I posted a comment saying I believe Bush is trying to trigger Armageddon in
Armando's diary yesterday asking what Bush was doing in the Baltics.
The first part of a set of diaries I promised to write is past the fold.
But first, a caveat
This diary is purely conjecture, based on personal experience. I have written in the past about my time spent within the fundamentalist movement, and what it's like to be a liberal democrat attending an evangelical "non-denominational" fundamentalist mega-church in the middle of a hyper-republican community in Northeast Ohio.
It was this experience that led me to meet a fairly large number of seemingly-regular folks who all shared in the belief that the End Times were near, that Christ's return was imminent, and that it was time to prepare for the assuption into heaven.
These are the folks that taught me about Dominionism.
Update [2005-5-10 7:55:20 by Timroff]: Part 2 of this series has been posted here Please read and recommend!
Key players in the world of Dominionism
Ever visit The Rapture Index? It's a set of figures, updated daily, that track trends in 45 separate categories that attempt to predict when the Rapture will happen.
People who keep track of this sort of thing believe that the Book of Revelation is a blueprint for the end of the world. (More on this Monday night).
The more extreme members of this group of fundamentalists follow Dominionist teachings that call for the creation of a Christian state, replacing the Constitution and Federal Law with the Law of God, as written in various books of the Bible including Deuteronomy, Leviticus and the Epistles of John. (More on this Tuesday night)
Dominionists listen to the teachings of Rev. Tim LeHaye, a leading End-Time theologian and author of the NYT best-selling Left Behind series (now celebrating its tenth anniversary). LaHaye may also be remembered as a co-founder of the Moral Majority
They listen to the Rev. Joseph Morecroft, who has been talking about this since 1999 when he gave a speech on Christian Political Action in the New Millenium.
They listen to the Rev. Charles Meade, founder of End Time Ministries in Northern Florida. Meade has gathered hundreds of followers to live near him, and his people were front-line troopers during the Schaivo protests.
Most importantly, they follow the teachings of the founder of the dominionist movement, D. James Kennedy, head of the Center for Christian Statesmanship. Never heard of the Center? President Bush stopped by there prior to his election in 2000 to receive Kennedy's blessings. Bill Frist worked with Kennedy last month prior to Justice Sunday.
Then there are the winners of the Center's Distinguuished Christian Statesmen award:
U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, U.S. Rep. John Hostettler, The Honorable Kay Coles James, U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, and former U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft.
Other leaders in the movement include:
* Gary Cass, executive director of Reclaiming America. "The most humble Christian is more qualified for office than the best-educated pagan".
- Rep. Walter Jones, North Carolina. "You cannot have a strong nation that does not follow God," His pet project in Congress is the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, which would permit ministers to endorse political candidates from their pulpits.
- The Rev. Richard Land, top lobbyist for the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, enjoys a weekly conference call with top Bush advisers including Karl Rove. He told the conference that John Lennon's song "Imagine" was a "secular anthem" that envisions a future of "clone plantations, child sacrifice, legalized polygamy and hard-core porn."
- David Limbaugh, brother of Rush and author of Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity. "we have a right, indeed an obligation to govern."
- Rep. Katherine Harris of Florida, who urged the conference to "win back America for God."
- Alan Sears, president and CEO of the Alliance Defense Fund, a team of 750 attorneys trained by the Dominionists to fight abortion and gay marriage. "The First Amendment does not say there should be a separation of church and state." In fact, he believes that the constitutional guarantee against state-sponsored religion is actually designed to "shield" the church from federal interference -- allowing Christians to take their rightful place at the head of the government.
List taken from the Daily Grail
Monday Night: A Primer on Rapture
Tuesday Night: The Goals of the Dominionists
Wednesday Night: Why I think Bush is trying to force God's hand.