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)

1. C. Peter Wagner “The New Apostolic Churches” 1998

2. Lance Wallnau “God’s Chaos Candidate”

3. Paula White-Cain

HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS

1. Christian Movements

   1. Rise of Pentecostalism/Charismatic Christianity

   2. “Waves of the Spirit”

   3. First Wave 1920-1948

      1. Pentecostal Movement/ Holiness Movement

      2. Speaking in Tongues -Azusa Street

      3. New Order of the Latter Rain

   4. Second Wave

      1. Charismatic Renewal 1960’s

      2. Spread to traditional churches

      3. Shepherding/Discipleship Movement

   5. Third Wave

      1. The New Apostolic Reformation

      2. John Wimber and the Vineyard Movement

   6. The 60’s Forward

      1. Civil Rights Movement

      2. Woman’s Right to Choose

         1. 1973 – Roe v. Wade

      3. LGBTQIA2S+

      4. Prayer in Public Schools Dismantled – Home Schooling

      5. Victimhood – Family Values – James Dobson

         1. White Homogenous Society

         2. Racism

2. Political/Evangelical/Social Movements

   1. Barry Goldwater - 1964

   2. Jimmy Carter and Election of Ronald Reagan - 1980

   3. The John Birch Society - 1958

   4. Jerry Falwell and The Moral Majority

      1. Paul Wayrich

         1. “Godfather of New Religious Right”

         2. Adulation of Strong Men – Orbàn – Putin

      2. Richard Viguerie

   5. 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

“Meet the New Apostolic Reformation, cutting edge of the Christian right”

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)

“The relentless focus on White Christian nationalism is spreading a racist myth"

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.