Dominion Theology
Encyclopedia
- See dominion (disambiguation)Dominion (disambiguation)A dominion was a self-governing colony or autonomous state within the British Empire.Dominion may also refer to:-Geography:* Dominion, Nova Scotia, Canada* The Dominion, a neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, United States-Film and television:...
for other meanings of the word Dominion.
Dominion Theology is a grouping of theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
systems with the common belief that society should be governed exclusively by the law of God
Theonomy
Theonomy is a theory in Christian theology that God is the sole source of human ethics. The word theonomy derives from the Greek words “theos” God, and “nomos” law. Cornelius Van Til argued that there "is no alternative but that of theonomy or autonomy"...
as codified in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, to the exclusion of secular law. The two main streams of Dominion Theology are Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism is a religious and theological movement within Evangelical Christianity that calls for Christians to put their faith into action in all areas of life, within the private sphere of life and the public and political sphere as well...
and Kingdom Now Theology. Though these two differ greatly in their general theological orientation (the first is strongly Reformed
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
and Neo-Calvinistic
Neo-Calvinism
Neo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is the movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper.- Introduction :...
, the second is Charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
), they share a postmillennial
Postmillennialism
In Christian end-times theology, , postmillennialism is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the "Millennium", a Golden Age in which Christian ethics prosper...
vision in which the Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
will be established on Earth through political and (in some cases) even military means.
Dominion Theology is seen by some as a subset of Dominionism
Dominionism
Dominionism is a term used to describe politically active conservative Christians that are believed to conspire and seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action, especially in the United States, with the goal of either a nation governed by Christians, or a nation...
, a term used by some social scientists and journalists to describe a theological form of political ideology, which they claim has broadly influenced the Christian Right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, within Protestant Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
and fundamentalism
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
.
Etymology
The name "Dominion Theology" is derived from Genesis 1:28, where God grants humanity "dominion" over the Earth.And God blessed [ Adam and EveAdam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
], and God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
Christians typically interpret this passage as meaning that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
gave humankind responsibility over the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, but Dominion Theology infers a mandate for Christian stewardship in civil affairs, no less than in other human matters.
History
Contemporary Dominion Theology arose in the 1970s in religious movements reasserting aspects of Christian nationalismNationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
; however, the Dominion concept has existed within mainstream Christianity since the Third Century. Ideas for how to accomplish this vary. Very doctrinaire versions of Dominion Theology are sometimes called "Hard Dominionism" or "Theocratic Dominionism," because they seek relatively authoritarian theocratic
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
or theonomic
Theonomy
Theonomy is a theory in Christian theology that God is the sole source of human ethics. The word theonomy derives from the Greek words “theos” God, and “nomos” law. Cornelius Van Til argued that there "is no alternative but that of theonomy or autonomy"...
forms of government.
Christian Reconstructionism
An example of Dominionism in reformed theology is Christian ReconstructionismChristian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism is a religious and theological movement within Evangelical Christianity that calls for Christians to put their faith into action in all areas of life, within the private sphere of life and the public and political sphere as well...
, which originated with the teachings of R.J. Rushdoony in the 1960s and 1970s. Rushdoony's theology focuses on theonomy
Theonomy
Theonomy is a theory in Christian theology that God is the sole source of human ethics. The word theonomy derives from the Greek words “theos” God, and “nomos” law. Cornelius Van Til argued that there "is no alternative but that of theonomy or autonomy"...
(the rule of the Law of God), a belief that all of society should be ordered according to the laws that governed the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. His system is strongly Calvinistic, emphasizing the sovereignty of God over human freedom and action, and denying the operation of charismatic gifts in the present day (cessationism
Cessationism
In Christian theology, Cessationism is the view that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy and healing, ceased being practiced early on in Church history. The opposite of Cessationism is Continuationism...
); both of these aspects are in direct opposition to Kingdom Now Theology.
While acknowledging the small number of actual adherents, authors such as Sara Diamond and Frederick Clarkson have argued that postmillennial Christian Reconstructionism played a major role in pushing the primarily premillennial Christian Right to adopt a more aggressive dominionist stance.http://zena.secureforum.com/Znet/zmag/articles/feb95diamond.htm http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisre1.html. According to Diamond, "Reconstructionism is the most intellectually grounded, though esoteric, brand of dominion theology."http://zena.secureforum.com/Znet/zmag/articles/feb95diamond.htm
Dominionism, Dominion Theology, and Christian Reconstructionism are not the same thing. A nested subset chart looks like this:
- TriumphalismTriumphalismTriumphalism is the attitude or belief that a particular doctrine, religion, culture, or social system is superior to and should triumph over all others...
- DominionismDominionismDominionism is a term used to describe politically active conservative Christians that are believed to conspire and seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action, especially in the United States, with the goal of either a nation governed by Christians, or a nation...
- Dominion Theology
- TheonomyTheonomyTheonomy is a theory in Christian theology that God is the sole source of human ethics. The word theonomy derives from the Greek words “theos” God, and “nomos” law. Cornelius Van Til argued that there "is no alternative but that of theonomy or autonomy"...
- Christian ReconstructionismChristian ReconstructionismChristian Reconstructionism is a religious and theological movement within Evangelical Christianity that calls for Christians to put their faith into action in all areas of life, within the private sphere of life and the public and political sphere as well...
- Christian Reconstructionism
- Theonomy
- Dominion Theology
- Dominionism
The specific meanings are different in important ways, although the terms have been used in a variety of conflicting ways in popular articles, especially on the Internet.
Kingdom Now Theology
Kingdom Now Theology is a branch of Dominion Theology which has had a following within PentecostalismPentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
. It attracted attention in the late 1980s. Kingdom Now Theology states that although Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
has been in control of the world since the Fall, God is looking for people who will help him take back dominion. Those who yield themselves to the authority of God's apostles and prophets will take control of the kingdoms of this world, being defined as all social institutions, the "kingdom" of education, the "kingdom" of science, the "kingdom" of the arts, etc.
Kingdom Now Theology is influenced by the Latter Rain movement, and critics have connected it to the New Apostolic Reformation
New Apostolic Reformation
The New Apostolic Reformation is a movement in Protestant Christianity largely associated with the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. The basic thesis asserts that God is restoring the lost offices of church governance, namely the offices of Prophet and Apostle.-Beliefs:The New Apostolic...
, "Spiritual Warfare Christianity
Spiritual warfare
Spiritual warfare is a range of activity by various Christian groups whereby Satanic demons are combatted, using a variety of methods depending on the group, but typically through prayer.-Range of practice, history, and methodology:...
", and Fivefold ministry thinking.
Criticism
Hal LindseyHal Lindsey
Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas.-Biography:...
criticized Dominion Theology in his 1989 book, The Road to Holocaust.
See also
- Evangelical environmentalismEvangelical environmentalismEvangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in the United States in which some Evangelicals have emphasized biblical mandates concerning humanity's role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the caretaking of Creation...
- Chalcedon FoundationChalcedon FoundationThe Chalcedon Foundation is a Christian Reconstructionist organization founded by Rousas John Rushdoony. Named for the Council of Chalcedon, it has also included well-known theologians such as Gary North, who later founded his own organization, the Institute for Christian Economics.The Chalcedon...
- FundamentalismFundamentalismFundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
- Neo-CalvinismNeo-CalvinismNeo-Calvinism, a form of Dutch Calvinism, is the movement initiated by the theologian and former Dutch prime minister Abraham Kuyper.- Introduction :...
- Separation of church and stateSeparation of church and stateThe concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
- Tenth CrusadeTenth CrusadeThe Tenth Crusade is a rhetorical device that builds an analogy between the US-led War on Terrorism and the historical Crusades. Critics of this term claim the analogy is misleading.-Crusade:The word "crusade" was used by US President George W...
- TheocracyTheocracyTheocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
- TheocracyWatchTheocracyWatchTheocracyWatch is a project run by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy , located at Cornell University. It was founded by Joan Bokaer, an environmental activist because, she says, "After the 2000 election she realized that few people understood that the religious right had taken...
External links
- http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dominionism
- Christian Reconstructionism, Dominion Theology, and Theonomy