LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Metaphors for Life takes a look at Dominionism:

Take a deep breath before you read any farther. If you're like me and just getting educated on the extreme fringe of the religious right-wing, you're going to learn that your right to go on breathing is something these folks would like to see changed.

To paraphrase, dominionism is not a separate Christian denomination, but rather a range of beliefs that penetrate many denominations, most of them fundamentalist. They use a single bible verse from Genesis (1:26) as a springboard:


"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" (NIV)( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

I've been playing a bit with the style settings on this community. I was finding the red-and-black theme to be a bit oppressive, especially in the light of a lot of the material posted here. So, I've changed it a bit- for readability as well as ease on the eyes.

Hope you like it.

Your moderator

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

I have gone to our User Info page and fine tuned it to more accurately reflect the purpose of this community. I've also added some important and educational links to sites that explain Dominionism. If you have any links to sites that are either Dominionist run, or are critical of Dominionism, please post them. If they're really enlightening and educational, I will add them to the Info Page.

Sunfell

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY seshen)

There are religious spams showing up in some non-Abrahamic communities. It will likely be more prevalent during the holiday season.

Please DO NOT RESPOND to them. E-mail me at lycianwitch@seshen.com and alert me so I can take care of it promptly. Don't fuel their fire; ignore the post until it is deleted. Thanks!

Seshen
Community Moderator

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Since this community's name is "Dark" Christianity, I wanted to touch upon just exactly what is meant by 'dark'. It doesn't mean Christianity in general- it is meant to highlight and illuminate a sub-sect of Christian extremists who are now in control of a lot of government offices in the US- including the most powerful ones.

Who are these people? Why should we learn about them? Why are they a threat? Can we counteract their dire desires for the US?

I've found some interesting links and excerpts which might help explain them a little better, so you'll understand which Christians we're talking about when 'dark' is used to describe them. Happy reading!

DisinfoPedia defines Dominionists and Theonomy:

“Dominionism”, as defined by S.R. Shearer, is a “militant post-millennial eschatology (‘doctrine of end times’) which pictures the seizure of earthly (temporal) power by the church as the only means through which the world can be rescued; only after the world has been thus 'rescued' can Christ return to ‘rule and reign.’ (Some dominionists see the seizure of the earth as the result of ‘signs, wonders, and miracles;’ others picture it as the result of military and political conquest; most see it as a combination of both.)”( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY swisscelt)

I was looking for an article I'd written on Clear Channel Communications. I found it on our sister forum on EZBoard. Since that board hasn't had much traffic lately, I thought I'd repost it here.

Perhaps I'll revive the old "Daily Links" series over here as well...

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Yes, it's hard to believe, but this community has been up and running for a full year. It is gratifying to see it slowly growing, and for the posts to be intelligent, and insightful. If this site makes you think, then it's done its job. Again, it isn't about bashing Christianity, it's for examining the extreme fringes of the faith- the ones who want to create their own Taliban and rule the world. I am glad to see that folks understand this, and are willing to examine this sometimes scary subject.

Sunfell

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY we2rstardust)

( oops )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

The front door of Dark Christianity says:

Dark Christianity is a place for the exploration and discussion of more radical, toxic, and fringe elements of the Christian faith. It is not a flame or bash board. All religions have their 'dark' side, their extremists and 'talibans'. This site is a place to examine these elements of the Christian faith, and learn about what happens to a group when their dogma and authority gets out of hand.

This means that all the usual cutsey-poo stuff like Quizilla quizzes and other memes do not belong on this journal. It is meant for serious examination and discussion of the extremist side of Christianity, not one's personal faith, etc. There are plenty of other Christian communities which will welcome things like that.

On the other side, I will also remind everyone that this is not a flame or bash board- it is simply meant to be a forum of discussion for the topics stated above.

I will modify the front door of this journal to reflect this, and ask that those who post here adhere to the guidelines. Any folks who can't or won't will have their posts deleted.

Sunfell
Dark Christianity Moderator

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

I've decided to play with the colors and appearance of the Dark Christianity LJ to make it a little more readable- the OCR style was becoming increasingly difficult for me to see.

Sunfell

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Why "Dark" Christianity?

If one strips away the Paulist dogma, the twists and turns of the editing of the Bible, and concentrates solely on the words of Christ, Christianity roots demonstrate a benign, light-giving and loving faith. "Love one another" is the mainstay of Christ's teachings. Nothing more.

But of course, people couldn't leave it at that. Starting with Paul, working through the twists and turns of the Dark Ages, and down to the present day, Christ's simple message that we should treat each other decently has been totally eclipsed by dogma, demands and deterioration of the original message. The weight of two millennia of punditry has totally obscured and diluted the original message and intent of Christ. His voice and words are lost in the noise of all that has come after him.

That wouldn't be too bad- since this happens to every religion once its founder dies. The remaining people reshape the intent and message and it grows and changes as time passes. This is normal.

But there are facets of Christianity which have become malignant and malevolent. They have taken the words of Paul and his peers and have shaped them into a dogma that is not loving or tolerant, but instead seeks to destroy all other faiths and facets of Christianity other than its own. They claim to be benign, but on closer examination, it becomes clear that the intent of these small, but rapidly growing sects is total domination of the world.

Why this dominion? It is because they truly believe that everyone must believe in Christ before he will return.

The writers at jeremiahproject.com state their mission succinctly:

"Postmillennialists believe Christ will not come again until after there has been what Robert Bater of Queen's Theological College in Kingston, Ontario, calls "a holy utopia" - a Millennium that has been achieved on Earth by human means."

"Holy Utopia"…If that sounds scary to you, it should. Utopias generally do not permit any kind of dissent or nonparticipation. If you choose not to believe in what they preach, you are in big trouble.

What makes this normally minor sub-belief and sect of Christianity 'dark' is that there is a small, but growing group of powerful people who have the means to make this 'holy utopia' actually happen, starting with the Untied States. Little by little, they are dismantling the secular laws of this nation and replacing them with Biblically based laws. "Theonomy", the rule of law based on Old Testament scripture, is the legal goal of these believers. Little by little, law by law, they chip away at the foundation of the US, taking away rights here, giving privilege there, eroding the once firm barrier between church and state.

Call them the American Taliban, because their particular views are that extreme. If you want an example of a True Talib, look no further than our own Attorney General, John Ashcroft. His proposed amendment to the USA PATRIOT act is the stuff of nightmares for those of us who still think for ourselves.

Less threatening, but still alarming- is the cultic direction that some congregations take when they are too seperated from reality to find their way back. Spiritual abuse and financial and pastoral predation run rampant in these sects, and the damage they inflict on individual Christians is horrifying in its depth and extent.

So, the purpose of this site is to catalog and understand the theology, people and purpose of Dark Christianity- to shed light on it, as it were. Awareness of this growing malignancy in the Christian Church engenders the means to redirect its purpose to more benign ends. They do not serve the Almighty or Christ in attempting to dominate the country and the world. Instead they serve a darker master- themselves. In 'perfecting' the world for Christ's return, they demonstrate their lack of faith in the wisdom of Christ. And they also insult The Creator as well, because their idea of 'perfecting' the world is to destroy it.

Some perfection.

Sunfell