Big budget "Left Behind" movie coming to a theater near you.

Holy crap! You know it's a good movie when it has Nicholas Cage in it, right?

This of course follows this weird Christian movie renaissance that we have witnessed in 2014. 

We had the abysmal God is not Dead, the Noah movie starring Russell Crowe, Heaven is for Real, and I understand there are several more coming to a theater near you in the coming months.

Of course the Left Behind book series has already inspired quite a few straight to video movies, and a few low budget theatrical releases, but none of them featured the guaranteed box office appeal of Nicholas Cage.

No this is big time folks.

And remember folks this is the Dominionist Seven Mountains mandate to take over the world by dominating the cultural peaks. Arts and Entertainment is the fourth peak.

And now that they have Nicholas Cage, they will be unstoppable. 

Sarah Palin is still pandering to the same dominionist group that once famously sent Reverend Muthee to bless her against witchcraft.

This photo was sent to me yesterday with this description:

Palin was 'prophesied over' again this year from dominionist so-called prophets and apostles (including Patricia King, Sue Ahn, James Goll) who are affiliated with NAR, the same fringe christianist group as Pastor Muthee. This was a Women On The Front Lines event in the Phoenix area. I think Patricia King is headquartered in Maricopa.

Actually this event took place this year on March 21st.

I found it eerily reminiscent of anther blessing Palin once received.

I also know that the lady beside Palin in the photograph at the top, Patricia King, is full goose bonzo.(That guy, James Goll, is no poster child for mental health either.)

Nice to see that Palin is still attending religious services, of a sort.

And here we thought she was not fit to write a book on Christmas.

And of course we were right to think that. 

Louisiana tax dollars go to fund fundamentalist indoctrination of school children.

"the [Ku Klux] Klan in some areas of the country tried to be a means of reform, fighting the decline in morality and using the symbol of the cross... In some communities it achieved a certain respectability as it worked with politicians." - from Bob Jones University Press American history textbook

Courtesy of Talk 2 Action:

This 2012-2013 school year, thanks to a bill pushed through by governor Bobby Jindal, thousands of students in Louisiana will receive state voucher money, transferred from public school funding, to attend private religious schools, some of which teach from a Christian curriculum that suggests the Loch Ness Monster disproves evolution and states that the alleged creature, which has never been demonstrated to even exist, has been tracked by submarine and is probably a plesiosaur. 

The curriculum also claims that a Japanese fishing boat caught a dinosaur. On the list of schools approved to receive funding through the new voucher funding, that critics warn could eventually cut public school funding in half, are schools that teach from the Christian fundamentalist A Beka Book, Bob Jones University Press, and Accelerated Christian Education curriculum.

So did you get that? Thanks to Governor Jindal's refusal to respect the separation of church and state, and the constant undermining of the value of public schools, now tax payers in Louisiana get to pay to proselytize a fundamentalist belief system to young schoolchildren.

But hey, how bad can it be?

Thanks for asking.

Like the ACE curriculum, A Beka and Bob Jones textbooks promote Young-Earth creationism, are heavily laden with political bias, and at times verge on racism. As shown in the following video, among the dubious, factually incorrect, politically tendentious, and racially and culturally insensitive claims in A Beka Book and Bob Jones University Press textbooks are the following: 

- Only ten percent of Africans can read or write, because Christian mission schools have been shut down by communists. 

- "the [Ku Klux] Klan in some areas of the country tried to be a means of reform, fighting the decline in morality and using the symbol of the cross... In some communities it achieved a certain respectability as it worked with politicians." 

 - "God used the 'Trail of Tears' to bring many Indians to Christ."

- It "cannot be shown scientifically that that man-made pollutants will one day drastically reduce the depth of the atmosphere's ozone layer." 

 - "God has provided certain 'checks and balances' in creation to prevent many of the global upsets that have been predicted by environmentalists." 

- the Great Depression was exaggerated by propagandists, including John Steinbeck, to advance a socialist agenda. 

- "Unions have always been plagued by socialists and anarchists who use laborers to destroy the free-enterprise system that hardworking Americans have created." 

- Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential win was due to an imaginary economic crisis created by the media. 

- "The greatest struggle of all time, the Battle of Armageddon, will occur in the Middle East when Christ returns to set up his kingdom on earth."

Here is a video that should essentially scare the crap out of you.

So Climate Change is false, the Great Depression was a Socialist plot, labor unions are full of anarchists, Reagan was a patriot, and President Clinton only won his election through trickery.

And just like that, Dominionism takes yet another giant step forward.

To learn more just click the Talk 2 Action link at the top.

"I think if Sarah Palin runs, she’ll be the first Jewish president." WTF?

The quote in the headline is from is an interview conducted by Chicago mag.com with a Harvard Law School, named Joel Pollack, who is currently employed as the Editor-in-chief at Breitbart.com.

Here it is in context:

CF: When we will have the first Jewish president? 

JP: I think if Sarah Palin runs, she’ll be the first Jewish president. CF: What? JP: Sarah Palin is treated as Jews have been treated for generations: no matter what she does, she’s wrong. She’s either too religious or not religious enough; she’s a housewife who can’t function as governor, or she’s the governor who doesn’t take care of her domestic duties. All the things are thrown at her in the same way that Jews were targeted. She’s identified herself [with Israel] and has shown empathy for the things that the Jewish community cares about in a way that I think has yet to achieve the right recognition. She sent out a picture recently to supporters—not Jewish supporters, but her general supporters—and it’s a picture of her in front of the Statue of Liberty and she’s wearing a Jewish star. Maybe not since the Puritans founded America and gave biblical names to each other has there ever been such a positive identification with Jewish symbolism, so I like to joke that Sarah Palin will be the first Jewish president.

Now keep in mind that this is from a Jewish American Harvard graduate. You cannot honestly define him as an inbred paint chip eater, so what the hell?

How could somebody who presents themselves as a strong supporter of Israel, and who claims to take his Jewish faith seriously, EVER compare Sarah Palin being criticized for being an ignorant, venal fame whore to the historic suffering of the Jewish people?

And he bases much of that on the fact that she wears the Star of David in public?

That is a level of cognitive dissonance the likes of which I have rarely seen before.

Does this moron not realize that in Palin's Domiononist world view, that Israel HAS to exist so that it can lose a war where two thirds of its people must be slaughtered?

Nothing can or will be done by Christians to save Israel’s Jews from this disaster, for all of the Christians will have been removed from this world three and a half years prior to the beginning of this 42-month period of tribulation. (The total period of seven years is interpreted as the fulfillment of the seventieth week of Daniel [Dan. 9:27].) 

In order for most of today’s Christians to escape physical death, two-thirds of the Jews in Israel must perish, soon. This is the grim prophetic trade-off that fundamentalists rarely discuss publicly, but which is the central motivation in the movement’s support for Israel. It should be clear why they believe that Israel must be defended at all costs by the West. If Israel were militarily removed from history prior to the Rapture, then the strongest case for Christians’ imminent escape from death would have to be abandoned. This would mean the indefinite delay of the Rapture. The fundamentalist movement thrives on the doctrine of the imminent Rapture, not the indefinitely postponed Rapture.

And what exactly does this massive embarrassment to the Jewish faith, Harvard Law School, and  the American people DO for Breitbart?

CF: What are you up to recently at Breitbart? 

JP: The examination of [Joe McGinniss’s] new book about Sarah Palin. We released an email that indicates McGinniss knew there was no factual evidence for some of the most sensational things he was saying, and he was frantically trying to reach out to left-wing bloggers to try to see if they had any evidence he could include in the book to back up what he was saying. 

This guy's parents scrimped and saved to send him to Harvard Law School and now he spends his time purposefully misunderstanding and misrepresenting an e-mail from Joe McGinniss to yours truly?

You know that may be one of the saddest things I have ever heard.

On Hardball it's Palin-bots and ex-Palin-bots on parade attempting to minimize the impact of the McGinniss book.

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Clearly Shushannah Walshe is still shotgunning Palin brand Kool-aid, but Frank Bailey serves as a fairly effective counterpoint right up until Mathews hits too close to home with the Domionist talk forcing Bailey to make the attempt to change the subject.

By the way just imagine how much better Bailey's book might have been if he had not been so  worried about protecting himself from possible legal action? If that had happened it might have been Joe McGinniss commenting on HIS book instead of the other way around.

Defining Dominionism.

Courtesy of AlterNet:

Dominionism is a broad political impulse within the Christian Right in the United States. It comes in a variety of forms that author Fred Clarkson and I call soft and hard. Fred and I probably coined the term “Dominionism” back in the 1990s, but in any case we certainly were the primary researchers who organized its use among journalists and scholars. 

Clarkson noted three characteristics that bridge both the hard and the soft kind of Dominionism. 

1. Dominionists celebrate Christian nationalism, in that they believe the United States once was, and should again be, a Christian nation. In this way, they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy. 
2. Dominionists promote religious supremacy, insofar as they generally do not respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity. 
3. Dominionists endorse theocratic visions, believing that the Ten Commandments, or “biblical law,” should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles. 

At the apex of hard Dominionism is the religious dogma of Dominion Theology, with two major branches: Christian Reconstructionism and Kingdom Now theology. It is the latter’s influence on the theopolitical movement called the New Apostolic Reformation that has been linked in published reports to potential Republican presidential nominees Perry, Bachmann or Palin. All three of these right-wing political debutantes have flirted with Christian Right Dominionism, but how far they have danced toward the influence of hard-right Dominion Theology is in dispute. It would be nice if some “mainstream” journalists actually researched the question. 

“While differing from Reconstructionism in many ways, Kingdom Now shares the belief that Christians have a mandate to take dominion over every area of life,” explains religion scholar Bruce Barron. And it is just this tendency that has spread through evangelical Protestantism, resulting in the emergence of “various brands of ‘dominionist’ thinkers in contemporary American evangelicalism,” according to Barron. 

The most militant Dominion Theologists would silence dissenters and execute adulterers, homosexuals and recalcitrant children. No…seriously. OK, they would only be executed for repeated offenses, explain some defenders of Christian Reconstructionism. Even most Christian Right activists view the more militant Dominion Theologists as having really creepy ideas. 

Much of the controversy over the issue of Dominionism is caused by writers who use the term carelessly, often conflating the broad term Dominionism with the narrow term Dominion Theology. Some on the Left have implied that every conservative Christian evangelical is part of the Christian Right political movement; and that everyone in the Christian Right is an active Dominionist. This is false. Some critics even state that the Christian Right is neofascist. Few serious scholars of fascism agree with that assessment, although several admit that if triggered by a traumatic societal event, any contemporary right-wing populist movement could descend into neofascism.

There is more to this very informative article and I strongly urge you to read the entire thing.

And then when you are finished imagine what having a disciple of this particular militant brand of Christianity, such as Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, or Rick Perry, in the White House might mean for this country.

And you wonder why I never sleep.

New York Times editor compares religious belief to belief that space aliens live among us, and suggests that candidates for President should explain their faith.

Oh I LIKE this guy!

Courtesy of Bill Keller of the NYT:

If a candidate for president said he believed that space aliens dwell among us, would that affect your willingness to vote for him? Personally, I might not disqualify him out of hand; one out of three Americans believe we have had Visitors and, hey, who knows? But I would certainly want to ask a few questions. Like, where does he get his information? Does he talk to the aliens? Do they have an economic plan? This year’s Republican primary season offers us an important opportunity to confront our scruples about the privacy of faith in public life — and to get over them. We have an unusually large number of candidates, including putative front-runners, who belong to churches that are mysterious or suspect to many Americans. Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are Mormons, a faith that many conservative Christians have been taught is a “cult” and that many others think is just weird. (Huntsman says he is not “overly religious.”) Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are both affiliated with fervid subsets of evangelical Christianity — and Rick Santorum comes out of the most conservative wing of Catholicism — which has raised concerns about their respect for the separation of church and state, not to mention the separation of fact and fiction. 

I honestly don’t care if Mitt Romney wears Mormon undergarments beneath his Gap skinny jeans, or if he believes that the stories of ancient American prophets were engraved on gold tablets and buried in upstate New York, or that Mormonism’s founding prophet practiced polygamy (which was disavowed by the church in 1890). Every faith has its baggage, and every faith holds beliefs that will seem bizarre to outsiders. I grew up believing that a priest could turn a bread wafer into the actual flesh of Christ. 

But I do want to know if a candidate places fealty to the Bible, the Book of Mormon (the text, not the Broadway musical) or some other authority higher than the Constitution and laws of this country. It matters to me whether a president respects serious science and verifiable history — in short, belongs to what an official in a previous administration once scornfully described as “the reality-based community.” I do care if religious doctrine becomes an excuse to exclude my fellow citizens from the rights and protections our country promises. 

I am sorry but there should not even be any debate about this.  Of COURSE we should know what kind of beliefs might inform the decision making of potentially the most powerful person in the world.

Look at Rick Perry for example.  The man has said numerous times that he would leave the more difficult problems facing his state, and our country, "in God's hands." Is that really the guy we want to have at the helm tasked with steering this great country through the troubles which lie just over the horizon?

Here are the questions that Keller sent to the candidates:

1. Is it fair to question presidential candidates about details of their faith? 
2. Is it fair to question candidates about controversial remarks made by their pastors, mentors, close associates or thinkers whose books they recommend? 
3. (a) Do you agree with those religious leaders who say that America is a “Christian nation” or “Judeo-Christian nation?” (b) What does that mean in practice? 
4. If you encounter a conflict between your faith and the Constitution and laws of the United States, how would you resolve it? Has that happened, in your experience? 
5. (a) Would you have any hesitation about appointing a Muslim to the federal bench? (b) What about an atheist? 
6. Are Mormons Christians, in your view? Should the fact that Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are Mormons influence how we think of them as candidates? 
7. What do you think of the evangelical Christian movement known as Dominionism and the idea that Christians, and only Christians, should hold dominion over the secular institutions of the earth? 
8. (a) What is your attitude toward the theory of evolution? (b) Do you believe it should be taught in public schools? 
9. Do you believe it is proper for teachers to lead students in prayer in public schools?

I don't know about all of you but I would LOVE to hear the answers to these questions, ESPECIALLY from Bachmann and Perry, and of course Palin if she were ignorant enough to throw her hat into the ring.

Already the recent journalistic focus on Dominionism has started to freak the Evangelicals out a little, as evidenced by this complete denial of its existence by disgraced "Right Hand of God" Ralph Reed.

Hey, in my opinion if they are really secure in their faith, and proud of their religious convictions, they should be proud to discuss them in the public forum.

I mean it's not like they have something to hide, right?

Leah Burton, of "God's Own Party," announces the release of her long anticipated book "God, Guns, & Greed."

Courtesy of God's Own Party:

I attribute Palin’s meteoric rise for prompting me to jump back into the world of politics. The announcement on August 29th, 2008 that Sarah Palin was the vice presidential running mate to John McCain just about gave me whiplash and knocked me from my desk chair. In a matter of seconds, I knew that I had to begin writing about the world of Political Dominionism and Sarah Palin. 

So, in honor of this woman bringing so much attention to herself – and simultaneously - to the world of religious extremism in American politics I am announcing the release of my book on the 3rd anniversary of her walk onto the world stage in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Republican National Convention September 4th, 2008. 

Here is the official announcement:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

God, Guns & Greed 

Forward by Dr. Anthea Butler, Graduate Chair Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania 

Author Leah L. Burton 

A Dangerous Path for America 

 God, Guns & Greed is an irreverent look into the rise of religious extremism tying Perry, Bachmann Palin & Co. as not simply a handful of devout Christians. They are political Dominionists and their message is being preached from pulpits across America, reaching an enormous voting bloc of “social conservatives”. 

A debate has ensued over what to call these religious extremists. Whether you call it “Dominionism” or the “New Apostolic Reformation” this fight is real and it affects every American! Dominionists claim authority from Genesis 1:28 mandating that they take dominion and be stewards of this earth until the Second Coming of Christ. Rewriting America’s history is an integral part of their message insisting that America is a Christian Nation and their followers are drinking the Kool-Aid. 

Their efforts are made more powerful by the cross-pollination of non-Dominionists seeking to tear apart government control and regulations. Corporatist’s wealth like the Koch Brothers and Sovereign Citizens disdain for the federal government are just two of the unholy alliances Dominionists make in their common goal to privatize government. It is a win-win for all of them. 

Stepping outside the typical “political book”, Burton exposes their religious messaging and tactics. Pulling from her years of research and experience, she writes in straight forward language about this organized effort – hiding in plain sight – to destroy religious and personal freedom. 

This path for America is a place where freedoms are diminished and theocracy rules. It is a profoundly un-American place. God, Guns & Greed will help inform you what this Movement is and how we can stop it.

I have often said, and I will repeat it here again, that Leah is my "go to" source on Dominionism.  She has made the study of this terrifying branch of fundamentalism the focus of her research for many years now, and I cannot think of anybody whose input I would value more than Leah Burton's on this topic.

I have been one of the few fortunate individuals to have the ability to e-mail or call Leah when I was struggling to understand something about the movement, or trying to find the right words to describe their agenda or progress in the political spectrum.

Now all of you can enjoy that same access to Leah's knowledge base that I have found invaluable for all of these years, by ordering her new book here.

With Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry now two of the three GOP front runners, Dominionism is now getting the scrutiny it deserves. Update!

Sarah Palin may have been the first shiny object to really draw our attention to the Dominionist movement, but now that it has been clearly defined the media is beginning to pick up the signs of its influence on OTHER candidates as well.

Courtesy of The Daily Beast:

With Tim Pawlenty out of the presidential race, it is now fairly clear that the GOP candidate will either be Mitt Romney or someone who makes George W. Bush look like Tom Paine. Of the three most plausible candidates for the Republican nomination, two are deeply associated with a theocratic strain of Christian fundamentalism known as Dominionism. If you want to understand Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, understanding Dominionism isn’t optional. 

 Put simply, Dominionism means that Christians have a God-given right to rule all earthly institutions. Originating among some of America’s most radical theocrats, it’s long had an influence on religious-right education and political organizing. But because it seems so outré, getting ordinary people to take it seriously can be difficult. Most writers, myself included, who explore it have been called paranoid. In a contemptuous 2006 First Things review of several books, including Kevin Phillips’ American Theocracy, and my own Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, conservative columnist Ross Douthat wrote, “the fear of theocracy has become a defining panic of the Bush era.” 

 Now, however, we have the most theocratic Republican field in American history, and suddenly, the concept of Dominionism is reaching mainstream audiences. Writing about Bachmann in The New Yorker this month, Ryan Lizza spent several paragraphs explaining how the premise fit into the Minnesota congresswoman’s intellectual and theological development. And a recent Texas Observer cover story on Rick Perry examined his relationship with the New Apostolic Reformation, a Dominionist variant of Pentecostalism that coalesced about a decade ago. “[W]hat makes the New Apostolic Reformation movement so potent is its growing fascination with infiltrating politics and government,” wrote Forrest Wilder. Its members “believe Christians—certain Christians—are destined to not just take ‘dominion’ over government, but stealthily climb to the commanding heights of what they term the ‘Seven Mountains’ of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world.”

I was talking to a very good, and well informed, friend recently about this topic and was told that someday we may all feel a sense of gratitude toward Sarah Palin for clumsily revealing just how influential and pervasive these Fundamentalist Christian groups had become.

Before Palin people like Leah Burton and Frank Schaeffer were considered "Chicken Little's" crying about a sky that was falling which nobody else could see. But with their help, and the help of many others, we are now able to see great chunks of falling debris and recognize the danger that they represent.

It reminds me of the movie "They Live" in which the danger was all around, but until you put on those special sunglasses you were completely unaware that everything you thought you knew was false.

Those of us who visit here, as well as God's Own Party, and various other informational blogs and websites, have our glasses firmly in place, and KNOW exactly what we are looking at when it comes to a Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, or Rick Santorum.

Now it falls on those of us who are newly aware, to open the eyes of our friends and families to the dangers that are posed by this EXTREMELY aggressive and determined group of Theocrats.

Sarah Palin maybe yesterday's news, but the headlines for tomorrow may be equally as grim.

Update: A friend just reminded me that Leah Burton has a very important book on this subject coming out soon, called "God, Guns, and Greed." You can check it out for yourself, and even pre-order it, by clicking here.

Rachel Maddow reveals the truth behind the New Apostolic Reformation, and the man who could be their hand picked candidate, Rick Perry.

I strongly urge you to watch this segment to truly get an understanding of exactly what we might be facing in the next election.

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Here is the link to the article by the Texas Observer that Rachel references in this video.

One of the reasons that I, and many others, focused on revealing the hypocrisy, lies, and ignorance of Sarah Palin was because we knew she was being groomed by these people as a candidate in 2012.

Through our hard work, and her own embarrassing limitations, I believe she is no longer this group's "go to wingnut." Instead they are looking elsewhere, and it appears that Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry are battling it out to pick up the baton that Palin let slip through her fingers.

Now there are still secrets to reveal about Klondike Kardashian, and I am not finished with her yet (Especially since many of the secrets could also reveal scandalous behaviors by this Apostolic Reformation group, the GOP, and others), but it is just as important, no even MORE important, that we start to really shine the light on these other potential Dominionist candidates.

Because folks in my opinion these people are setting this country up for an ideological holy war between THEIR kind of Christian vs the "Kenyan born, closeted Muslim," that could be more devastating to the future of the United States than even the Civil War.

Michele Bachmann listed Francis Schaeffer as one of her most important influences.. His son, Frank Schaeffer, explains why that should terrify you.

From AlterNet:

As presidential candidate Michele Bachmann chews up scenery in the GOP primaries, the mainstream media is finally digging into her extremist beliefs in a serious way. In a profile published earlier this week, the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza talked about Bachmann's radical right-wing influences, which include the most extremist figures in the history of the religious right movement. 

One of these was my evangelical leader father, Francis Schaeffer. Bachmann says in the New Yorker article that she got into politics because she watched a film series I directed called “How Should We Then Live,” written by and featuring my dad. 

What the New Yorker article doesn’t do is explain why people like Bachmann, Sarah Palin, et al. turned to the hard reactionary anti-government right. I explain this in my book Sex, Mom and God. I think it’s important to understand this. So let me add what the New Yorker left out.

Frank Schaeffer then proceeds to take his readers on an out of control carnival ride with frights that include Theocratic beliefs, abject hatred toward homosexuals, and a complete distrust for government. 

I urge you to read it with a hot comforting beverage to sip and all of the lights on to chase away the darkness.

Are you prepared for spiritual warfare in the United States? Well perhaps you are not, but many others are more than ready.

Courtesy of Aljazeera:

Prior to 9/11, the Taliban government in Afghanistan did not register very much on American radar screens, with one notable exception: when it blew up two colossal images of the Buddha in Bamiyan province in early 2001. But destruction of treasured artifacts isn't just limited to the Taliban.

There's a right-wing politico-religious presence centred in the US, but with a global reach, engaging in similar practises, destroying religious and cultural artifacts as a key aspect of its ideology of "strategic level spiritual warfare" (SLSW).

Until recently a fringe evangelical movement, warned against as deviant, "spiritual warfare" is rapidly positioning itself within America's mainstream political right. It's well past time for political journalists to start covering what this movement is up to.

As an example, leaders have bragged online about the destruction of Native American religious artifacts, which their twisted ideology somehow sees as a liberating act, promoting "reconciliation" between estranged groups of people. Critics, however, see it as reflecting an eliminationist mindset, while traditional conservative evangelicals have denounced the ideology as un-biblical. Some even claim it is actually a form of pagan practice dressed up in Christian clothes, according such artifacts a spiritual power that the Bible itself denies. 

The ultimate goal is to replace secular democracy, both in America and around the world, with a Christian theocracy, an ideology known as "dominionism". The supposed purpose is to "purify" the world for Christ's return - again, strikingly similar to what the Taliban believe, but also significantly at odds with more common, long-standing Christian beliefs about the "end times", as well as the nature and purpose of prayer, and the roles of human and divine power. 

This is a VERY informative article which touches on many of the same frightening themes that fans of Leah Burton, and God's Own Party,  are probably already aware. The piece explores the New Apostolic Reformation, the Seven Mountains Mandate, the influence of Sarah Palin, and also lays out the three levels of Spiritual Warfare.

Ground level spiritual warfare is casting out demons from individuals. Occult level spiritual warfare is a confrontation with demons operating through witchcraft and esoteric philosophies (examples are Freemasonry and Tibetan Buddhism). Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare is the highest level, dealing with confrontation of territorial principalities that control entire communities, ethnic groups, religions, and nations.

Like I said the article is quite informative, however it is also a chilling read that might cause you one or two sleepless night.  So take care.  

Leah Burton does an amazing job of tying the Oslo terrorist to Christian Dominionism.

Yesterday I wrote of the connection that Anders Behring Breivik had to Sarah Palin and the Teabaggers in America. As many of you pointed out the strongest connection could be made between Beivik and the Domonionists, which is true, though I also believe that there are much stronger connections between the Tea Party and the Dominionists than many people seem to realize.

However as I have said in the past, when it comes to writing about Dominionists I ALWAYS defer to my friend Leah Burtion, who is the recognized expert on the subject.

And so I have.

Courtesy of Politicususa:

In regards to dominionist linkages to the bloody slaughter in Norway, here are our findings so far:

a) In particular, with a video manifesto (which has been linked on Youtube until it was pulled there, and which has since shown up on Liveleak) the shooter makes some very specific references that show he has familiarity with, and probably shares terminology with (if not overtly sharing intel with) “Christian patriot” militia groups in the US (including material that has been posted on racist and far-right-wing forums in the US, use of particular catch phrases associated with the “Christian Patriot” movement in the US, and others). I’ve just spent nine hours typing up an extensive analysis of the video; he is clearly connected with religious-nationalist groups in Europe and in the US. The degree of references to material originating in the US, in fact, indicate he has been in somewhat regular contact with anti-Muslim racists in the “Christian Patriot” movement in the US, rather than obtaining racialist material from racist groups elsewhere in the world.

b) One thing that stands out (if one is unaware of racialist movements in Europe)–most racist activity in Europe so far has been from “odinists” and “Satanists” in the black-metal community (and are largely doing it in a pattern of occasionally bloody attention-whoredom) or from blatantly neo-Nazi groups. A group or person claiming a “Conservative Christian” basis for this, especially in Europe, stands out like a sore thumb; generally (unlike the US) there has not been a tradition of “racist right” churches like Christian Identity that claim to be “Bible-based”.

c) One thing that stands out in the killer’s videos and writings is a certain obsession with the Knights Templar, the Third Crusade, and the idea of setting up what amount to European “Christian Patriot militias” (often using the very same terminology, of note, as “Christian patriot” groups associated with dominionism and the racist right use in the US) to foment a revolution in the same way as planned by “Christian Patriot militias” here in the US.

d) In particular, the killer is a known guest writer on the site “Jihad Watch”, which has had very close linkage with Dominionist groups (including NAR groups). Jihad Watch is sufficiently infamous (and sufficiently tied to Dominionist activity, particularly among the NAR) that it is one of those groups that Southern Poverty Law Center keeps a very careful watch on (and is on verge of listing it formally as a hate site), and writers to that site almost inevitably have ties to NAR groups.

e) There is a known NAR movement in Norway, which is similar in extremism to the US and which has known linkage to NAR extremists in the US, particularly in C. Peter Wagner’s network (in particular, Jan Torp who has known linkage to Sarah Palin via the Wagner NAR network among others); Norway, a relatively religiously conservative country, has been aggressively targeted by the NAR in an effort to establish a bench-head in Scandinavia. (Of note–Wagner’s lineage of NARasites is the most closely connected to the “racist right” along with Christian Reconstructionists; there is clear evidence that Christian Identity groups and NAR groups have traded theological terminology related to domestic terrorism as recently as the late 1980s and early 1990s.) I wrote about Torp’s connection to Sarah Palin at God’s Own Party? in November 2008.

It is important to recognize that C. Peter Wagner who we are speaking of is one of the main endorsers of Governor Rick Perry’s “The Response” event in Houston.

Believe it or not this is but a taste of the extensive article that Leah has written making these connections and I urge you to free up the time necessary to read the entire post.

Leah Burton explores the Seven Mountains Mandate. You might want to read this with the lights on.

From Politicususa:

Last week I wrote an article here at PoliticusUSA introducing the Christian Dominionist Movement. First, let me say that I was tremendously encouraged by the responses and that so many of you are taking this seriously. Please click here to read a more in-depth compilation of writing and research defining Christian Dominionism. It is a challenging task to write and speak out about this extremism due to the very fact that they have crawled under the skirts of legitimacy of what once was the Republican Party while invoking Christianity as their moral spring board.

To write or speak out against this very well organized sect attracts defensive postures from all sides, from Dominionists themselves, to the mainline Christians in America who are not yet aware that they need to be distancing themselves from this extremist fundamentalist sect, one that is attempting to drag them along for the ride back into the days of pre-Enlightenment.

This is a creeping cancer, a malignant growth if left unchecked, that desires total dominion over all secular institutions in America, establishing this country firmly with arrogant supremacy as a Christian Nation. One of those very well laid out plans is something they call the 7 Mountains Mandate.

This is VERY difficult to process, but I assure you that this is the driving force behind much of what we see happening on the surface among the Right Wing Fundamentalist Republicans.

Leah and I used to have long talks about these issues, about a year ago, and some of the things she would tell me (And by the way I am somebody who felt he was pretty knowledgeable about Christian cults), would make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

Leah is probably one of only a handful of people who have studied this subject in any real comprehensive fashion, so I always defer to her superior knowledge on Dominionists and Evangelicals.

Journalist Sarah Jones bravely delves into the world of the "Quiverfull Movement."

Vyckie Garrison ex-Quiverfull member

Courtesy of Politicususa:

Sarah Jones: Can you define “Quiverfull movement” and what you’ve identified as the patriarchal beliefs behind it?

Vyckie Garrison: I like to define Quiverfull as a very powerful head trip. It’s an all-encompassing vision of a big, happy family which infects the mind and affects every aspect of a Believer’s life. The term “Quiverfull” comes from a reference in Psalm 127 which likens children to “arrows” in the hands of a mighty man, “blessed is the man who has his quiver full of them.”

Quiverfull Believers eschew all forms of birth control in favor of “trusting the Lord” with their family planning. The Quiverfull ideal embraces a “biblical” model (read, fundamentalist) of the traditional family which insists that the husband is the head of the household and the wife is the submissive “helpmeet.”

Sarah Jones: How do those beliefs manifest for wives and female children? Can you give us some examples of expectations of wives and daughters that might surprise our readers?

Vyckie Garrison: In practice, the Quiverfull ideals often result in larger-than-average families (think, Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar of TLCs “19 & Counting” fame) in which the woman stays at home having babies, homeschooling, homesteading, dressing “modestly,” and most importantly, serving and submitting to her “lord,” i.e., her patriarchal husband.

The Quiverfull lifestyle is extremely demanding and the only way a woman can hope to succeed is to rely heavily on her older daughters. It is expected that a Quiverfull daughter will be fully capable of running the household, including all meal-preparation, laundry duties, child care and homeschooling of younger siblings by the age of twelve. Many girls are doing all this by the time they’re eight or ten because their mothers are so consumed with birthing more and more “arrows” to fill the quivers of their husbands.

A Quiverfull daughter is taught from a young age that her purpose in life is to serve the man whom God has placed in authority over her. She serves her father while she lives at home (she does this primarily by assisting her mother in domestic duties and child care). She absolutely must remain a virgin and is taught to expect to meet and marry her future husband through a father-led match-making process called “courtship.” Her education is geared toward developing domestic skills ~ college is generally considered unnecessary and even dangerous for her spiritual well-being.

Sarah Jones: Do Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann (both of whom share a belief in the bible replacing the constitution; i.e., a theocratic takeover of the American government) represent the beliefs you were taught and if so, how? If not, why?

Vyckie Garrison: When I was a fully-convinced Quiverfull believer, I did question how Sarah Palin could justify her political activities so long as she had children still living at home. I also thought it ironic that, according to the ideals she espouses, women should not hold authority over men, or even be allowed to vote for that matter.

Still, I supported Palin because she understands and promotes conservative Christian “family values.” I was especially impressed by her convictions with regard to “taking back America for God” — in my Quiverfull-colored opinion, Sarah Palin “got it.” Meaning, of course, that she has a decent understanding of Dominionist principles and she has a plan to lead America toward a “truly Biblical” (read, theocratic) society.

This philosophy of breeding for God is as old as religion itself. Older even.

It dates back to a time when the only hope that a community had of survival was to have more warriors, and more people working to support those warriors, than their enemies had at their disposal.

One of the main fears that Christians, even today, have is that the Muslims are out breeding them, and that ultimately they will lose their religious dominance and power structure. By the way that is the same fear that the White Power people have concerning Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans. And yes, the two ARE tied together.

I am still constantly amazed how Sarah Palin is able to gain the support from these hyper Fundamentalists when her entire lifestyle is an affront to the tenets of their belief system. It seems that essentially these people are bred to accept the lies told to them by their leaders, and therefore give her a free pass.

Please do click the link at the top and read this entire interview.  Though it is very troubling, it provides important information to help us understand where the Republican party keeps finding their supporters.

Leah Burton explains truth behind the Dominionists view of Israel and how that relates to our current GOP candidates.

Courtesy of Politicususa:

So, my fellow moderates, now it is time for us to acquaint ourselves with our very own homegrown version of radical Christian fundamentalists. Do not confuse them with the majority of Christians in America who are mainline Christians. Mainline Christians are those who actually follow the teachings of Christ that promote kindness, compassion and love thy neighbor; don’t judge lest ye be judged; let them know you by your good deeds; and it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. THOSE Christians.

Christian Dominionists on the other hand believe that we are in the End Times and that they must proactively make the way for the 2nd coming of Christ. They ignore passages from the Bible written that Jesus said “you will not know the day, the hour…I will come like a thief in the night”. Instead they have a laundry list of duties that they must implement before Christ can return. Some of these include fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 16-20 ) which they interpret to mean that they are to go forth and aggressively hound the people of the world into conversion, “harvesting as many souls” as possible. (Their words not mine).

Additionally, they are to prepare Israel for the return of all the Jews from around the globe – hence their pro-Israel rhetoric and schizophrenic “love the country – not the Jew” policies. (We have all witnessed how they apply that, the “love the sinner – not the sin” when they try to mask their homophobia). So, in order to have room for all these Jews who they see making their way to Israel soon, as was pointed out by Sarah Palin, there is no land to spare! Palestine just doesn’t fit into this plan, so negotiating a two-State solution is just out of the question.

It makes no difference that they discriminate horribly against the Jews otherwise, calling them “Jesus-killer”, “anti-Christian”, “the Yiddish are coming!”, and a plethora of hate-filled name-calling all in the name of God. Remember, they love the country – they are just not so fond of the inhabitants

Among the current Republicans running for President almost ALL of them are, either embracing dominionist views, or are full blown dominionists themselves.

These include Rick Perry, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich (Though I really think Newt is faking it.)

Sarah Palin, who has not yet declared and probably never will, is DEFINITELY a dominionist!  In fact that may be the ONLY authentic thing about her.

I would suggest that Mitt Romeny, Jon Huntsman, and Ron Paul do NOT embrace the dominionist beliefs, which is why ultimately it will be VERY difficult for either of them to get the Evangelical support they desperately need in order to have any chance in the general election. (McCain overcame that obstacle by plucking Sarah Palin out of the wilds of Wasilla and unleashing her like a pestilence throughout the rest of America.)

By the way Leah Burton is my go to expert on all things dominionist or fundamentalist in nature.  She is one of the most well respected experts in the country and we have had several long and fascinating discussions on numerous topics in the past.  To learn more about her work, I suggest that you visit her site God's Own Party.

Mike Huckabee believes that all Americans should "be forced at gunpoint no less" to listen to the lies and distortions of David Barton.

So let me get this straight.  Christian minister, Mike Huckabee, wants to force his fellow Americans, under threat of death, to listen to the misinformation, and outright lies, of David Barton? Do I have that about right?

And THIS is the man who once ran to be the President of the United States of America?

You know even if Barton were not somebody who was well known to spread lies and distortions about history to further his belief that there should be no separation between the (Christian) church and state, it is still indefensible that Huckabee would suggest that the American people should be threatened with death, or bodily harm, to force them to listen to what he has to say.

Exactly what kind of America does Huckabee envision?

Clearly what he is openly advocating is to turn America into a theocracy, where every citizen would be forced to attend the same churches, to think the same way, and to have all of the rights and freedoms our forefathers desired for us, and that our military has fought repeatedly to protect, stripped away from his fellow Americans.

Is this is the TRUE agenda that drives the Republican party of 2012?

And if the Teabaggers were as concerned about protecting the Constitution as they claim to be, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and the other GOP  Evangelical theocrats would be the first politicians they would go after, instead of focusing all of their attention on the Democrats.

Don'tcha think?

Palin arrives in Israel. Oy vey!

From the NY Daily News:

The former Vice Presidential candidate arrived in Jerusalem on Sunday as part of her whirlwind trip that many think is meant to bolster her foreign policy credentials leading up to a possible 2012 presidential run.

She visited India earlier this week.

Sporting what appears to be a necklace with the Jewish symbol of a Star of David, the Alaska resident visited the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.

She also toured Jerusalem's Old City and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

"Israel is absolutely beautiful and it is overwhelming to see and touch the cornerstone of our faith and I am so grateful to be here," the devout Christian told reporters. "I'm very thankful to know that the Israeli and American link will grow in strength as we seek peace along with you."

(You have to love that guy's face as he spies Palin coming out of the Western Tunnels in Jerusalem. That is how Alaskans feel about her as well.)



Of course I love the Jews. Don'tcha see my necklace?

Perhaps the Israelies would be even less welcoming of Palin to their country if they realized she was a Christian Zionist who salivates at the idea of their country plunging into a devastating war, where hundreds of thousands of them die, before becoming so demoralized they give up and convert to Christianity.

It will come as no surprise to any of us that Palin has refused to allow any Israeli journalists to ask her any questions about her beliefs, or her political aspirations, or even how she is enjoying the weather:

Palin did not comment to Israeli reporters at the airport and was whisked away in a white van.

She kept the reporters in India as far away as possible too, don'tcha know:

Here's another fun note. According to the AP, reporters (who'd been promised an invite) were barred access at the last minute, while Palin insisted on the TV and web broadcast, "I will not sit back and take media criticism...."

Let's face it Palin can fly all over the damn planet if she wants, but as long as she continues to harbor her overwhelming distrust of the media, she is never going to be able to run for anything. 

The majority of Americans are simply never going to accept a candidate as viable so long as she hides behind Facebook and Twitter like an overweight, insecure thirteen year old who is terrified of her peers.

For those of you still concerned that Palin has any chance of winning the presidency in 2012, this should help to put your mind to rest.

This comes from Robert Schlessinger as reported on US News:

Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist, one of the conservative movement's top leaders, sat down with U.S. News editors and reporters recently to talk about the lay of the political land. When talk turned to 2012 prospects, he had interesting takes on a number of contenders, but one name he didn't include on his list of those running was former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

When asked about a potential Palin candidacy, Norquist said he didn't think she's in it. He said:

I don't think Palin's running. She didn't go to CPAC. She had $100,000 to go speak to 600 people in Nashville instead of going to CPAC. That's not somebody who's running for president.

He added that the way for Palin--or any contender for 2012--to get serious would be heavy involvement in 2010.

If Palin goes and campaigns in 30 House seats and helps elect 30 House people, then despite missteps and other things she could be back on the program. But if she just gives speeches and makes money and just from time to time shows up, then no.

Well we KNOW that Palin is certainly not going to put that much effort into gaining GOP support. She is too busy pimping out her family and going after her detractors.

Still not convinced? The listen to what past Palin pantie sniffer John Ziegler has to add.

Palin booster John Ziegler was on Morning Joe Wednesday and said that "she has gone down a path that makes that absolutely, positively impossible in 2012, to beat Barack Obama." He noted that her Fox gig and "cozying up to people like Glenn Beck and elements of the tea party that I think she's rather naive about" won't help her with moderate and centrist voters critical to winning in 2012. Hot Air's Ed Morrissey also agreed. He blogged:

At least in 2010, Republicans need to have a big draft among disaffected independents in order to gain a governing coalition in Congress, and then they need to maintain that reach in 2012 if they want to make Barack Obama a one-termer. The nominee will have to have credibility with both the base and with independents in order to achieve the necessary cohesion and energy to defeat an incumbent President ... Palin’s moves since 2008 have gone in the opposite direction.

Do I think that Palin is still dangerous? Yes I do. She still retains the support of some of the most unstable people in the country and if she decides to direct them to back a candidate or incite them to violence she could still do that.

As reported in this ABC article Sarah Palin, along with Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, and Michele Bachmann share much of the blame for the frightening increase in Right Wing extremism.

And though some of the her anti-Hollywood teabaggers might have trouble trusting her if she keeps hobnobbing with the likes of Jay Leno or Oprah Winfrey, she is still on track to retain her even more fervent evangelical followers. Especially the ones who buy into the 7 Mountains Movement in which Dominionists are encouraged to infiltrate these seven peaks of influence.

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So is there any danger that Sarah Palin will become president? No!

Is she still a dangerous influence? Yes!

Will she eventually be stopped? You betcha!

And before you ask, yes I am still working on babygate and following multiple leads. And yes I feel I am getting ever closer to making an airtight case.

And no I cannot give you, or the Palin-bots visiting this site, a timeline for when everything will come together. We have already had a substantial impact so be confident that we will continue to reveal truths that Sarah and her followers are desperate to keep from seeing the light of day.

Take solace in the fact that as evidenced by the preponderance of negative comments I attract here and on other blogs I am clearly very worrisome to those who are trying to protect sister Sarah from her past misdeeds.