The Dominionist Christ Isn't the Christ We Know
mick arran printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Thu Nov 24, 2005 at 08:56:36 PM EST
Lorie Johnson has written an important post to remind us that '[o]ne of the hallmarks of Dominionist Christianity is the need for an enemy to struggle against.' Very true. That simple sentence answers many of the questions people often ask about the tenacity and extremism of the religious right.

But Johnson's hope that pushing the agenda of the Christ as a way of forging bridges between us assumes that Dominionists share the same Christ we do. They don't.

The New Testament Christ has for 2000 years been defined in mainstream Christian churches by his doctrines of forgiveness, tolerance, and brotherhood. That is the Christ we know, the Christ we have always known. It is NOT the Christ of the fundamentalists.

The fundamentalist Christ has been re-imagined and re-defined through the prism of the Old Testament. He is a Fire-God of anger and revenge, the opposite of everything we used to think Christ stood for. He has little time for the poor, tolerates only the narrowest possible definition of 'Christian', seethes with righteous hatred of outsiders, is intolerant of those with different views, and despises wimps--he will come the next time clutching a sword in one hand and a .45 caliber automatic in the other.

The fundamentalist Christ is essentially built from an Old Testament perspective. He is everything the Christ we know originally came to overturn. He is the vengeful son of a vengeful god, and he demands obedience to his strict regimen with eternal punishment the price for disbelief. He is a muscular Christ, not that weak-kneed, lily-livered liberal icon from the old mainstream. This is not a Christ who would ever turn the other cheek. It is a Christ who would throw the one who slapped him to a pack of ravenous wolves and consider it a righteous act.

It's hard to overstate the enormous gulf between the centrist Christ and the fundamentalist Christ (what I call the 'NT Christ' and the 'OT Christ'). They have virtually nothing in common. They are, in fact, each other's polar opposite. If you look at the Christ depicted in the Left Behind series, you'll get a pretty good idea just how severe the difference is.

The fundamentalists' version of Christ is a natural result of their orientation toward the Old Testament. They quote OT passages with relish and largely ignore the NT altogether. When they do quote the NT, they re-define the meaning of whatever passage they're quoting with OT verbiage--what used to be called 'fire and brimstone'. In other words, they 'spin' it so it's in line with OT revenge values rather than NT forgiveness.

None of this means I'm against Johnson's suggestion that 'perhaps we can find and use Christ's words as a way to reduce the level of anger and hate, and find a peaceful common ground.' On the contrary, I think that may be the best possible approach to try.

But it won't be easy. We'd be going up against a simple, powerful icon that can be described and defined by comic book images with a complicated message that's a lot more nuanced and harder to explain than a tv sit-com. You can't get the full import of Christ's message in 22 minutes plus commercials.

We would also, like Christ himself, be going up against the Old Testament, and that's not a project to be taken lightly.




Display:
Took a look at "Ethel The Frog", and really enjoyed it. I think that the more people who talk about the Dominionist threat, the more it will start to leach into the mainstream.

You are very right about the "warrior Jesus" of the extreme right. He is almost like some cartoonized idealism of the Vengeful God, spitting swords and standing 100' tall. It's an ugly image.

I did a bit of digging around for other references to this bigger, badder Jesus as presented in the "Left Behind" series, and found this article from The Age describing the transformation from lamb to lion you speak about.

It is good to understand the difference between the traditional Jesus and his 21st Century evil twin. They are two totally different characterizations. Understanding this is another key to defusing the threat of Dominionism- if people understand that this vengeful monster is the Jesus they believe in, they might not be as accepting of their apocalyptic vision.

by Lorie Johnson on Fri Nov 25, 2005 at 09:41:01 AM EST

But how did you find EWF? That's not the one I put on my page.

I'll be writing more about this. I don't think people understand yet how weak the New Testament is in fundmentalist churches. In the Scopes Trial, for example, the scripture Bryan quoted all the way through was from the Old Testament, not the NT. The scripture Dobson, Robertson, et al always quote to justify their homophobia, misogyny, and lust for revenge is from the OT. It's like everything that Christ fought against has returned under his banner.

I have no idea how far you'd get with a real fundie trying to point that out. They're totally committed to the warrior Jesus, as far as I can tell. I'm not even sure how far you'd get with a Christian rightist leaning in their direction. Their comic-book Jesus is very attractive. Have you seen the video of that woman on Trading Spouses or whatever that show is? I've known those people in real life, and you might as well talk to the nearest fireplug. That's a powerful image they've force-fed their brain: unbeatable strength for people who are afraid, a protector for people who feel weak, a simple rulebook for people in confusion, and most important of all, zero possibility that they could be wrong or have made a mistake. When they have doubts (and they do, despite appearances), the doubts themselves become the enemy that must be vanquished--questioning is the devil at work.

The process the fundies have been going through is almost completed. They're very near the point of having pushed the society to accept the brutality of the 'evil twin' as the way it's supposed to be, that he's the real Jesus. As we enter the next stage, it's going to get a LOT nastier. If they get even part of the power they're aiming for, 'nasty' will start to look like the easy way out.

I think you're absolutely right: mainstream Christians have to a) understand what they're actually up against, and b) attack the 'evil twin' image directly, contrasting it to the message of the real Christ. And that means we have to be ready to fight Christ's battle all over again. It's a daunting prospect.

- mick -


by mick arran on Sat Nov 26, 2005 at 02:05:35 AM EST
Parent


What a delightful find. It will take weeks for me to read all the articles that interest me. The titles are wonderfully provocative, and as a liberal prelate in a "mainline" Christian denomination, it is important to feel completely comfortable in sharing more.

Suffice to add, the "fundamentalists" have their adherents in both the Credal sacramental faith systems as well as those discussed in this particular thread.

These individuals have padlocked the Holy Spirit in an "arc of their own covenant". He is frozen in both time and space, and indeed, the Christ of the NT is nowhere to be found, and the church of the new covenant and promise is held hostage.

I have brothers in Christ who are patriarchal and homophobic. Some arrive at these prejudices "honestly" while many learned them as defence mechanisms to hide either their latent or overt behaviours or orientation.

Well, I may not post often, or post again quickly. There are so many "delicious" topics to whet my appetite. Must be careful. Gluttony is still a sinful act. It may require the fullness of Holy Orders that I possess.

by LIBERAL CROZIER on Sat Nov 26, 2005 at 03:18:10 PM EST


Mick, you are right on about how the dominionist Christ is not the Christian Christ.  Not, in fact, Christ at all.  There is one detail of your post, one connection you draw, that I think begs a little teasing out.

It is a fairly typical mis-reading of both the Christian and Hebrew Scriptures ("new" and "old" testaments) that the Christian scriptures describe a loving, forgiving, compassionate God and that the Hebrew Scriptures describe a vengegul, angry God.  This is a stereotype.  Probably with anti-Jewish roots springing from some fetid cyst on the church's underbelly.

In fact, the loving kindness and steadfast love of God we find in Christian scriptures is a re-presentation of those same concepts in Hebrew Scriptures.  And Christian scriptures don't "spare the rod", being filled with its own share of vengeful, angry imagery.

I would argue that dominionists are professing belief in a god that is neither Christian nor Jewish.  A god that you cannot find in the pages of scripture unless that god is named Ba'al.  The god of the dominionists behaves like the gods of pharoah, not Moses.  Of Caesar, not Jesus.  

"New Testament Christ" and "Old Testament Christ" are metaphors that rely on flat, stereotypes of Christian and Jewish scripture.  It also creates a false dichotomy between the God of the "Old" testament and the God of the "New."  No such dichotomy exists.
Jesus knew how to throw a party. We'll try to hold up our end of the bargain.
by jedwards on Fri Nov 23, 2007 at 02:14:08 AM EST



WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.