what I believe happened in Ohio. I quit attending church when I was a teen because most of the churches in this area preach hatred--they enjoy pontificating about the "devil" and "evil" everywhere.
  Somehow, my fellow brainwashed citizens are convinced there is a "gay" or "liberal" agenda. It was really bad before the election.  A janitor told me the only reason he voted for Bush is because he "didn't wanna see two men kissing at his son's baseball games"
  I tried to explain how ridiculous that was, but it fell on empty ears. In my wildest dreams, I did not think pastors could influence people this way.
  I thought to myself, surely people remember the Swaggert, Bakker, etc. scandals and see through this. Obviously not.
 That is why I went to church Sunday--to hear what in the world was turning my fellow Americans into non-thinking zombies.
  I have stopped trying to convince people most of the MSM is propaganda. They do not listen. Instead, I write down website addresses such as KOS  Media Matters, TalkToAction and others.  

by concerned ohioan on Tue Jan 24, 2006 at 11:00:23 PM EST

This particular branch of pentecostalism--the "third wave" movement (of which the "Toronto Blessing" group is one of the best well known, as well as the "Brownsville Revival" group, even though the movement is far older)--is actually not only the group that is most strongly associated with dominionism, but in fact dominion theology and in particular the "spiritual warfare" ideology promoted is a core component of the theology of "third wave" pentecostalism.

(Full disclosure here--I am a walkaway from, and a survivor of, an Assemblies of God church which was an early embracer of "Third Wave" teachings (several decades pre-Brownsville, in fact) and as such most of my experience with dominionism and the theology used to justify dominionism has been within the context of dominion theology as practiced within the AoG and other pentecostal groups, and in particular the variations promoted within "word-faith" and "third-wave" theology.  As both part of my recovery from the spiritual abuse I suffered, and to educate others about dominionism as promoted by these groups, I've done quite a bit of research.)

Anyways, as I've noted in an informal history I've done on dominion theology within pentecostalism, "Third Wave" theology (as promoted by the Toronto Airport church, and later Brownsville, and 30 years previously at churches in Louisville, and 50 years previously at Yoido Full Gospel in Korea) is actually a descendant theology of the very "dominion theology" that dominionism itself is named after.  In fact, "Third Wavers" are probably some of the hardest-line dominionists in the pentecostal movement (because dominionism is part of the core theology--they are expressly taught they are part of Joel's Army, an "overcomer army" that is to win the planet for Christ before his return, and that the "signs and manifestations" in "Third Wave" churches are explicit signs of God's blessing and approval).

Incidentially, no, the "Third Wave" stuff didn't start with Toronto.  It didn't even start with the guy who brought it to Toronto (an Assemblies of God preacher named Rodney Howard-Browne, who also spread it to Brownsville and who originally based his North American operations out of Louisville--and may have had links with the very church I walked away from).  It's actually part of a theological movement that has a history of some fifty years or more within the Assemblies of God and its descendant denominations (International Foursquare, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, Calvary Chapel, and Vineyard--Vineyard itself is essentially the "great-grandchild" of the AoG).

The Assemblies itself (and in particular the very "dominion theology" movements, including the "word-faith" movements, etc. that it spawned) has also been at the heart of dominionist movements in practically every country it has ever had serious numbers in, including not only the US (the AoG, and in particular a front-group called the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International, essentially started the dominionist movement in the US as early as the 50's), Australia (the Family First party), South Korea (a burgeoning dominionist movement), multiple countries in Central and South America (particularly Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala; there is also quite a bit of evidence that the FGBMFI has explicitly attempted to interfere in the internal politics of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guyana), etc.

Again, this is because dominionism is core to the theology of these groups--literally, it is ingratiated to the point that to strip it out would be to strip out a core section of the theology of those groups.

I should also note that the "Third Wave" groups in particular are widely regarded as coercive religious groups--"cults", in common parlance--by exit counselors and other professionals dealing with spiritually abusive groups.  Entire websites exist detailing the spiritually abusive tactics that exist in these groups; one particularly good source (both in terms of detailing abusive tactics and from an "apologetics" end) is Deception In The Church.  Rick Ross has classified the Brownsville Revival (a related "Third Wave" movement) as coercive, as have others; Toronto itself has been mentioned in a general archive of articles on Ross' website on spiritual abuse in general.

by dogemperor on Wed Jan 25, 2006 at 11:22:44 AM EST

From the reams of stuff I have read about the "Toronto Blessing" and its offshoots, you should consider yourself very fortunate that they did not engage in their 'usual worship'. You might have ended up caught in their wicked little psychological trap.

This isn't the place to comment in detail about what the Toronto Blessing really is- but suffice it to say that it is something to steer well clear of. If you desire a good laugh, it's far better to go to a comedy club. Trust me on this.

Your commentary on the gay rights thing did inspire me to post about the escalation of hate speech in religious right circles.

by Lorie Johnson on Wed Jan 25, 2006 at 11:32:10 AM EST

I tend to think of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (formerly a Vineyard) as one of the experimental labs where certain methods of expectation generation and creation of a novel, contrived group experience were tested; others would include Brownsville (Pensacola) and  the "revivals" of Rodney Howard-Browne. It is a particular foothold of prominence of this movement, but there are and have been offshore "revivalists," also present in South America and Africa, that both seek to spread a particular form of Christianity and to implement and test methods of what they would call "evangelism" and I would call marketing.

That said, I tend to think there are some analogies to be made between the rise of the Conservatives and the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, which also coincided with a rise in Christian activity with politically "dominionist" goals in this country, that would include the "Washington for Jesus" series of events in which many Christian leaders that have since come to prominence were involved. Whether this political shift signifies a real change in the wind in Canada or is just a momentary hiccup remains to be seen.

I would point out a few trends. Christian television broadcasting has only recently been authorized in Canada. One of the networks, "The Miracle Channel," is an outgrowth of the first Christian television station, based in Lethbridge, Alberta. This station's program schedule includes a number of U.S. preachers of concern, including Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Jim Bakker (yes, he's back), James Robison, Benny Hinn and Joyce Meyer.

What's interesting about this channel is its close relationship with the self-described "prophetic" crowd exemplified by the individuals featured on the Elijah List (a website and e-mailing list). A number of these people are of Canadian origin; others are part of the "house of prayer" movement exemplified by the so-called "Justice House of Prayer" in Washington, DC whose leader has a very close relationship with Sam Brownback and has anti-abortion activism (the red tape over their mouths people) as a central part of its mission. It also connects with politically active church leaders such as Harry Jackson, originator of the so-called "Black Contract with America."

I wrote a diary over on Kos reporting on a Miracle Channel broadcast a day and a half before the election in which the station's founder and president explicitly directed viewers to consult a website that contains a list of candidates endorsed by an anti-gay-marriage group. He concluded his pitch with, "We are going to have a pro-marriage, pro-moral, pro-righteous Parliament, in this coming year."

Also of note: the former president of Promise Keepers Canada and Conservative party member, David Sweet, was elected to Parliament. Meanwhile the former head of Focus on the Family Canada also ran as a Conservative in British Columbia and was defeated.

There are Canadian branches of many U.S. based Christian advocacy organizations, though of much smaller size. It's not clear to me to what degree their U.S. origin stigmatizes them in Canada (if at all among their target audiences). Examples include Campus Crusade for Christ, the aformentioned Focus on the Family, and Youth for Christ, that all have offices  within a block of each other in Langley, BC.
--
Acquire the Evidence: on Ron Luce, Teen Mania Ministries and the "BattleCry" campaign. acquiretheevidence.com

by Mike Doughney on Thu Jan 26, 2006 at 11:15:22 PM EST

I applaud this Church for practicing as the unofficial opposition to the Government of Canada, it is their duty.  Religion must act as the unofficial opposition to Government.  The fact that they oppose gay marriages is their right, as we still have freedom of religion.  Joan Bokaer obviously disagrees with freedom of religion, as this includes making it beliefs known to the community and Government.  I find no problem with legal Gay Marriages. Pepole who do, are either saying that to be Gay is disentitlement as a Canadian citizen, or they are saying that God made a mistake making some people Gay.  That Church would of course deny that anyone is really born Gay, otherwise they would have to admit that God make a mistake.  I got news for those people - God is not human, nor does God not make  mistakes.  Facilitator Peter www.thechurchofthelivingwordofgod.net

by Facilitator Peter on Sun May 28, 2006 at 04:43:07 PM EST