is dragged through the mud being associated with this bizarre and frankly carnal and aggressive doctrine. It is essentially a rudimentary doctrine of jihad, camouflaged as Christianity.’
Thank you for pinging me. That is the best encapsulation of this slippery, slithery, destructively false teaching that I have seen.
Thank you, 144. We all sense something weird is associated with Heidi, Ted, Raphael and Beck.
Evangelicals somehow glommed on for the ride, attracted by the flag, the Bible and the Constitution waving over the annointed candidate.
I agree with you. I was involved with Loren Cunningham’s YWAM in the 90’s and there was good and bad as it was an umbrella parachurch organization. I rally like Francis Shaeffer and I hardly think Shaeffer would have endorsed modern Christian dominionism. Totally fine to seek to be salt and light in every area that a person interacts in in the world.
This stuff is elated to Rousas John Rushdoony who founded the Christian reconstruction movement in the 1970’s which wishes to assert of theonomic form of government where only Christian’s in good standing are given full rights and Old Covenant laws are put in place. A New Covenant Halacha enforced at the point of a gun. Absolute tyranny and heterodox.
There is some of this stuff in the Messianic Jewish movement in which I have been a part of off and on over the years. Lots of good and ding dong bad which leads to heresy and unbelief. I just mention this because Cruz’s father’s church/assembly has been linked to and spoken of as a Hebrew roots/Messianic congregation. Obviously these small independent congregations can run the gamut as far as orthodox belief from cult to all points in between kinda thing.
I do think that many of the political Christian organizations in Washington and elsewhere that overtly exist to influence government have been infected with a strange dominionist theology that is a deception. The deception is that it allows compromise so that Christian’s will embrace a false substitute kingdom that is in essence the antithesis of God’s kingdom. People will embrace the Anti-Christian NWO prophesied in God’s word for a seat at the table thinking they are doing God’s will when it is everything but. It is very dangerous, subtle and appealing, especially for Christians who deny the permanency of the Abrahamic covenant or promises and thus reject God’s unfolding plans and dealings with Israel and the Church. In Dominionism people will find themselves fighting against God’s endtime plans just as the Jewish Temple authorities said acknowledged to let the followers of Yeshua/Jesus and the apostles be because they might be fighting against God.
Very much like post-millenialism which was popular in the 19th century which sought to set up a perfect Christian kingdom in all spheres of life which would then signal or usher in the second coming of Jesus and the thousand year reign. Pretty much went by the weigh side with WWI and the dissolution of modernity and 20th Century. This was a healthy thing because the false positive viewpoint is not in the Bible and just wishful thinking and manipulation.