Life as a Spectator Sport

Mainstream Christianity is certainly not George Bush's base. Nor are the more conservative Southern Baptists, pentecostals and outright fundamentalists, though he has encouraged them to believe that they are. The group Bush is fronting for is so far beyond fundamentalist Christianity that there are few points of similarity. Their agenda, in fact, has little to do with religion, and everything to do with power, regardless of any claims to the contrary.

They call their movements Reconstructionism, Kingdom Now, Dominion Theology, and other names. The dogma varies a bit from one group to another, but they are all Calvinists. That means they believe in predestination—some folk are bound for glory regardless of what they do; others are doomed from birth to hell. If this sounds vaguely un-American, read on. Democracy is not part of their agenda.

I want to be explicit about something first, though. My comments have nothing to do with religious belief, except where belief gives rise to the grasp and exertion of power. The problem is that these religious beliefs begin with the grasp of power. Here is the Statement of Purpose from the National Reform Association:

The mission of the National Reform Association is to maintain and promote in our national life the Christian principles of civil government, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Jesus Christ is Lord in all aspects of life, including civil government. Jesus Christ is, therefore, the Ruler of Nations, and should be explicitly confessed as such in any constitutional documents.

2. The civil ruler is to be a servant of God. He derives his authority from God, and he is duty-bound to govern according to the expressed will of God.

3. The civil government of our nation, its laws, institutions, and practices must therefore be conformed to the principles of biblical law as revealed in the Old and New Tesaments.

In other words, not a democracy, but a theocracy, or to use the preferred reconstructionist term, a "theonomy."

Lest anyone think there is not a strong determined effort to put these principles into place, let me quote a letter published in the current issue of The Christian Statesman, the publication of the NRA.

" . . . you must see that when the NRA finally musters the support of a large majority of the American people, dedicated enough and informed enough to support implementation of the organization's Statement of Purpose . . . "

In 2002, I began a blog that was intended to deal specifically with the reconstructionist movement and its various offshoots. For many reasons having to do with personal and professional obligations, I posted to it only once. I'm going to close that blog and transfer its purpose to this one, beginning with the letter I excerpted in that first and only post.

In April 2002, the president of the National Reform Association, the editor of The Christian Statesman, and several associates visited Washington DC. Here is the full text of the letter published in the magazine later in the year:

Wednesday April 25 marked the third phase of The National Reform Association's "Operation Potomac" forays to Washington D.C. This was smaller in scope than our July 2000 trip and concentrated on follow up and outreach to the Executive branch.

Christian Statesman" Editor Rev. Bill Einwechter, NRA Boardmembers Rev. Phil Vollman and Gary Humble, along with Rev. Thomas Beresford joined yours truly as we continued to disburse NRA books and material to elected officials and staff at the Federal level.

Concentration for this operation centered on the Department of Justice and the White House. In the morning our team met with Attorney General John Ashcroft's policy advisors wherein we discussed various issues, distributed copies of "Explicitly Christian Politics" and "Messiah the Prince" along with copies of "The Christian Statesman" and a framed proclamation which outlines the NRA's positions for Christian civil government. This was a heartening exchange with men who professed faith in Christ and were positively animated by the material and mission of the NRA especially as an asset to public policy.

In the afternoon, we visited with White House staff in the Old Executive Building adjacent to the West Wing of the White House. Again, we were encouraged that another professing Christian was ensconced in an office (Public Policy and Liaison) that was once used by the Clinton administration to promote militant homosexuality. In addition to our materials we set up communication for ongoing dialog between the NRA and the Bush administration. It is our hope to meet with both the President and the Vice President within the year.

On Capitol Hill, follow up was conducted with House Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay's office to set up a time for an NRA biblical worldview seminar to be conducted at the Capitol. This will be oriented especially for the staffers and policy makers. All that is left to do here is the coordination of dates. Follow up was also conducted with Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette, Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts, Indiana Rep. Mark Souder and Ohio Rep. Pat Tiberi.

Coming soon in another post is more encouraging news from the Ohio Chapter of The National Reform Association.

Until then, please continue to pray for the resurgence of the National reform Association and for open effectual doors to be opened.

I'm sure they consider the results of the 2004 election were an answer to their prayers.

[UPDATE] -- added a link to the online address of the letter.

The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section

This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here.

RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email to liz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002