Luce doesn't mention any of those concerns. He has only one: the access young people gain to sexual content.

by Joan Bokaer on Wed Mar 29, 2006 at 07:10:21 AM EST

a) "Spiritual warfare" by definition promotes recruitment, and in fact often promotes recruitment by unethical fashions (often through "bait and switch" evangelism targeting youth).

b) By your definition, pretty much all of the deceptive, spiritually abusive things that the Assemblies of God has done--up to, and including, the very invention of the theological basis of dominionism itself that is used to justify this crap--is "church stuff" and "not dominionist".

(And before you even try to start--let me explain very bluntly.  I am a survivor and walkaway from one of those churches that promotes this "Battle Cry" stuff.  In fact, they pretty much started it (both the targeting of youth, and the emphasis on this "spiritual warfare" nonsense) with a little group called "Youth With A Mission" that--surprise surprise--is regarded as a de facto Bible-based cult by practically every organisation doing active research into spiritually abusive groups.  Let's just say I've heard the "it's just a church thing" so many times I could scream; what folks like you don't realise is we know good and goddamned bloody well that much of the dominionist movement IS "church groups".)

http://www.victorious.com/BRMagazine/youth.htm is an example of one of those groups from the specific flavour of dominionist church I escaped (Assemblies of God churches into the "Third Wave" stuff).  The "Third Wave" and "Brownsville" Assemblies churches are probably the most *hardcore of the dominionists in that denomination--again, I can say this with quite a bit of authority because I survived a church into the "Brownsville" stuff a good thirty years before Brownsville.

Here's another link from the very seminary of the Assemblies of God showing promotion of Luce's group:
http://www.agts.edu/syllabi/ce/2006fall/pthb640nagato_fall06_aic.pdf

Here's another link from the Assemblies of God's own website showing association:
http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200101/0101_008_cpaturing_heart.cfm

Here's an Assemblies church promoting it:
http://www.newlifews.com/youth/index.html

Here's a link showing associations with Assemblies frontgroup (and group widely recognised as a bona fide Bible-based cult) Youth With A Mission:
http://www.faithnews.cc/articles.cfm?sid=6343

Here's more links between Luce and the Assemblies:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/ministries/1113/full/youth.workers.energized.at.national.confer ence/1.htm

Here's a promotion from Assemblies-linked groups:
http://www.youthchurch.com/profilearchives/profiles9.php

Here's a link from a dominionist conference that has links to the Assemblies:
http://www.urbana.org/ns.ms.agency.cfm

Here's promotion by a church associated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (which is the name the Assemblies of God operates under in that country):
http://www.dundascla.org/resources.htm

(And before you try to tell me that the Assemblies aren't dominionist, I've got a nicely researched history of dominionism within the pentecostal movement you may want to read.  As it is, the Assemblies aren't just dominionist, they actually invented dominion theology itself and since at least 1953 have been exporting it like a virus outside the church.)

If the links with the Assemblies aren't enough, here's a nice history of Luce's activities which show he's been promoting dominionism to youth for over 10 years (via Teen Mania Ministries) and also show his links to known dominionists like Ted Haggard's New Life Church:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/03/1809715_comment.php

Here's a link from a dominionist church listing him along with a group of churches--almost all of whom are blatantly dominionist and several of which are at real threat for losing their tax exempt status:
http://www.2timothy22.org/Resources/Links_nonframes.htm

Here's a link from a page for an annual conference Exodus International (a group promoting "de-gaying" therapy--which is nearly universally regarded by legitimate psychological and social-work groups as gravely harmful to mental health) that notes one of the speakers is linked with Teen Mania:
http://www.exodusfreedom.org/freedom/Featuring.cfm

Here's a link listing Teen Mania as a "supporting ministry" for "See You At The Pole", an event where people have been documented as literally cursing people in the name of Christ by nailing their names on crosses and "praying" that they will become suicidal unless they become converts:
http://www.syatp.com/info/supporting.html

Here's a lovely archived copy of a "bait and switch evangelism" manual given to teens that details some of the tactics used and which specifically mentions Teen Mania:
http://www.barf.org/archive/carman_ministries/01/riot-part3.html
(full manual at http://www.barf.org/archive/carman_ministries/01/index.html)

Or, hell, look at Acquire the Fire's own website and see how they're featuring known dominionist Ted Haggard at one of their conferences:
http://www.acquirethefire.com/stadiums.php?pageid=82

Yeah.  We have a group that is not only dominionist but showing the same bad behaviour as the Seven Project, Youth With A Mission et al.  (The links with the Assemblies are especially troubling, especially as "battle cry" IS a codeword for "spiritual warfare" in that denomination and in "Third Wave" pentecostal circles is actually a "warrior annointing" "manifestation".)

by dogemperor on Wed Mar 29, 2006 at 05:34:26 PM EST