Earlier today, a user posted a query in regards to Zondervan Publishing, a "Christian" publisher recently bought out by News Corp. and which has rather extensive connections to dominionism and the promotion thereof, especially in the pre-News Corp. days (they've actually gotten more liberal since then)--some of the more disturbing links include "strategic partnerships" with an Assemblies televangelist and Assemblies frontgroup Youth With A Mission.

In part, I found some interesting material on Zondervan's connections in a post on an American Girls forum for grownups (yes, Virginia, there are grownups who like to play with dolls, and it's all good :3) regarding the "Life of Faith" dolls. Reading some of the info there, I decided to do a little research on that particular bit of marketing...

...and found another big chunk of the dominionist "parallel economy", a little glimpse into what dominionist girls are being fed nowadays--the same dominionist girls being made to go to "American Heritage Girls" and the Assemblies-run Missionettes because Girl Scouting is seen as an Ebil Lesbian/Abortionist Plot (yes, there are quite a number of dominionists who believe this nowadays).

Get the Internet wet-suit, folks; it's time to take a dive down the rabbit hole into the dominionist parallel universe...

The post in question originally raised concerns due to the Life of Faith dolls being heavily promoted by Zondervan--the astute poster had noticed the plethora of dominionist groups that Zondervan maintains "Strategic partnerships" with (in essence, the groups cross-promote each other) and had raised concerns on how much of a connection that Life of Faith may have with dominionism.

As it turns out, the connections are less of "partnerships" and more of "explicit promotion of dominionism to little kids".

History of the franchise and major changes by the present publishers

I went looking at the Zondervan listing for Mission City Press (the actual publishers of Life of Faith stuff; their website gives essentially no useful info other than the three marketing licenses they hold)--it turns out that the franchise is based on bowdlerised works by Martha Finley, a publisher of women's books in the 1860's through 1900s.

And it's very interesting to note just what got bowdlerised. Practically all references to sexuality or anything that could be perceived as sexual were removed; anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic, anti-Mormon, and anti-African-American statements were changed, and much of the rest of the revisions were specifically aimed at skewing the existing Christian material to a more explicitly dominionist viewpoint:

* Eliminated wording that in today's world would be perceived to have sexual connotations. (For example, there is frequent "caressing" and "fondling", which meant showing affection, and language that is even more sexually suggestive.)

* Changed "slave dialect" to Standard American English (as originally written, much of it was historically inaccurate) and eliminated all language that was falsely stereotypical or unbiblical.

The 1868 text of the original Finley books contains some language that we believe to be highly inappropriate for children unless there is specific parental participation and detailed discussion between parent and child. Much of what was presented in the original books as facts were actually opinions, but today’s children will not necessarily be able to make the distinction. Portions of the 1868 text are expressly anti-black, anti-Jew, anti-Catholic, etc. There are chapters in the original books devoted to such teaching. Even though this content may have represented viewpoints of the times, this material is unnecessary to the stories and can actually counteract the Christian message of the books for today’s readers.

MCP is not trying to be politically correct, but Biblically correct!

* Presented Scripture verses in the easier-to-understand New International Version translation instead of the King James Version (in order to maximize impact of the passages); strengthened the Christian message; expanded the discussions of Christ, salvation and Biblical principles and made them clearer; added Scripture verses to open each chapter; more clearly conveyed the motivations of genuine religious conviction and deep devotion to Christ.

For MCP's editions, the Christian themes and Christian role modeling aspects were strengthened (not watered down).

. . .

* Developed an entire web site full of free, Christ-centered, Bible-based content designed to help girls apply the Biblical principles modeled in the books to their own everyday lives.

More on that "Bible-based" content in a minute. (It deserves its own section, and is quite possibly the most explicit in its promotion of dominionism and in fact pro-neopentecostal viewpoints.)

As it is, the content of the books (of the few original works used) is so skewed that they are in fact essentially derivative works of the originals (and only two of the characters, "Elsie" and "Millie", appear in the originals at all)--as the books would have been in the public domain by the time they were republished, copyright protection would not have been in place. This is in fact by the publisher's own admission:

n 1868, Martha Finley (1828-1909), a Sunday school teacher turned author, released a series of novels that became the best-selling juvenile fiction series of the era, out-selling everything except Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Central to her novels was a lonely, little Christian girl named Elsie Dinsmore, whose devotion to God was powerful enough to inspire readers around the world in their faith.

The rich, Christian legacy of Martha Finley in the Elsie Dinsmore novels is at the core of A Life of Faith resources. A Life of Faith novels are updated, expanded, and revised, modern language adaptations of Miss Finley’s nineteenth century stories. Why did we update the books? IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THEIR SPIRITUAL IMPACT ON TODAY'S GIRLS! That's because our mission is to actually mentor girls in their faith, not just provide good Christian stories.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FRUIT!

Our passionate desire is to see today's girls living a lifestyle of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We all love good literature, but it is lasting SPIRITUAL FRUIT that is the objective of our company. To find out about the spiritual benefits of our A Life of Faith books, see ABOUT THEIR BOOKS, and to be amazed and blessed by the fruit our products are bearing, see READ THE REVIEWS.

The original 1868 text was carefully revised only after input from Christian educators, parents, and girls passionately committed to Jesus. Scripture verses were added, the roles of Godly characters were expanded, historical forewords were provided, and more. Click here for more detailed information about the changes made to the 1868 text. To find out about the storylines of our books, click here.

THE OLD HAS BECOME NEW!

So in other words, they deliberately altered the works of an obscure 19th century author to promote a dominionist viewpoint.

Of note here is the changeover from KJV to NIV quotes in the books. The NIV is a "modern English" translation of the Bible created by dominionist denominations (including, notably, the Assemblies of God) due to the Revised Standard Version being seen as too "liberal". (The RSV is, in general, seen as a more accurate translation.) In several areas, the NIV has been known to have been deliberately mistranslated from the original non-English texts to support a particularly dominionist and/or fundamentalist viewpoint not supported in the original Biblical text and in other cases have deliberately selected less accurate older texts to translate from if they were more supportive of a dominionist viewpoint--including at times using newer Greek over older Hebrew texts (thereby making translations less accurate. There are documented cases where the NIV is the only commonly used Bible that supports a specific translation of a text; in some cases, this has even been to the point of promoting an opposite meaning to nearly all other Bible translations for specific verses and the NIV translation has been used for promotion of "Joel's Army" theology. The aforementioned example of the latter is from an expose of a Ron Luce-published "RIOT Manual" for religious harassment aimed at youth:

A riot usually starts when people are dissatisfied with the status quo. Tired of puffing up with too much for too long, they say it is time for a change. Scripture says, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" (Matt. 11:12). Jesus tells us here that He came to change the status quo. He points out that since He and John came on the scene, some amazing things had happened in God's kingdom. After years of relative quiet, someone showed up who knew what was sup posed to happen and by force took hold of God's kingdom.

Today, God is looking for some young people to do the same, people who have had enough of the world cramming sin and a sinful lifestyle down their throats and acting like it is cool. Since the Garden of Eden, the devil has had a free- for-all - abusing, taking advantage of and deceiving people - with almost no resistance. He has manipulated us and given us a raw deal for so long that we accept it as the way things are supposed to be. We think it is normal to be ripped off by Satan. It happens all the time, but we don't get mad because we're used to it.

Well, we think it's time to get mad - mad enough to start a R.I.O.T.

Yes, the imagery is quite clear--"you'll take us converting the world to a dominionist theocracy, and by God, you'll like it".

Matt. 11:12 is taken out of context; Etext's handy RSV and KJV Bible texts shows that the actual context of this Bible verse is in Jesus specifically praising the work of John the Baptist, and later on he condemns the dominionists of his own time for accusing John the Baptist and Himself of being demon possessed.

In fact, the verse quotation is from a particular version of the Bible that has mistranslated it.   According to the text in the RSV (considered by most mainstream Biblical scholars as a more accurate translation of the Bible than the KJV or NIV) the verse alone describes people ATTACKING Heaven, not a marching mass of "God Warriors":

12: From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force.

The KJV version is similar:

12: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

According to online texts I've been able to find, the particular rendering in the book is from the New International Version (or NIV), a particular translation often seen as even less accurate than the KJV, one which was originally written by a consortium of conservative churches (including, notably, the Assemblies of God) with the very specific goal of promoting dominionist theology (to the point that Greek texts were occasionally used in preference of Hebrew or Aramaic, and occasionally employing very controversial translations that do not appear in any other version of the Bible) and which is commonly used in Assemblies churches due to its friendliness towards spiritual warfare theology. In fact, this page has an example of how this mistranslation from the NIV is used in Assemblies churches to recruit youth to "spiritual warfare" movements.

The NIV translation choice will show up later when we discuss their "Bible-based" agony column.

Some of Mission City Press' imprints are a little troubling--including a book called "Violet's Defiant Daughter". (It is very, very common for strong women in dominionist homes to be termed "defiant"; in the book, Violet's daughter's "defiance" is the result of fear.) "Violet" is not among the original characters, as noted (one responder below has noted she was a child in the original novels but does not play an important role); in fanfic terms, Violet would be an "OC" in the existing "Life of Faith" universe.

Cross-promotion by dominionist groups and its part in the dominionist "parallel economy"

"Life of Faith" actually is surprisingly promoted by dominionist groups, especially those linked to SBC concerns. Not only is Zondervan a major promoter, but there are other dominionist bookstore chains promoting them; Lifeway, a chain of bookstores owned by the Southern Baptist Convention (which is now known to be one of the first historical victims of classic "steeplejacking") has also conspicuously promoted Life of Faith as an explicit dominionist "parallel economy" alternative to American Girls. (A minor aside here for new readers--dominionists often have very extensive "Parallel economy" networks of dominionist-owned and operated businesses they use instead of "secular" networks; there are even entire "Yellow Pages" type directories published for the dominionist market of "dominionist friendly" businesses. Sadly, this does have "real life" effects; not only is the dominionist "parallel economy" where members of dominionist churches are encouraged to buy from "people of like faith" a major part of how dominionist groups get funding, it's also increasingly a way that things like religiously motivated child abuse are hidden--part of the push to do business with "people of like faith" is to get kids into correspondence-school "homeschool" programs and to doctors in dominionist medical associations, where it is very unlikely that kids who are victims of abuse will be able to report safely nor have abuse reported by responsible adults who may be mandatory reporters.)

In fact, almost identical promotion is given for "Life of Faith" as is given to dominionist alternatives to Girl Scouting such as "American Heritage Girls" or the Assemblies-run "Missionettes". The kind of press against American Girls used to promote "Life of Faith" as the dominionist "parallel-economy" alternative usually promotes American Girls as supporting "homosexuality and abortion rights"--support for allowing LGBT people to exist without being forced to be "degayed" in "reparative therapy" (which almost never works and is in fact recognised by just about every legitimate psychiatric, psychological and social work group in the US as a dangerous sham which causes longterm harm to people) and reproductive rights in general are seen as equivalent to frank devil worship in most dominionist circles.

Frank promotion of dominionism, and in fact the neopente flavours thereof

The real danger signs come from further exploration of the website.

Concerns over the NIV have already been expressed; however, by far, the NIV usage is but a small part of the signs screaming "DANGER".

One warning sign is the Statement of Faith of the group--the statement of faith puts the Bible (which is seen as infalliable) above the statement of Christ's divinity and having died for one's sins. This particular type of "statement of faith"--termed "Bibolatrous" by a Dark Christianity researcher due to its literal placement of the Bible above God, Jesus, or the Holy Trinity in general--is often a "danger sign" that one may be dealing with a potentially dominionist group; very, very few non-dominionist churches have similar statements of faith, even conservative "Evangelical" non-dominionist churches.

The creator of the "Life of Faith" dolls apparently also created the dolls in part because she felt Barbie was part of a Satanic plot to make girls "grow up too fast"; whilst there are legit criticisms of Barbie as a role model, most of the arguments come from a rather specifically dominionist viewpoint. Among other things, a common dominionist objection to Barbie is that she is not an "appropriate Biblical role model"--that is, Barbie is not only "sexualised" but also specifically a liberated woman who isn't working in the two generally approved dominionist roles of Mother and Missionary. (The same page heavily uses purchaser comments to promote "Life of Faith" specifically as a dominionist "parallel economy" alternative to the American Girls line of dolls.)

There are more signs of promotion of dominionism--including where a teenager who supports George W. Bush but has concerns about some of his political actions is told "God has a plan" and is referred to Psalm 91 (which is specifically a prayer on how those who believe in God will not be harmed but will crush their enemies, particularly in the NIV rendering):

Dear Elsie,

I believe that the President, Mr. Bush, is right, but when I hear things from the news I get scared and I pray and try to hope but I still get scared and I go off alone and cry. I was wondering what should I do to keep up my faith and to know and be able to feel God's presence?
-- Katie M.

Dear Katie,

I really appreciate your question. The same questions and fears are in the hearts of many other girls around our nation.

These are definitely unpredictable times, but they don't have to be scary. The righteous have all we need to be fearless, bold, and confident.

Be careful about what you allow your thoughts to linger on during these times. Listening to too much news will cause your faith to waver, because you are hearing the voice of the world speaking. Are we to believe the report of men or of God? Yes, the news media will report facts. But they are not able to speak of the plans and purposes of God in all of this, so all you are left with is fear and hopelessness or a trust in man and weapons. Get God's report in your mind. Go to His Word. Read His promises to you. Carefully read Psalm 91. Put your total trust in God and know that He will strengthen you and keep you from evil. Look back over the many stories of how God miraculously protected and delivered His people. Each day look to Him for protection.

Never forget that you belong to God. You are His child. Your life is in His hands. You do not know what your life holds, but you do know that He promises never to leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) and that we are not to be afraid of man because God is our helper (Hebrews 13:6). God wants us to stop looking fearfully at our lives, and to start living boldly in God's promised help so we can strengthen others and lead many to Christ during these times. We must let nonbelievers see our peace and strength, because we trust in the Lord to be our helper. What an incredible opportunity to let our lights shine! Those without the peace of God will be faint with fear. We cannot help them if we are faint with fear ourselves.

Let God fulfill His promises in you. Believe and be bold! Live each day for the Lord and keep your eyes wholly on Him.

Here are some scriptures which may encourage you during these times:

Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

Psalm 27:1-3, "The Lord is my light and my salvation - Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident."

Hebrews 13:5,6, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'"

Psalm 62:5-8, "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."

Go forth in His peace and confidence.

Love, Elsie

In the same agony column section, a child (already terrified that listening to N'Sync and Britney Spears (will lead to eternal damnation) and who has legitimate concerns about her pastor is advised to essentially cut themselves off from any contact outside of the church and ignore her worries about the pastor's message:

Dear Elsie,

I have no desire to be a good Christian and please God. I know this sounds funny, but I want to go to concerts like N'sync and Brittany Spears instead of Avalon or 4Him and things like that. Why do I feel this way and how can I change it? I am also homeschooled and I feel like I can't do anything fun. I can't even stay and listen to the sermons in my church because of what the Pastor preaches on. I also can't go to all the youth group meetings every week. I feel really left out. Please help me decide what to do.
--Confused N. (age 13)

Dear Confused,

Thanks for your honesty. It sounds like you desire to have a desire for Christ. That is good. You know it's okay to be really honesty with God and tell Him you don't desire to be close to Him but you wish you did. Ask Him to give you a love for Him. But a more important request is to ask Him to help you understand how much He loves you. Because if you really understood how greatly He loves you, you would naturally return that love to Him. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:10,19) So, what you need to focus on is falling in love with Jesus; getting to really know Him.

I think if you could regularly attend your Sunday services and your youth group meetings this would help you learn more about the Lord. The encouragement and fellowship with other young people would strengthen your own faith. You really need to be actively involved in your church family. It is important to speak with your parents and express to them how much you need this to keep your faith strong. Pray that God will make a way for this to happen. Also make sure you are daily reading your Bible and talking to Jesus. Remember, you need to have a relationship with Jesus. So, read the Bible to hear Him speak personally to you and pray as you would talk with your best friend. The more you saturate yourself with Godly influences; Christian books, music, friends, etc. the stronger your love and devotion for God will be.

The Lord is waiting for you with open arms. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus has made complete provision for you to come to Him. He is longing for you to have fellowship with him. You must open the door; He will not push His way in. Set your heart to seek after Him with all your might. Oh the treasures awaiting you there!
Love, Elsie

(Of note--this sort of advice is actually regarded as a danger sign of a potentially abusive group by cult experts.)

The same agony column promotes the concept of Harry Potter--and in fact any fiction that makes people think of "magic" or have "nightmares"--as Satanic (repeatedly):

Dear Elsie,

I read that you don't think that we should read the Harry Potter books. Why not? If we don't believe in witchcraft, then why can't we just enjoy the books? It is only FICTION. You know, not real. Besides, if we were to give up all books with witchcraft in them we would have to give up great classics such as the Secret Garden by Frances Burnett which teaches great lessons in life. Just because we read these books, doesn't mean we are bad
people. If we believe in God enough, wouldn't we have the power to be strong enough to resist temptation to practice witchcraft? Yes, if we don't read these books, we will not be tempted by the witchcraft at all. But then, think about reading in between the lines. So many people have put their views on life in books, whether in between the lines or straight out. Why should we be deprived of seeing the world in all different perspectives?
I believe in and love God very much. Is there anything wrong with my thinking? Please respond!! I need to know!
--Alexandra (age 14)

Dear Alexandra,

First, I want to encourage you in your desire to know truth. You are a thinker and this is good. We must never take anything we read as gospel truth unless, of course, it is God's Word. So, I'm glad you are questioning and I always welcome any challenges to my opinions. We must always stay open-minded and look carefully at why we believe a certain way.

Let me clarify also that witchcraft is very real. Satan is real. The powers of wickedness in the spiritual realm are as real as the power of God and His angels. This is taught throughout the Bible and witchcraft was strongly warned against in the Old Testament. (Exodus 22:8) Be wise and aware that witchcraft is not some fantasy or fable!

Here are some principles I can give you to help you determine if you should read these books:

First, always see what God's Word says. Sometimes the Bible does not directly address a certain issue. You must then look at God's principle and truths, such as Philippians 4:8 which says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things." Use this Scripture as a standard for what you read, what you listen to, and what you watch.

Second, always submit to those in authority over you: your parents and your pastors. Get their counsel. Ask them to pray about it with you.

Third, test the fruit of it. How does this book affect your soul? Does it give you nightmares? Does it cause you to think about evil or magic? Does it have any negative effects on your devotion to the Lord? Only you can honestly evaluate this.

Last, but most important, did you ask God permission? Have you sincerely prayed and asked Him how He feels about it? If Jesus is your Lord, your life is not your own. It matters very much to Him what you allow into your soul, because what you let in will plant seeds and grow. Let the Holy Spirit guide you and help you discern what is good for you and what is not.

The responsibility of the choice is yours. You are old enough to make godly choices. If you submit your decision to the all of the above principles and still feel liberty to read the books, then my opinion may not matter. I must give you the room to hear and obey the Lord. What is okay for one may not be for another.

God bless you as you grow in making decisions. Keep your heart surrendered. Seek understanding from above. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Know too that the next verse, Proverbs 3:7, says, "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil."

Thanks again for wrestling through these issues with me.

Love, Elsie

(I grew up in a dominionist household, and knew of kids who were banned from reading The Chronicles of Narnia (which is an explicitly Christian fiction series!) because of the use of magic and "fantasy creatures" in the books. Apparently, anything that has the potential to give kids nightmares is seen as "Satanic" (no comments from them, of course, on the rather graphic descriptions of nuclear war with the USSR given as "prophecies" in the dominionist church I escaped from--I still have nightmares on that. Probably no comment either on the well-night universal nightmare of being "Left Behind" that practically every kid raised in a neopentecostal household has had at least once.)

One kid is even advised to avoid even most "Christian contemporary" music:

Dear Elsie,

Is it wrong for me to think that I act more mature than my friends who are a little older than me? And, is Christian Contemporary Music wrong and does it lift up man rather than God?
--Ryanne L. (age 13)

Dear Ryanne,

I do not think it is wrong to have honest evaluations about yourself. You may be more mature because of your faith, your background, or other reasons. It is fine to be aware of that, but the trap would be that you begin to feel superior to others. If you have been graced with maturity beyond your years, there comes with this grace a responsibility of being a godly leader. Jesus said the greatest of all is a servant. (Matthew 20:26) Leaders are servants. It is sobering and humbling to be in that position. Don't shrink from it out of fear of the responsibility, but accept it as a calling of God and lean on Him to show you how to lead righteously.

As far as Christian Contemporary Music, I'm sure there is a lot of mixture and men elevation in it. That comes from being part of a fallen world. But there is also a lot of truth and righteousness in it! I think the important thing for you to be concerned about is your own heart. If you feel it is a stumbling block for you and causes you to idolize men, then maybe you should avoid the concert scene and just casually listen to it on the radio. Make your own boundaries according to the fruit it produces in your life. This is an important part of maturing and growing in the Lord. What is acceptable for others may not be for you. Here are some good questions to ask: Is this thing controlling me, or am I able to control it? Has it become so important to me that I can't do without it? What are the effects on my spiritual life?

I hope this has been helpful. You may want to look for the other questions I have answered in the past about music and walking in discernment. They will answer your questions further.

May you grow in the grace and goodness of our Lord Jesus.

Love, Elsie

In a particularly disturbing bit, there is an entire agony column section on "end time issues"--this is pretty much a dead giveaway we're dealing with "premillenial dispensationalists", who have promoted some truly horrifying things (and a lot of Zondervan's publications in past have been explicitly to promote "premillenial dispensationalism"--in particular, a dominionist "urban legend" popular in the Assemblies of God and related churches that claims that Russia and the US will fight the Battle of Armageddon over Israel, and that the Russians secretly control the UN and Islamist terror groups like Al Quaida). In fact, kids are told not to be "scared" over some of the truly horrifying "prophecies" given as a routine in neopente churches:

Dear Elsie,

I know the Lord is coming soon but I'm sort of scared about it. I'm a Christian and Christians should look forward to it. What if I yell at my sister and then the Lord comes and I'm not ready? The Bible says in the last days perilous times will come and we are already seeing that. (The tragedy in NY) There's probably going to be a war, too. I know the Lord's in control but how can I stop being afraid?
--Fearful (age 12)

Dear Fearful,

I certainly understand the reality of your struggle against fear. Fear will become prevalent as the disasters and wars increase, for those in the world. But for those in Christ, there will arise a confidence and assurance in their salvation. Remember, God gives us grace for what happens to us minute by minute. We cannot begin to comprehend the strength and comfort that God will supply to us when we need it, so don't try to speculate how you will manage in certain trials or tragedies. That is borrowing worries from tomorrow. We don't have grace for that yet. But we do have grace for today. Through Jesus, each day we can "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Live each day in complete trust and faith in God. That's what Jesus was trying to communicate in Matthew 6 when he was teaching the people to trust God for their daily needs and not to worry about the future.

If you are living each day for Jesus, obeying Him as much as you know how, loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you will be ready when He returns. This doesn't mean that you will be living perfectly. You will be sinning and making mistakes up until He returns, but His blood cleanses you continually if your heart is turned toward Him. So be bold, confident, and anxiously awaiting the return of our Lord Jesus.

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8).

Love, Elsie


Dear Elsie,

A lot of times when I hear people speak prophetically I get scared. I don't like hearing about the "End Times" and how close we are to it. I want to live my life. I am not afraid of the rapture or going to heaven; it's just the forever part that scares me. The fact that it will never end seems frightening to me. I know it should make me happy, but it doesn't. I don't want to die and I don't want to go to Hell or stay on earth after the rapture. I love God with all my heart. It's just the word "forever" scares me. When I tell my family about this they just don't seem to understand me. I don't blame them. I hardly understand myself. Please help me!
--Totally Confused (age 13)

Dear Totally Confused,

I don't think you are alone in feeling this way. It is normal for us to fear the unknown. Eternity and death are certainly beyond our human understanding, but so are many other things that God talks about in His Word. "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans 11:33) Who can understand it all? God is God. We can't in our human abilities have perfect understanding. Maybe God has kept it that way, so we will learn to trust Him. That's where your faith comes in. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). The same loving, faithful Savior who guided you into a saving relationship with God, who daily provides for your every need, will be the same for the unknown future. If you can trust Him today for your salvation, then you can trust Him for the fulfillment of that salvation (eternal life with Him).

Listen to what Jesus told the disciples and let His words comfort and strengthen you. He was talking about eternity. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3)

Did you hear the part that says He will take us there? We will be in His arms, never left alone. Now how can we fear anything if Jesus promises to be with us? It is the same promise we have for living today. In Hebrews 13:5, God promises to never leave us nor forsake us. So, it all comes down to faith again. Do you believe His promises? One of the names He reveals Himself by in Revelation 19:11 is Faithful and True. You can trust Him with your earthly life. You can trust Him with your eternity.

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10) "AND SO WE WILL BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER! (1 Thes. 4:17)

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Get ready for unspeakable joy! In the meantime, live a life of faith!

Love, Elsie

"No, kids, don't be scared because the concept of world peace is going to crap and the US is pissing off every potential ally we ever had and Peak Oil is coming and we're rapidly heading towards a world of shit! It's just a sign we're all about to be raptured up!" :P

An "Obedience" agony column also promotes the explicitly dominionist concept that parents must be obeyed as if they were God Himself:

Dear Elsie,

How can I obey my parents better and take in my punishments as well as you do? I've tried to act better, but when I do wrong, I feel so upset at myself and at the world. How can I get over this?
--Brianna D. (age 10)

Dear Brianna,

I'm glad you are beginning to understand how important it is to obey your parents. Ephesians 6:1-3 makes it clear how important it is to the Lord that you obey and honor your parents. Obeying and respecting your parents is the same as obeying the Lord. Learn to receive their instruction and punishment with respect because this is what is necessary in training you and preparing you to be able to serve the Lord when you get older. If you allow rebellion against your parents to have a place in your heart, that same spirit will eventually raise itself up against the Lord sometime in your life. So, completely submit to your parents' correction and let the rebellion be driven far from you.

Romans 8:1 says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," and 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

We all sin and make mistakes. As long as you are confessing them to God and to others if necessary, the blood of Jesus cleanses you. He is always merciful to forgive. So, don't get down on yourself so much when you sin. Just get back up, ask God to forgive you and to help you not do it again.

In 1 John 1:9, God promises to purify us. He will eventually see to it that you are victorious over this particular sin in your life. Just be patient, throw yourself on His grace, and receive the joy of knowing your sins are forgiven and the slate is clean. Only Satan condemns. Jesus forgives! What a wonderful salvation we have through Jesus!

Love, Elsie

This is in fact part of general dominionist household setups where husbands must submit to church leaders as if the leader was God, the wife must submit to the husband as if the husband was God, the children must submit to the parents similarly, and so on--this has led to an incredible amount of abuse in dominionist household, including religiously motivated child abuse--and most dominionist kids do not report this type of abuse as they feel they deserved it and "sinned". (Even if they did report it in a lot of cases, there isn't much hope that something would be done about it; there are verifiable cases of dominionist pastors and other "mandatory reporters" not only not reporting abuse but actually committing abuse of their own, and many of the leaders of the dominionist community are the very folks promoting abuse.)

Other things of concern are a possibly mentally ill child being advised the "two voices" she hears are her "old nature" and "new nature" and literally gives her a pep-talk on being a god "God Warrior" instead of being advised to consult an adult about hearing "voices":

Dear Elsie,

Whenever I do something wrong, I hear two words at once. One is the old nature and the other one is the new nature. Why do they speak at once?
--Angela W. (age 15)

Dear Angela,

Your question is very insightful and shows that you have understanding about the spiritual battle that goes on over your soul. Paul speaks clearly of this battle and teaches on it in Romans 7:21-25. "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" It goes on in Romans 8 to say, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

If you have taken Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have taken on the life of Christ. His life in you has set you free from the old self which is under the law of sin and death. It doesn't mean you will never sin, and you will be tempted by the old self to keep sinning, but you have the power through Jesus to overcome in that area. The power is there. You are free in Christ. You must now by faith believe that Christ's power and life in you will keep you from sinning. This is the process that you will walk out your whole Christian life. It's called sanctification. It is getting your position (how you actually live) to line up with your condition (righteous and holy through Christ).

The two voices you hear are, as you said, your old nature and the Holy Spirit. Both are speaking. You must decide who you will obey. Who will master you? As you grow stronger in God's Spirit, you will have more grace to overcome your old sin nature. Remember, you are going to sin, especially in certain areas, because no one is sinless except Jesus. But eventually, through confession, repentance, and believing God's Word, you will be victorious over that sin! Keep fighting the fight. It truly is a battle and you are called to be a valiant warrior!

Love, Elsie

In some cases (in neopentecostal communities in particular that believe in the Holy Spirit speaking in "voices" to people in general) "voices in one's head" which are actually signs of schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses are seen as being the Holy Spirit "talking" through or to a person; in other words, it is all too common and all too possible in these groups for signs of very serious mental illness to be confused for a "prophecy" or "outpouring of the Holy Ghost". (A particularly deadly case of this sort of mistaken identity was with Deanna Laney, who killed her children by stoning after hearing voices for weeks that the Tribulation (a seven-year period of suffering when the Antichrist rules that has been popularised in the "Left Behind" novel series) was coming soon and that she and Andrea Yates would be "end-time witnesses"; the Assemblies of God church she attended thought her testimony just the night before the murders that the world was coming to an end was just a sign that Jesus was coming back soon to rapture them away. After scrutiny began on just how much the Assemblies' end-time beliefs may have influenced Laney, the church ordered their members not to give any statements to the press.)

There is also a definite bias towards dominionist correspondence-schooling (promoted as "homeschooling"; in truth, most dominionist "homeschool" programs are actually correspondence school programs run by Pensacola Christian College, Bob Jones University, or other dominionist schools or colleges operated as "home schools" for these programs)--a kid upset over being made to go to public school is advised to pray for being transferred to a private religious school or correspondence-schooling:

Dear Elsie,

I love your books. I need some help. I am in public school and it is hard and the people are immodest and rude. I wish I were home-schooled. Please help!
--Caitlin G. (age 11)

Dear Caitlin,

I know it is very difficult being in this kind of environment. Have you talked to your parents? Or is it possible for you to go to a Christian private school?

Keep praying about this, Caitlin. In all things, we must learn to trust God to work everything out according to His will (Eph. 1:11). He will make a way for you if you are to be homeschooled or change to another school. This, of course, must be confirmed by your parents. In the meantime, trust Him for the grace and strength to be a light and witness to the kids at your school. Because of Christ in you, Romans 8:37 says you are more than a conqueror. You don't just have to just survive each day at school; you can live each day in incredible strength and victory through Christ! Accept the fact that for the present time, this is His perfect will for you. Then, instead of grumbling or complaining, begin to thank Him for the wonderful privilege to be an example of Jesus to those at your school. You are on a mission for the Lord there. If you joyfully accept this, He will really use you to make a difference in other's lives. Remember, that's what we're to be about - leading others to Jesus.

If you keep your attitude right, this hard thing will really cause you to grow strong spiritually. Trials are blessings in disguise. Ask God in faith for what you need each day to be strong in Him and He will delight to answer you.

There are other girls who have written with similar difficulties. I would like you to read their questions and my answers. See, for example, the letters from Elizabeth and Lacy about public school that are already posted on the web site.

Love, Elsie

Dominionist "homeschool" correspondence-schooling is explicitly promoted to another child (who is also told that the primary deciding factor should be the level of "missionary" activity, not the actual educational content of the curriculum):

Dear Elsie,

What advice do you have for starting a Christian school?
--Mandy

Dear Mandy,

I wish I knew how old you were, because obviously this is an endeavor for an adult.

Secondly, I don't feel adequate to give much helpful advice in this area. I do have a couple of thoughts though. Since it is such a huge undertaking, I would envision it being part of church's ministry. Another thing which is in great demand is a home school co-op, where you offer classes once or several times a week for home schoolers. In this case you are not considered a full school and there is less involved with this arrangement. The best thing to do is determine what kind of program God has called you to start. Then find a similar program that you are interested in and glean from those who have pioneered it.

I wish you much grace and wisdom.

Love, Elsie

Seeing as some state university programs are starting to reject students solely educated on dominionist curricula packages and many dominionist curricula have serious shortcomings in practically all educational content, this should in fact be a concern for anyone entering a religious education program. This is especially true of ACE/School of Tomorrow, as some schools using this curriculum have been shut down for not being properly accredited and in particular some states legally consider students only using ACE to be legally truant.

And, of note, this is just scratching the surface as to the advice given to girls. In one agony column, a defense is attempted for blue laws despite the writer (correctly) noting that Jesus Christ himself felt the "blue laws" of his day were overly restrictive; a second section of the site giving post-conversion advice pushes "dunkin'" baptism (only done by a very few non-dominionist churches, and a mess of dominionist ones; the Methodists and non-SBC non-fundamentalist Baptists are about the only non-dominionist groups I know of who routinely "dunk")--quite obviously, "non-dunking" churches are not seen as "truly Christian" for new converts.

So yet again, we find a dominionist undercurrent...a worrisome one, IMHO, and proof that even something as innocent as little girls' dolls isn't safe anymore :P