Political and Religious Terrorism

When Rick Perry sponsored his great prayer-in and asked the “Dominionistas” to basically help him to organize and run the affair, many wondered about him and what such an event signified for his campaign.  Who are these people  who assisted in this event? According to various sources, Dominion Theology is a grouping of theological systems with the common belief that the law of God - as codified in the Bible - should exclusively govern society, to the exclusion of secular law, a view also known as theonomy. As of 2010 the most prominent modern formulation of Dominion Theology is Christian Reconstructionism, founded by R. J. Rushdoony in the 1970s. Reconstructionists themselves use the word dominionism to refer to their belief that Christians alone should control civil government, conducting it according to Biblical law

In the early 1990s sociologist Sara Diamond and journalist Frederick Clarkson defined dominionism as a movement that, while including Dominion Theology and Reconstructionism as subsets, is much broader in scope, extending to much of the Christian Right. In his 1992 study of Dominion Theology and its influence on the Christian Right, Bruce Barron writes, “In the context of American evangelical efforts to penetrate and transform public life, the distinguishing mark of a dominionist is a commitment to defining and carrying out an approach to building society that is self-consciously defined as exclusively Christian, and dependent specifically on the work of Christians, rather than based on a broader consensus.”

Dominionists assert a Christian duty to take "control of a sinful secular society."The following characteristics are shared by all forms of dominionism:

1. Dominionists celebrate Christian nationalism, in that they believe that the United States once was, and should once again be, a Christian nation. In this way, they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy.

 2. Dominionists promote religious supremacy, insofar as they generally do not respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity.

 3. Dominionists endorse theocratic visions, insofar as they believe that the Ten Commandments, or "biblical law," should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles.

Some, hopefully not all, view this religious movement as a mandate to assert control of what they view as the seven main elements of authority in the United States – (1) Business; (2) Government; (3) Media; (4) Arts and Entertainment; (5) Education; (6) Family; and (7) Religion.  They speak of creating “martyrs” among the youth, a term some, me included, associate with Islamic Mideast terrorists with dynamite strapped to their middle.

It seems increasingly clear that this group(s) seeks to dominate the United States, and then the world, just prior to their destruction—the End Times.  

At what stage, I wonder, do these people make it onto the FBI’s terrorist watch list? They seem to me to be advocating the violent overthrow of the United States, in that they disagree and wish to change our basic Constitution, in fact our entire way of life. They promote intolerance of other religions, and other cultural values. Of course, they hate and wish to destroy Gays and eliminate abortion.

And now we have at least one (Rick Perry) and perhaps others (Bachman and Palin), potential candidates to become President, who not only associate with these potential terrorists (could we not say they are “palling around with terrorists”?) but actively promote their values. We already know that Perry has advocated breaking up the United States (seceding is a form, surely, of breaking up the US).

Since this group of potential religious terrorists seems to have now joined forces with the mainstream of the Republican party, I am left wondering how we should now label this Grand Old Party?  Have republicans now become party to a terrorist organization, seeking to overthrow the nation?

So, I ask again, when will the FBI begin labeling as potential terrorists the Domionistas, and everyone who associates with them, including those republican candidates for president who seem to openly espouse their views? Perhaps Mr. Perry should be on a "No-Fly" list?

Or perhaps such a drastic action could be avoided, if the  few remaining rational republicans ever decide to reclaim control of their party from the crazies who seem now so firmly in control.

Oh, and one more thing. People this extreme clearly need to be taken seriously. We trivialize this group at our peril.