(Ed. Note. The following is part 5 of 5 of our continuing republication of Dominionist Theology: A Guide to Theocracy for Secularists originally published on the Left Hemispheres blog in 2011 by Steve Barry, along with additional new commentary. Follow these links to read part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4)
(Ed Note 2: *This is a revised and updated version of this post that originally was published on June 28, 2011. Some content has been reworded for clarity and corrections. It initially had the sub-title Why American Fundamentalist Christians are the Most Dangerous Religious Group on Earth.)
By Steve Barry
The Seven Mountains Mandate is the prevailing strategy of the New Apostolic Reformation as outlined in Part 3: Kingdom Now Theology and The New Apostolic Reformation. The goal is to install “change agents” (i.e. dominion-minded Christians) at every level of society to gain influence, use that influence to Christianize the nation, and eventually the world to create a worldwide theocracy. This is to be accomplished by purging all aspects of society of secularism and anything deemed “not Christian” since these things are the work of the Anti-Christ and possessed by Satan’s demonic agents. This worldwide dominion by Christians is necessary to in order to create the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and prepare the world for the return of Jesus Christ.
I am going to limit this discussion to my nation of the United States of America where the NAR wishes to erode and eradicate the secular foundations of the government in an attempt to establish a wholly Christian United States of America. In effect, they are actively striving to make America the “Kingdom of God” based on Biblical law. That is before setting their sights on the rest of the world. The reason why I find the American strain of this Dominionism more threatening than others (Australian, Nigerian, Ugandan, etc.) is that American fundamentalist Christianity and nationalism are on the rise and if any nation has the political, economic and military power to instill this disgusting theocracy on others is it the U.S. This is not hyperbole. It is not an exaggeration. It is clearly and openly stated as their goals as you will see below. What makes this even more dangerous is that it is not a small, isolated and toothless movement. It may be unknown to the general public, but there is a large network of preachers, political and private organizations, businesses, and support from prominent politicians and military personnel. This is militant religious imperialism. They are not to be ignored.
I am not going to discuss or define general Dominionism, Dominionist Theology or its history here. If you are interested in that you can read Part 1 of this series called Dominionism: A Primer on Mixing Christian Theology & American Politics. While the Christian Reconstructionists (Part 2) talk about the Seven Kingdoms, spheres or mountains that must be conquered by Christians, the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has adopted it as their chief strategy and they have a plan. This post is about that strategy. To learn more about the basic theology and beliefs behind the Seven Mountains Mandate please read Part 3 in this series titled Kingdom Now Theology & the New Apostolic Reformation.
The Seven Mountains
Seven Mountains Dominionism has a plan to defeat the forces of Satan, attain the goal of a Christian theocracy in America and eventually the entire world in order to prepare the world for the return of Christ. As the name implies, there are seven sections of the culture that are targeted for infiltration and to be overtaken to further their ends. These seven “mountains” are: government, education, media, arts & entertainment, religion, family, and business.
- Government: “where evil is either restrained or endorsed”
- Education: “where truths, or lies, about God and his creation are taught.”
- Media: “where information is interpreted through the lens of good or evil”
- Arts & Entertainment: “where values and virtue are celebrated or distorted”
- Religion: “where people worship God in spirit and truth, or settle for a religious ritual”
- Family: “where either a blessing or a curse is passed onto successive generations”
- Business: “Where people build for the glory of God or the glory of man”
Government “where evil is either restrained or endorsed”
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil (Romans 13:1-4).”
The current government is evil and “hand-picked by Satan” since it is secular and not dictated by Christian principles and laws. Proponents of the 7M Mandate do not recognize the separation of church and state and indeed want there to be no distinction. They completely ignore even the most conservative view of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and want to establish a Christian church-state. For example they believe that “The only government that will never have any corruption is the theocratic Kingdom of God.” Currently, the closest nation to have similar goals and distinctions is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mmmm…sweet, delicious irony!
It should also be noted that the United States Military is infested with evangelicals, at every level of hierarchy, and they do not try to hide it. Frighteningly enough, their infiltration plan is working.
Education “where truths, or lies, about God and his creation are taught.”
“Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
It isn’t too much of a leap to understand they want to teach religion (rest assured only their religion) and worldview in schools. Indeed, in the video above you can clearly see God crossed out and “evolution,” “humanism,” “atheism,” and “pro-choice” written on the chalkboard in a classroom. This is what they think of the public education system (or more accurately what they want everyone to think). Their control of education will amount to Jesus Camp-style schools, rampant anti-science and anti-intellectualism, discrimination, and the end of human progress. If you pay any attention to recent American politics and the “funding crisis” you will notice that the massive cuts to education. Since they have not been entirely successful in infiltrating the education system they will be happy to destroy it. Republicans, Tea Partiers and Right-Libertarians want to defund schools and abolish the Department of Education. Why? A public run, secular educational system teaches actual history, objective science, art, literature and, hopefully, civics. The opposite of what they want. First, you have to dismantle the infrastructure that made America a bastion of higher education. A populace ignorant of the most basic knowledge about how reality is known to operate is much easier to control and feed doctrine. No one will challenge the absurd supernatural worldview if they don’t know any better. Regardless of whether higher education correlates to an increase in atheism/agnosticism/non-theism, it sure as hell correlates to a decrease in the likelihood of believing fundamentalist nonsense and allowing your community to be run by dogmatic and oppressive theocrats. It just won’t happen.
Media “where information is interpreted through the lens of good or evil”,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me, to preach good tidings to the poor: He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1).
What better way to control information than to control the media? Media is the “spin machine” of a culture. Influence over the media gives 7M Dominionists one loud voice in which to proclaim their power, their worldview, and their religion. All opposing viewpoints, conflicting opinions, and contradictory information will be banned. Actually it will be a sin.
The right-wing spin machine has been decrying the “leftist, liberal” media for decades, but where is this evident? Fox News is the top rated news channel. Even so-called “liberal” news channels employ right-wing bigots like Pat Buchanan. Nine of the top ten syndicated radio programs in the country are conservative shows. This “liberal media” claim is a scare tactic and propaganda to further make Christians and right-wingers feel “oppressed” even though they are not. Obviously, it’s working.
Art & Entertainment “where values and virtue are celebrated or distorted”
“And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place…and the Levites who were singers…stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets- indeed it came to pass, when the trumpets and the singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord saying; For He is good, For His mercy endures forever, that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God” (2 Chronicles 5:11-14).
Similar to the Media; the Arts & Entertainment is a subtler influence on culture. To use the LGBT movement as an allegory (ironically) we can see how groups can become accepted and even influential by their exposure and popularity in this realm. With 7M Dominionists influencing this mountain they can have all Christian music, movies, TV, novels, art, etc. Anything not Christian or by non-Christians will be marginalized or banned. Free expression will die.
Religion “where people worship God in spirit and truth, or settle for a religious ritual”
“If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16.24).
I love the need for this mountain since it is not only a decree against atheists, agnostics, non-theists, non-believers, etc., but it is an attack on every other religion and even other sects of Christianity that do not mesh with their totalitarian Kingdom of God. We all know they hate Muslims, but liberal/progressive Christians would be against the wall soon enough. If you do not think that liberal Christian theology will be eradicated like the rest of us then you are in denial. It would happen. They detest it as “easy believism” and a heresy. Satan also operates in the Church don’t ya know.
Family “where either a blessing or a curse is passed onto successive generations and,
“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation, God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity” (Psalm 68: 5-6).
Feminism, LGBT equal rights, pro-choice, etc. Kiss it all goodbye. Marriage will no longer have a secular, legal basis. How will divorce be handled? Will it be legal? Will “inter-faith marriage” be legal? I would also imagine domestic violence incident reports would go down and there wouldn’t be the need for women’s shelters, restraining orders, etc. since the instances will not even be reported. After all, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Ephesians 5:22-24). Who needs domestic abuse laws and women’s shelters when the church is your support group? Never mind that any theonomic/theocratic society will not only ignore abuse but encourage it in many instances.
Business “Where people build for the glory of God or the glory of man.”
“Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8.18).
If you have any doubt that right-wing American Christianity has been corrupted and usurped by capitalism or vice versa then this last mountain is for you. Regarding the Business Mountain: “And the one mountain they all depend on. The mountain that fuels and fund all the other mountains. The Mountain of Business. Where people build for the glory of God or the glory of man. Where resources are consecrated for the Kingdom of God, or captured of the powers of darkness. Those who lead this mountain influence what controls our culture.” The discussion of the business mountain goes on and on. This is the focus. They understand that in order to conquer people in the 21st century you need to own them. Own the businesses and you own everything else. Including people. Money controls everything.
These are the Seven Mountains (kingdoms, spheres, etc.) that they are currently infiltrating. It is happening slowly and with almost no reporting by the media outside of blogs and alternative news sources. I’m not crying that the sky is falling because they have a long ways to go, but they are further along than you would think. Popular religious and political proponents within the New Apostolic Reformation and the Seven Mountains Mandate include, but are not limited to C. Peter Wagner, Cindy Jacobs1, Lance Wallnau, Ed Silvoso, Lou Engle, James Dobson, Jack Hayford, Jim Garlow, Rick Joyner, David Barton1,2,3 (*shakes fist*), John Hagee, Newt Gingerich, Gov. Rick Perry, Gov. Sam Brownback, Sen. Jim DeMint, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, Fmr. Half-Term Gov. Sarah Palin, Fmr. Gov. Mike Huckabee, Congressman Randy Forbes, Congressman Trent Franks, Congressman Louis Gohmert, Congressman Steve King, Congressman Cliff Stearns, and untold others. The infamous “C Street House” in Washington D.C. is owned by “Youth With a Mission of Washington D.C.” which is an organization run by one of the founders of the Seven Mountains Mandate, Loren Cunningham. Members of the C Street House include Fmr. Congressman Bart Stupak, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Chuck Grasserly, Sen. Mark Pryor, Fmr. Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. Jim Inhofe and others.
If it is deemed appropriate to judge Barack Obama on the church he attended then it is equally fair to judge any of these politicians on their religious leanings, affiliations, and how they affect or shape their political goals. During the June 2011 CNN/GOP debate, Michelle Bachmann made a statement that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. She said: “We are the head and not the tail.” This quote is from Deuteronomy 28:13 which states “The Lord will make you the head and not the tail.” I have been reading up on this subject for a while and it immediately caught my attention. This is a “battle cry” for the Dominionists. Not to say that I am surprised she said it, but still…it was creepy. I think the fact that she said it without blinking (crazy eyes aside) it illustrates how ingrained it is in her mindset and she is not alone.
As discussed in the earlier posts on Dominionist Christians, they cannot accept a diverse, pluralistic world. They are forbidden from doing so. That world is the work of Lucifer and his minions. This sounds ridiculous to you and I, but they really believe it. Any difference or dissent is deemed to be “work against God.” There is no such thing as compromise, and democracy is only a tool to use until it can be shed. Conformity to their religion with its theocratic ideals and totalitarian morality are paramount. Unsurprisingly, 7M advocates are very influential with anti-LGBT Evangelical Christians in Africa including the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda as can be seen in the above linked video for Ed Silvoso.
The walls of separation between Church and State will be removed in order to establish a church-state. There will be no distinction between the two. Scripture will be the basis of everything and they will fight anything and everything that runs counter to their worldview since Satan is seen as the master of everything that runs counter to their beliefs. Apostasy? Sin. Homosexuality? Sin. Unrestrained scientific inquiry? Sin. Secular government? Sin. Secular education? Sin. Not Christian? Sin. Not the right kind of Christian? Sin. The list could go on and on. This is how they preserve and propagate their beliefs. This is how they want to control yours.