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| Religious Zealots called 'Abolitionists' picket many other evangelical churches who don't follow or fund them. |
Oklahoma GOP Chairman David McClain Outed
as Member of Radical Dominion Theology Group
Last week Oklahoma GOP Chairman David McClain was exposed as an executive board member of a fairly radical dominion theology organization that appears to be controlled by the John Birch Society. Dominion theology is a group of far right Christian political ideologies that wish to usher in a nation ruled only by Christians using biblical law. AKA, American Taliban.
The group is best described as Pentecostal in nature with the majority of the executive board members being associated with Oral Roberts University. While the term “Christian far right: has been used to demonize Christians the group itself seeks to marginalize other religions and even other Christian organizations and faiths.
This is no small matter. The intolerance and arrogance of this cult or sect allows those outside the sect to be deceived as outsiders are considered inferior. The election of GOP Chairman David McClain occurred mainly through deceiving many including Tea Party leadership and in hindsight more than a little dirty politics. That is another story entirely that we will cover next week.
Dominionism crystallized under R. J. Rushdoony in the sixties and seventies, a preacher that pushed the idea that all of society should be governed by the Law of God. Much of what Rushdoony advocated would be easily accepted by Republicans such as his support for the death penalty and the risks of a pure democracy but Rushdoony delved deep into denial of the Holocaust and racism, claiming that interracial marriage was “unequal yoking” and ought to be illegal. Rushdoony believed that the practice of slavery in the old South as “benevolent” and that some people were by nature slaves. Rushdoony called the Holocaust “false witness” against Germany and disputed the idea that six million Jews were killed.
Another branch of dominionism is the Kingdom Now theology followed by some sects of Pentecostals. That ideology believes that Satan has been in control of the world and that God is looking for those willing to help take back authority. The doctrine teaches that those that yield to the authority of God's apostles will take control of the world, separating social institutions into the “kingdom of education”, the “kingdom of science” and on down the list of societal divisions. The idea is that Christians are mandated to take control over all secular institutions and thus take control over a sinful secular society.
Dominionism generally follows three basic tenets:
Christian Nationalism, that the U.S. had no enlightenment roots in the beginning and should become a Christian nation governed by biblical law. In fact most of the founders were deists, rarely will you find Jesus mentioned in their letters and documents.
Religious supremacy as they generally do not respect other religions or even other versions of Christianity as equals of dominionism.
That the Ten Commandments or biblical law ought to be the only foundation of American law and that the Constitution is a vehicle for enforcing biblical principles.
In a nutshell the main problem with this sect of Christianity is that they seek not a voice or a seat at the table; they seek control over society. Like the explorers and missionaries of previous centuries they seek not just to spread their message, they seek to conquer institutions, the courts, and even the governments for the Kingdom of Christ.
Dominionism has been likened to political Islam, the insistence that other religions and even other branches of Christianity have no place in the world.
We saw firsthand the damage that dominionism does in the Abolitionist movement in 2018. A radical group hell bent on enforcing “God's law” turned on the pro life groups and leaders and pulled out all the stops and battered anyone standing in their way. T. Russel Hunter, backed by the John Birch Society controlled OCPAC, and Dan Fisher, raged at the Pro Life leaders as “baby killers” and picketed their churches and attacked House and Senate leaders over their refusal to pass a patently unconstitutional bill that would outlaw abortion.
The John Birch Society has deep roots in Oklahoma far right Christian churches. Many of the chapters are hosted at evangelical churches. A few politicians quietly supported their agenda while denying they are JBS members. Initially JBS was not allowed to participate in the Tea Party movement until many including the STP advocated for their inclusion, mainly due to our ignorance of their ideological views. While it is true that we are for similar changes in government, the Tea Party itself was broad and inclusive and didn't include a religious test for inclusion. It turned out to be a mistake to allow JBS into the fold as it was a poison and we learned that which they cannot control they plan to destroy.
The John Birch Society has always ran OCPAC, shared most of the same leaders, shared most of the same small handful of supporters. While the rank and file JBS members tend to be decent and tolerant people the leadership is radically far right, pro illegal alien, and insistent that only Christians of their sect be allowed influence. I personally had been told by one of their leaders, Amanda Teagarden, that God would refuse to bless any alliance between others and the Christian right because we would be “unequally yoked”.
If you wish to understand the crux of why this City Elders movement is such a danger to mainstream Republicans and to Republican office holders consider the 2018 gubernatorial election. Dan Fisher is and has always been a dominionist and Fisher pulled in less than 8% of the Republican primary votes despite running on a platform of abolishing abortion in the state.
Should we allow Chairman McClain to remain a member of this radical City Elders group and under their sway, it will taint the entire GOP as out of touch and intolerant and cost the Republican Party dozens of seats if not the entire super majority that we now enjoy. Moderate Republicans and Independents will shun the GOP along with the hundreds of thousands of conservative Democrats that vote for Republicans statewide.
Oklahomans do support many of the ideas that dominionism espouses. We believe that American is indeed a Christian nation but that includes the freedom of religion and tolerance. Most of us do consider ourselves Christian and do not support the gay agenda, illegal aliens, or the Muslim threat to our country. But we also agree that those Muslims and gays have a right to live their lives and we support legal immigrants but abhor the idea that an open border is wise. If we have to put up with things like Real ID to stem the flood of illegals that sap our economy, fill our schools with hundreds of thousands of kids that can't speak English, or drive our own citizens out of the work force by under cutting wages, then it is an evil that we must live with.
Dominionism is no different than Shariah Law. The GOP cannot allow a chairman, even one that the Sooner Tea Party bulldozed a path to victory and supported, to remain in office while being under the influence of this radical far right intolerant “Christian” group. This City Elders groups sprung out of the Tulsa area and is associated with mostly TV pastors type churches although they are striving to set up cells in all 77 counties and currently claim they have cells in 44 of the 77 counties.
They are growing in power. They are a threat to the Republican Party. They are not Christianity as most of us know it. Without a doubt they are going to be the main threat in the coming year and an extreme threat to the election of Donald Trump in 2020 and the retention of a Republican majority in the Oklahoma House and Senate.
