In “Left Paints the Campaign as a Religious War” (Townhall , September 7, 2011), The Washington Examiner’s Byron York examines the curious accusations against – in particular – Republican prez hopefuls Perry and Bachman, that they are suppposedly theocrats:
For example, the Daily Beast/Newsweek recently published an article titled “A Christian Plot for Domination?” claiming that Perry and Bachmann are “deeply associated with a theocratic strain of Christian fundamentalism” known as dominionism. A widely discussed article in the Texas Observer claimed that dominionists — a “little-known movement of radical Christians” — are readying an “army of God” to “commandeer civilian government,” with Perry the “vessel” for their ambitions. Finally, The New Yorker published a long article claiming that Bachmann believes “Christians, and Christians alone, are Biblically mandated to occupy all secular institutions until Christ returns.”
Surveying those articles, the executive editor of The New York Times, Bill Keller, concludes that “an unusually large number” of Republican candidates “belong to churches that are mysterious or suspect to many Americans.” Perry and Bachmann, in particular, are connected to “fervid subsets of evangelical Christianity,” which Keller says “has raised concerns about their respect for the separation of church and state, not to mention the separation of fact and fiction.” Fearing that Perry or Bachmann could be a “Trojan horse” for a religious takeover of the government, Keller advocates strict questioning of candidates on doctrinal issues.
It’s all nonsense, of course, and the “Dominionist” movement hardly even existed. But here’s the curious part: The sort of people who believe in all that stuff accuse those who oppose actual theocrats – we mean Islamists who believe they have a divine right to rule – of “hate.” In other words, you are guilty, of “hate” if you oppose organized religious hatred and oppression.
York is likely right to see that this “theocracy” nonsense distracts attention from the tanking economy. When an economy is down the john, hard facts must be faced and hard decisions taken.
Many would far rather obsess over whether Michele Bachmann is a theocrat than whether she is right about cutting government spending. So they resort to a fantasy battle where they “zap” zombies.
See also: Francis Schaeffer expert offers the facts on Michele Bachman, Francis Schaeffer, and “Dominionism.”
“Dominionist” follies: Wholly fictional cult ties dog ID-friendly US prez candidates
History prof provides context for nutty attack on ID-friendly US pols
Dominionist, are you? Welcome to your home and native land (Canadians find the whole thing a hoot because … )