Dark Christianity
dark_christian
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May 2008
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Capitol Ministries: making disciples of every state legislature

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY [info]sunfell)

Jews on First has an extensive set of articles about "Capitol Ministries", whose goal is to make disciples of Jesus Christ in state legislatures. Why should we be concerned?

Capitol Ministries aims to "reach every elected official in every nation of the world at every level of government with the uncompromised, saving message of Jesus Christ," according to its website. So far, the California-based group has, again according to its website, "singularly focused on establishing biblical ministries in State Capitols throughout our nation ... in order to make disciples of Jesus Christ within the political arena, at every level."

Last week, at the invitation of some of Capitol Ministries' supporters in the Pennsylvania legislature, the organization held a prayer breakfast in Harrisburg with an assertively Christian program.

So far, in addition to Pennsylvania, Capitol Ministries has established programs that include Bible study groups for elected officials (and separate study groups for their staffers) in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Programs in Montana and Missouri are set to begin and, the CM website says: "Our 2007 Ministry Leader Training Class, which commences in May, includes prospective Ministry Leaders for the following states: Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and Texas. If all goes according to plan, these four states will be online by the end of 2008."

An extreme organization
The growing roster of states is worth noting because of Capitol Ministries' extremism.

The group's leader, Ralph Drollinger, is so extreme that the Los Angeles Daily News reported this month without qualification that he "has a long record of bashing Catholics, gays and mothers of young children who serve in the state Legislature."

The Daily News so described Drollinger in reporting the protest that erupted last week against the participation of the mayor of Santa Clarita, California at a sectarian prayer breakfast at which Drollinger was scheduled to speak. She opted to attend, in order to chide Drollinger and his local sponsors.


Sadly, I've seen this group at work. Their intensity is scary. Are they after your state government?

Drollinger claims support of church-state separation
In the interview with the Sacramento News & Review, Drollinger differentiated his operation from religious right organizations. They, he said, lobby on bills, whereas Capitol Ministries works to win souls (the same distinction he made at the Harrisburg breakfast)..

He also insisted that he supports the separation of church and state, because the two insititutions are biblically ordained to serve different purposes, according to the SNR.

The group's own descriptions of its activities suggests quite the opposite. A 2002 "Bible study lesson series" aimed at Tennessee government workers was titled "Decision-Making and God's Will," according to the Nashville Business Journal.

In 2002, Capitol Ministries leader for North Carolina said the group was "saturating the North Carolina General Assembly, senators, representatives, staff, lobbyists, security, maintenance and bystanders, with Jesus Christ and with His Word,” according to The Charlotte World, a Christian publication.

In 2005, based on an interview with Drollinger (mostly about his days as a basketball player), the Dallas News reported: "Being liked isn't Drollinger's goal with Capitol Ministries. Spreading the gospel to state legislators, and ultimately the U.S. Congress, is."

In 2005, in a retort to the speaker of the California Assembly's statement that all are "children of God," Capitol Ministries' national "expansion" director, Sean Wallentine, said: "While it is nice to believe that God is everyone’s Father, it is not true." Only those who are "born again" become God's "adopted children," Wallentine said in a written statement quoted by the California Observer blog.

The Daily News report on the prayer breakfast in Santa Clarita quoted Wallentine disparaging an alternative Interfaith event. "I would just say they're allowed to have their meeting," he said, "but we wouldn't be supportive of a meeting that taught that there are many ways to heaven. There are not."