Does Trump Religious Freedom Pick Sam Brownback Believe in Dominionism?
Does Trump Religious Freedom Pick Sam Brownback Believe in Dominionism?
Kansans will be glad to see the last of Gov. Sam Brownback , whose disastrous supply-side economic policies have turned the state into a dysfunctional “Brownbackistan” with spiraling deficits and public services in tatters.
But Brownback, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, brings to the office a religious résumé that is bizarre to say the least.
A practicing Catholic himself, Brownback is closely linked with the New Apostolic Reformation . He has appeared at numerous NAR events, including The Response , the huge 2011 prayer vigil hosted by then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry (Brownback was the only other governor to attend); the “ Kettle Tour ,” a national series of events meant to link prayers to those of past generations; and four iterations of The Call, prayer rallies organized by NAR leader Lou Engle. Brownback was once even roommates with Engle for several months after his Washington, D.C., condominium burned down.
Brownback was pressured to denounce the movement, which many Pentecostal Christians believe to be a cult , in the 2010 gubernatorial election. He refused to do so, though he said Engle has “said things I don’t agree with” and that they only worked together on “human rights and helping people live better.”
When Brownback won, NAR leader Chuck Pierce boasted that his prayers had gotten Brownback elected.
Modern Day Prophets
It’s easy to see why Brownback wants to distance himself from the NAR as soon as you start learning about the NAR .
NAR founder C. Peter Wagner, Engle, Pierce, and other NAR leaders believe themselves be modern day prophets who will establish dominion over all aspects of American society to prepare it for the Kingdom of God.
For the NAR, the restoration of the Kingdom of God will be the result of active efforts on the part of these new prophets, including the dominion of Christians over the “seven mountains” of culture and the mass conversion of Jews to Christianity. “When apostles hear the word of God clearly and when they decree His will, history can change,” Wagner said in 2001.
“The church’s vocation is to rule history with God,” said Engle.
Because the NAR derives its authority not just from the Bible but also from present day prophecies, the results can be bizarre. For example, NAR leaders have ascribed the problems of cities—liberalism in general, but also specific disasters like earthquakes and terrorist attacks—to the cities being controlled by demons. The demon Baal controls the Freemasons; the demon Jezebel controls the Democratic Party.
As The Daily Beast reported two years ago, Wagner said in 2011 that the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima was a result of the Japanese emperor having had sex with the sun goddess , that there is “a lot of demonic control” in Congress, that it is important to cast spells to protect politicians from witchcraft, and that non-Christian religions “are part of the kingdom of darkness.”
His successor, Pierce, said in 2011 that God told him in 2005 that a black man would be elected president; that, in 2008, God said President Obama would cause the United States to split into two nations by abandoning Israel; and that the resulting civil war would “tear down, raise up, overthrow, [and] rebuild” our society. He added that Obama’s 2011 speech about Israel had caused tornadoes in Missouri and that his own prayers can cause earthquakes (as well as electoral results).
Dominion Over United States Politics
Among all the various sects of the American fundamentalist right, the NAR is the most overt about seeking “dominion” over politics, culture, and all other aspects of daily life. As Pierce’s comments indicate, the NAR sees no distinction between secular and religious. It is uniquely unapologetic about obliterating the church-state line in order to bring about the End Times.
And, paradoxically, it is open about working in secret, holding that deceptive tactics are necessary to do God’s work.
In 2009, for example, two NAR “prophets” told Rick Perry that God had anointed Texas to lead the United States into revival and that Perry himself would play a central role. Perry, in turn, organized the “Christians-only” prayer rally the Response, which drew 30,000 people and which, Perry said, was based on a prophecy from the Book of Joel, which NAR leaders often cite.
Perry’s 2012 and 2016 runs for president may have been a sideshow for most people, but for the NAR, they were the hoped-for culmination of dominion over United States politics. Sen. Ted Cruz’s candidacy was also framed in explicitly messianic, dominionist terms by his father, Rafael Cruz, a well-known dominionist pastor not affiliated with the NAR.
‘It Is Time to Cause a Revolution’
In this context, seemingly innocuous statements begin to take on a sinister resonance.
For example, at a Washington gathering of the “Kettle Tour,” Brownback said, “We’ve made it up the mountain a long way, but we have to make that final assault on the peak. We can make that final leap to the top, if we stay on our knees.”
Innocent metaphor? Or reference to “Seven Mountains” dominionism, which refers to government and other institutions as “mountains” that must be conquered by believers?
Later, after becoming governor, Brownback declared several statewide “Days of Restoration. ” Does “restoration” simply mean restoring Christianity to the center of American religious life, or does it refer to the NAR doctrine of restoration of Christian rule over the Earth?
In 2014, Brownback spoke at a Topeka prayer gathering whose organizer said , “We need revival, we need a Great Awakening, but it is time to cause a revolution. We need to get some freedom fighters up and going to take this country back.”
Typical Christian right rhetoric? Or something more literal and more ominous?
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One of the reasons the government should not be paying someone to promote religion. He will have a soft spot for his own.
Which in this case is a strange one.
Probably shouldn't be a surprise...
I believe I read that the guy Trump picked for the head of the EPA doesn't even believe in climate change.
That is correct Kirsh.
Brownback was a complete failure as governor of Kansas. The republicans teamed with the dems to stop his destruction of the state.
This position is a waste of taxpayers money and useless.
Speaking of Dominionism ...
A true case of people over-spiritualizing. Yes, I know how it can happen from certain texts in the Old Testament regarding, "pulling back the veil," but prophetic exploitation is just plain dangerous. Spiritual people are right to have spiritual leaders and advisers in their lives, but spiritual mental manipulation can reach critical mass in any group of immature believers if their spiritual growth and development is short-circuited by false prophets and false teachers.