Google WWW Talk To Action


The Indian River Incident : What You Can Do

link > The "Stop the ACLU Coalition" Shaming Project
How you can help stop "Stop The ACLU" just by sending a few emails



 'Left Behind' video game imageThe Shaming Project

does the violence of "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" bother you ? If so, what can you do ? Well, to begin with you can email Jonathan Hutson's stories to people you know. That will help to bring more public scrutiny of the game. Public shaming really works ! Just click on the "email" icon and link at the top or bottom of the story and you'll be taken to a form that will allow you email the first story, The Purpose Driven Life Takers or the latest installment without leaving this site. Thanks. 'Left Behind' video game image




Dominionist groups as coercive religious groups?
By dogemperorMon Nov 21, 2005 at 10:38:24 AM EST
topic: Analysis of Christian Right section:Diary printable version print this story
One of the things I have been thinking a great deal about in regards to dominionism is how a good deal of dominionist groups use similar tactics to well-known coercive religious groups.  (Yes, this is going to be one of my longwinded posts here)
The reason that this keeps coming to mind for me is that I myself am a survivor of a coercive religious group associated with the Assemblies of God--one which is also very politically active, in a denomination that is pretty politically active in regards to dominionism.  (Among other things, the AoG has funded John Ashcroft's gubernatorial runs in past)

Anyways...my original discovery that something was severely broken in the church I walked away from was through involvement on net.abuse issues on the Usenet group alt.religion.scientology (the Scientologists were doing their best to wreck the group, which was being used as a support group for ex-Scientos).

Using some of the checklists of "coerciveness" that had been posted by exit counseling groups, I realised the group I walked away from would fit the criteria.

In my research on dominionism since (which I have done, in part, to help along my own recovery from the scars of spiritual abuse)...I am becoming increasingly convinced that (especially among the pente/charismatic groups involved in dominionism, possibly increasingly so even among the Southern Baptists) part of the reason people are having such poor success in debating dominionists is because they do not realise they are in essence dealing with someone who is in a coercive religious group.

Dominionist groups, especially those into "spiritual warfare" (crossreference Marguerite Perrin on "Trading Spouses" for an example of this in action--I honestly wish I could say it's an extreme example, but in some dominionist groups her behaviour is sadly typical), have an entire system designed to isolate their members from "mainstream reality" and to essentially create a dominionist "group-think".

Speaking from my own experiences as a former dominionist (having been raised in it), here are some of the things that my church has done to pretty much prevent any outside influences:

a) Taught explicitly that everyone outside the group is evil, possibly even in league with Satan, and that Satan may even be "working through them"

b) Taught that criticism of the group was "blaspheming against the Holy Spirit" and criticism of members or the church was answered with "touch not mine annointed" or "thou shalt not judge a man of God"

c) Taught that demons were the cause of all hardship and illness (including diseases; genetic diseases along with multigenerational poverty were termed "generational curses" and even colds and flu were the result of "solidified demonic corruption") and that these could be cured by "naming it and claiming it" as well as donations of up to fifty percent of income to the church

d) Taught that "doorways to Satan" could open up and cause "demonic oppression" by things as innocuous as peace symbols (which they preached were Satanic), Nike shoes, and Pokemon (!) (yes, they literally teach that if kids had Pokemon stuff they'd be demonised; they also do book burnings of Harry Potter books for the same reason, and even criticised C. S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" because it was fantasy)

e) Taught people to not associate with "unsaved" people unless for the purpose of conversion, and even distributed "Christian Yellow Pages" to this effect (which required a fundamentalist statement of faith to be signed before they'd list someone)

f) Ran their own TV and radio "godcasting" network (now focusing largely internationally; see http://www.wjiesw.com) and told people that literally all media outside from the church was Satanic

g) Handed out voter's guides from the AFA and a predecessor group (Freedom's Heritage Forum) telling people explicitly whom to vote for (by the way, a deacon of the church is the state head of the AFA)

h) Taught explicitly that deceptive tactics are perfectly permissible in an attempt to convert someone (and yes, this is denomination wide; I've documented over 40 separate "front groups" used for various forms of targeted prosyletising by the AoG, including targeting other churches)

i) Taught people could literally be hexed into conversion by essentially cursing these people in the name of Christ to be miserable and even suicidal unless they converted

j) Taught that involuntary exorcism of people who were gay/les/bi/trans, not dominionists (and openly critical of the group), and so on were perfectly permissible

Now, I wish this were not a terribly large church, or a terribly politically active or important church.  I wish this was an abberation.

Unfortunately, a church deacon at the very church I walked away from is head of the Kentucky AFA (one of our two main dominionist groups here--the other is in Lexington and is the state FotF frontgroup), essentially has been at the center of the dominionist movement in the state for the past thirty years, and is busy setting up a multi-station "godcasting" network on shortwave radio (yes, most of the annoying religious broadcasters on shortwave radio are affiliated with High Adventure Ministries, which is a front group of the very AoG church I walked away from).  It's also a major stop on the AoG "traveling preacher" circuit, is the second largest church in my home state (with anywhere from 7000 to 17,000 in attendance, depending on whose figures you believe and whether a "revival meeting" is in progress there), and no less than Oliver North has been at the church preaching that the Reds were the Antichrist so he pushed the Iran-Contra arms deal as a mission from God (!)

Also, sadly, this view is also not atypical--John Ashcroft's "eccentricities" like being annointed with Wesson oil (!) are typical teachings in those churches, and practices at Ted Haggard's New Life Church are very similar to the tactics of "deliverance ministry" preached at the church I walked away from.

If people are interested (and I've included a poll below) I've started to document dominion theology and how it is coercive according to both multiple checklists for "coerciveness" as well as direct comparison with well-known coercive religious groups (many of the similarities of tactics of dominionist groups into "deliverance ministry" and Scientology in particular are shocking when put in direct contrast).  I've made a few posts on Dark Christianity in regards to this, but I do think this is an area of study that needs more attention in general.

IMHO, much of how we are going to lick dominionism in the end is by learning how people in coercive religious groups in general think and how these groups ARE, in large part, less formal political groups and better classified as coercive groups with political agendas.  (It DOES explain why occasionally trying to debate dominionists seems as productive as talking to a brick wall, and may give info on more productive ways to actually get into useful dialogue--or determine if it's even possible.)




Display:
Is that the same denomination that gave us televangelist Jimmy Swaggart? The one who got nailed having altogether too much fun in a motel on New Orleans's Airline Highway to Heaven?
Just asking.

by MaryOGrady on Mon Nov 21, 2005 at 11:27:50 AM EST
That would be one and the same, yes.

As well as being associated with Jim Bakker and John Ashcroft and Gen. Boykin and Benny Hin and a whole cast of completely unsavoury people:

http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_aog.html

by dogemperor on Mon Nov 21, 2005 at 04:08:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]



h) Taught explicitly that deceptive tactics are perfectly permissible in an attempt to convert someone (and yes, this is denomination wide; I've documented over 40 separate "front groups" used for various forms of targeted prosyletising by the AoG, including targeting other churches)

This is common among most fundamentalist groups of any stripe. I came across my first instance of this while reading about the Jehovah's Witnesses; they call it "theocratic warfare," which is a term I've found most...well, telling.
Potius mori quam foedari.
by LiliSaintcrow on Mon Nov 21, 2005 at 06:44:41 PM EST

Item h), there, describes many people's experiences with recruiters from the Roman Catholic Church's Opus Dei.

by MaryOGrady on Mon Nov 21, 2005 at 08:11:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I'd even go so far as to state it's not even restricted to pente/charismatic-affiliated dominionists (someone has mentioned similar practices with the Jehovah's Witnesses and Opus Dei, and I've heard the practice called "heavenly deception" among the Moonies).

In fact, the use of multiple front groups is almost universally recognised among exit counselors as a "red flag warning" of a potentially hazardous group (it indicates the group has something to hide).

by dogemperor on Tue Nov 22, 2005 at 10:23:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]



Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series on the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game have been viewed by up to 1/2 million people. See our site section featuring Over 35 original articles covering the controversial "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that has provoked a boycott by a coalition of religious groups and a letter writing campaign urging Walmart to stop selling the game. Media inquiries click here
(image: detail from Francoise Dubois' rendition of the Bartholomew's Day Massacre reveals the actual nature of religious warfare)

Audio Recording of McCain's Political Endorser John Hagee Preaching Jews Are Cursed and Subhuman
Yesterday I discovered an astonishing audio recording of a sermon, by controversial McCain endorser Pastor John Hagee, in which Hagee elaborates on his view......
By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
Parsley, Hagee, John McCain and Time
The Wall Street Journal reports that controversial McCain backer John Hagee has apologized to Catholic leaders in person, and in a letter to crank......
By Frederick Clarkson (6 comments)
Lost Weekend: Religious Right Seeks Two-Day Ten Commandments Confab
Gas is inching up to $4 per gallon, rice has doubled in price, home foreclosures continue to spiral and more than 80 percent of......
By Rob Boston (2 comments)
Interview with the Author of The Family Part 2
Jeff Sharlet's ground breaking, forthcoming book: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, will be published on May 20th by......
By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
The Real Issue Behind Jindal's Religious Beliefs
One of the names being floated as a possible running mate for John McCain is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. With that in mind, I......
By Frank Cocozzelli (6 comments)
Interview with the Author of The Family -- Part 1
Jeff Sharlet's ground breaking, forthcoming book: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, will be published on May 20th by......
By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
Goading Churches into Defying Federal Tax Laws
The Religious Right has long made abuse of the priviledge of federal tax-exemption for churches and other non-profit organizations a political tool. While most......
By Frederick Clarkson (5 comments)
Mai Tai Dogs: Bush Administration, McCain-Endorser Hagee Caught Schmoozing at Chinese Restaurant
The year was 2004. It was summer, July. The 12th. Occasion ? Pappy Bush's 80th, and after pappy floated down from the sky, parachuted......
By Bruce Wilson (5 comments)
With the Founding Fathers as Our Press Gang
Jill Lepore has a wise and erudite article in The New Yorker about four recent books about the Founding Fathers and their approach to......
By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
Evangelical Angst: `Moderate' Evangelicals Worry About The Movement's Image
How do you react when people tell you they're evangelicals? Do you think that they simply want to share their faith - or do......
By Rob Boston (3 comments)
Ex-prez Bush hosts cult leader at Texas A&M!
Jeremiah Wright? Come on. The Moonies have just trumpeted the latest delegation of their dreaded leader, Sun Myung Moon, to the Bush presidential......
By John Gorenfeld (1 comment)
What the Hardcore RR Thinks about McCain
I first ran across Texe Marrs through a book circulating in my Senior Adult department in church. Texe had published a book he claims......
By wilkyjr (4 comments)
Clinton Compares Catholics and Jews, White Supremacists and Jihadists
It was as if Barry Lynn or some ACLU imp had temporarily seized control of Hillary Clinton's brain and vocal cords, causing her to......
By Bruce Wilson (2 comments)
Creationists and Christian Zionists to Hold Conference in California
WND touts the upcoming "Southern California Strategic Perspectives Conference": WND founder Joseph Farah joins "Left Behind" author Tim LaHaye, former terrorist Walid Shoebat, evangelist......
By Richard Bartholomew (3 comments)
A Sacrament Abused
The Catholic Right, Part Fifty-six On Tuesday I read the news that Cardinal Edward Egan (Archdiocese of New York) criticized former Mayor Rudy Giuliani......
By Frank Cocozzelli (2 comments)
Biblical support for abortion, who knew?
It turns out that our present legal understanding of when a life is entitled to legal protection is consistent with the Old Testament Biblical understanding of when a fetus becomes a 'life' warranting legal......
By TMurray (1 comment)
2001 John Hagee Film Shows Gangsterish Rabbi, Foppish Catholic Priest In League With anti-Christ
The following somewhat satirical video is built around a brief excerpt from Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee's 2001 55-minute film "Vanished", which followed the prophetic, premillennial plot line of Tim LaHaye's and Jerry Jenkin's......
By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
PBS "Carrier": A Mixed Blessing
Watching the PBS miniseries "Carrier" was a revelation, but not always a pleasant one... ......
By bughouse square (0 comments)
Will We Ever Learn?
Ever looked at something or did something which at the time seemed good and beneficial only to learn that it was not what you thought?  If we could all have the opportunity to live......
By truthngrace (0 comments)
McCain-Endorser's Church Casts Out "Demon of Anal Fissures", Teaches Vomiting Evil Spirits
[NOTE: for a related story, see Mai Tai Dogs: Pics Show Bush Administration, McCain-Endorser Hagee Schmoozing at Chinese Restaurant] I have to admit, on one level it sounds more entertaining than a church full......
By Bruce Wilson (3 comments)
Bush 41 salutes Sun Myung Moon's effort to subdue the planet.
Sun Myung Moon's end time political front, the Universal Peace Federation had a summit from April 28 to May 2 in Washington DC. The participants took a tour of the Moon owned Washington Times......
By Lou (2 comments)
Advancing The Kingdom
Over the past four years, I've researched the darkest regions of the Christian right for the non-fiction film Silhouette City. The film tracks the movement of apocalyptic Christian nationalism from the margins of American......
By MichaelWWilson (2 comments)
Newspaper Profiles Army of God Spokeman
We have written a great deal about the anti-abortion terror organization, Army of God. One recent post prompted God Tube to take down videos posted by the proprietor of the Army of God web......
By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
Judicial Council Chief James Holsinger and $20 million of UMC Money
Dr. James Holsinger, a leader in the IRD-linked Methodist renewal movement has, until now, been best known for his crack-pot anti-gay views. - FC Dr. James Holsinger, the Bush nominee for Surgeon General  and......
By AJWEAVER (0 comments)
No Constitution Party home for Keyes
Well, that didn't take long.  All the speculation about Alan Keyes finding a home with the rabidly right-wing Constitution Party has quickly come to naught as the CP convention picks radio talk show host,......
By tacitus (0 comments)
Florida Christian License Plate
Well, Florida is at it again. They're considering a "Christian" license plate.  It's supposed to have a cross and a stained glass window on it with the words "I Believe!" More below the break!......
By ArchaeoBob (3 comments)
The Alleged 'Atheist Delusion'
John Gray's ample Saturday Review column in the March 15th edition of London's  Guardian newpaper diagnosed the current climate surrounding religion as one of `moral panic'.  This is true only of the irrational fear......
By TMurray (0 comments)
A Real GI Bill of Rights
As much as I admire Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel for their efforts to reform the military, I respectfully submit that their proposed bill doesn't go far enough... ......
By bughouse square (2 comments)
Mikey's War
There comes a time when ordinary citizens need to step up and openly challenge the perverse Christianization of our national instutions, particularly the military. What follows is an introduction to someone who is doing......
By bughouse square (1 comment)
For McCain, Silence on Religion is Golden
Just one day before lambasting Barack Obama over his recent comments about religion, John McCain was a no-show at Sunday's CNN Compassion Forum on faith.  That's because when it comes to discussing his own......
By Jon Perr (0 comments)
Christian Right Flees Randall Balmer's Challenge On Torture
At the Daily Kos website, I have written what so far is a four part series [1, 2, 3, 4] on the Bush Administration and torture. My series covers the structure of the National......
By Bruce Wilson (3 comments)
Just *what* is "The Family" so desperate to hide?
Over the past few days, I've done some writing expressing concern regarding some revelations that Jeff Sharlet will be discussing extensively in his new book "The Family"--including information regarding apparently widespread and systemic use......
By dogemperor (7 comments)
The *other* members of Hillary's "Family" cell
On Friday, news reports started coming out to the effect that Hillary Clinton may be a member of a cell-church group run by the secretive "Family" nee "Fellowship" org; as the import of this......
By dogemperor (1 comment)
Hagee donating 6 Million dollars to Irael
Today it was reported in the local paper that John Hagee has donated 6 million dollars to Israel.  http://www.theledger.com/article/20080406/API/804062669 It appears to be a big publicity stunt.  The article says that "Hagee... brought hundreds......
By ArchaeoBob (0 comments)
"The Family" and its use of cells, explained
A few days ago, I wrote a post expressing concern re Hillary Clinton's reported involvement in a cell-church group operated by the longest-running political dominionist group in existence--some folks considered this a wee bit......
By dogemperor (1 comment)
The Politico's Half-Story on McCain's Religion
[bumped from diaries - ed]In the Politico this morning, Jonathan Martin offers what the New Republic deemed a "smart piece" about John McCain's religious beliefs.  But in describing McCain's reluctance to speak publicly about......
By Jon Perr (1 comment)
The Fellowship, cell churches, and coercive tactics
There's been a lot of good writing recently in regards to what is probably the oldest continuously running political dominionist group in the US today--a secretive org called "The Fellowship" or "The Family", and......
By dogemperor (1 comment)
Dobson at it again
As most of you may know, Dobson has a history of misusing (and distorting) scientific research to further his own nefarious goals.  Well, he's done it again- this time claiming that "Anthropologists agree on......
By ArchaeoBob (0 comments)
The "Walid Shoebat Foundation" Con Game--Exposed!
Over the past few days, we've had a lot of people (including Bruce Wilson) writing about a con game being promoted by the Walid Shoebat Foundation--namely, the claim that they are supposedly ex-PLO terrorists......
By dogemperor (0 comments)
Open Letter to Hillary, Obama, McCain and News Editors TV, Radio and Print
"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all...and passionate attachments for others should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should......
By eileen fleming (0 comments)
Of Gideons, Public Sidewalks, and Missing the Point
Gideons have been handing out Bibles in school or adjacent to schools for longer than I have been alive.  Does the fact that they now stand on public sidewalks really mitigate the legality of......
By Irrevelations (0 comments)
Happy Birthday Israel: Company is Coming and they are Carrying UN Flags!
[Israel Palestine] As Hagee's man, candidate McCain pandered to militants and fundamentalists during his trip to Jerusalem, giving firm "support for Israel's military response"...Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for......
By eileen fleming (0 comments)
Florida Bills for funding Focus on the Family
There are two bills before the Florida Legislature that need to be stopped. Florida House bill 707 and Florida Senate bill 630 both provide for Florida's Department of Transportation to solicit $1 contributions from......
By ArchaeoBob (2 comments)
Rare Washington Times dinner disaster video (1997)
A special treat awaits after the jump. So the big story out of Rev. Moon's Washington Times is that the new editor, John Solomon of the AP, will supposedly be remaking it into......
By John Gorenfeld (0 comments)

More Diaries...