Dominionism

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1 Defintion
2 Theology
3 Quotations
4 Links
5 Related Pages

[edit] Defintion

Dominionism, or Dominion Theology is a subset of Christian belief. It is not a complete theology; rather, the ideas in it are compatible with, or may be substituted for, the beliefs of a number of Christian denominations.

Insofar as we can distinguish between Dominionism and "Christian Reconstructionism", we might say that Dominionism is the theological rationale for the politico-social movement that is Christian Reconstructionism. In practise, the terms are often used almost interchangeably.

[edit] Theology

Theonomy:: This is the most distinctive aspect of Dominionism, and requires a little theological explanation.

We might divide the commandments in the Old Testament into three categories:

The moral law: This tells you what God approves and disapproves of "Thou shalt not kill"; "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". Note that no penalties are specified.

The civil law: This tells you what do if a woman is taken in adultery, or if one man's ox gores another.

The ceremonial law: The includes thing such as circumcision and not eating lobsters; its purpose was to mark off the Jews as specially consecrated to God.

Dominion Theology tells us that the Atonement only relieves us from the ceremonial law. Most Christians, including Fundamentalist denominations, would say that the civil law has also been removed. They would cite, for example, the case of the "woman taken in adultery" (John 8:3-11 [1])

Now a code of civil law cannot be optional; it must be imposed on people whether they like it or not. Hence it follows that the Dominionists must gain political power sufficient to make the civil law of the Old Testament into the civil law of the modern world.

World conquest. That's what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel. And we must never settle for anything less.

If Jesus Christ is indeed Lord, as the Bible says, and if our commission is to bring the land into subjection to His Lordship, as the Bible says, then all our activities, all our witnessing, all our preaching, all our craftsmanship, all our stewardship, and all our political action will aim at nothing short of that sacred purpose.

Thus, Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land - of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts, and governments for the Kingdom of Christ. [2]

It also follows from theonomy that anything sanctioned by the civil law of the Old Testament, such as owning slaves and beating them, must be OK, and, some Dominionists will argue, even a good thing.

This view of the Law has drawn condemnation from more orthodox Fundamentalists. The Dominionists have been happy to condemn right back at them:

All who are content with a humanistic law system and do not strive to replace it with Biblical law are guilty of idolatry. They have forsaken the covenant of their God, and they are asking us to serve other gods. [3]

Postmillenarianism: This is the belief that Christ will not return to Earth until the Earth has been made to his liking by Dominionists. This is in sharp contrast to the beliefs of most fundamentalists, who are Premillenarian --- that is, they expect the world to get worse and worse, and then for Christ to turn up and establish an ideal kingdom himself.

This postmillenerian belief ties in nicely with the Dominionists' theonomy, since it makes their efforts not merely virtuous, but necessary in order to bring about the Second Coming.

Presuppositionalism:. This is the idea that one should simply assume that God exists, and that the Bible is his inerrant and inspired word, without trying to prove it in any way; so Dominionists never try to produce that kind of apologetic literature. They do, however, produce apologetics defending their own brand of theology against that of other Christian sects, including apologetics for presuppositionalism [4]. The dogma of presuppositionalism may explain why their apparent intention, on gaining control of the world, is to massacre unbelievers rather than trying to convert them. After all, how can you make converts to Christianity when you can't argue for the truth of the Bible?

Those who are obedient to His commands will rule the world, reconstructing it for His glory in terms of His laws. Psalm 2 shows God laughing and sneering at the pitiful attempts of the wicked to fight against and overthrow His Kingdom. He has already given His Son "all authority in heaven and earth," and the King is with His Church until the end of the age (Matt. 23:18-20)! Is it possible that the King will be defeated? He has, in fact, warned all earthly rulers to submit to His government, or perish (Ps. 2:10-12). And the same is true of His Church. The nation that will not serve us will perish (Isa. 60:12); all the peoples of the earth will be subdued under our feet (Ps. 47:1-3)--promises made originally to Israel, but now to be fulfilled in the New Israel, the Church. [5]

This practice is of course in sharp contrast with the behavior of the Apostles as recorded in the Bible. One can only suppose that none of Jesus' disciples were Dominionists.

[edit] Quotations

The Bible contains the directives of the King of kings for every area of human activity, including civil government, economics, art, science, family, church, and more. Activity in each sphere is to be governed by the Law of God. [6]

What about Old Testament laws that require stoning, such as Exodus 21:17, "And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death."

The question about incorrigible children is a common one. The so-called "harshness" of this punishment is often posed to refute the idea of theonomy as the basis for civil law. However, I know that this law and its punishment under the Old Covenant was just because God is just. Therefore, I ask, what has changed under the New Covenant so that the law and its punishment are now unjust? [7]

Slaves have no economic incentive to work, since they cannot improve their situation regardless of how hard they labor. Therefore the master is allowed to provide that incentive by beating them. [8]

Capital crimes against the family include rebellion to parents, homosexuality and adultery. Sound harsh? Then what you are saying, in effect, is that God is harsh and that treason against the family is "not as bad" as treason against the state. [9]

Nevertheless, this one fact should be apparent: turning the other cheek is a bribe. It is a valid form of action for only so long as the Christian is impotent politically or militarily. [10]

To observe the law in relationship to our neighbor, recognizing his right to life, home, property, and reputation, is to love him. [11]

When men see how relevant the ten commandments are for economics, they should gain new respect for the importance of the laws of God. [12]

[I]n a theonomic society the civil government would promote virtues that it often works against today. It would reinstitute laws protecting the observance of the Sabbath. [13]

The god of Judaism is the devil. [14]

The means to lawful wealth is the covenant law, the law of God. Capitalization is thus a radical and total task. Man must seek to subdue the earth and gain wealth as a means of restitution and restoration, as means of establishing God’s dominion in every realm. Wherever godly men establish their superior productivity and gain wealth, they thereby glorify God. Wealth in itself is good, and a blessing of the Lord. [15]