THE MANIPULATIONS OF DOMINIONISM

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The following is another Newsletter that can be found at www.discernment-ministries.org as written by our friend Sarah Leslie. There are only so many hours in a day that we can devote to our writings and teachings and as we read more and more to further inform you, the most PRECIOUS SHEEP OF CHRIST HIMSELF, that we must supplement our blog with these postings from time to time. But they are brilliant and very informative. You will find that we have Sarah’s blog, http://herescope.blogspot.com as a link on this site and we encourage you to go there often. EVERYTHING is backed with scripture. You can go to www.discernment-ministries.org and go to “newsletters” and find this particular posting and at the bottom you will find all references given for this article. We pray that this article will bless you as much as it blesses us.

Volume 17, Number 4 July/August 2006
The Manipulations of Dominionism
By Sarah Leslie
Dominionism is a form of futurism. Futurism is the belief that man can create his own future. This belief requires that man manipulate things in the present. For the past half century various groups of elite philosophers, scientists, sociologists, psychologists, economists, pastors, businessmen, and government leaders have met together and publicly discussed the future of planet Earth. All predicted dire scenarios for the future based on their calculations, speculations and political agendas. To solve this perceived crisis these leaders embarked upon a mind-boggling number of focus groups, councils, conventions, strategic planning sessions, and other futurist planning devices – all intended to reinvent, create, envision, or fashion a new future for mankind. The plans originating from each of these groups were remarkably similar. They were translated into a myriad of social policies, government programs, strategic plans, and vision statements. All of these future scenarios shared the common ideal that humans can forge consensus where none has existed, that harmony and unity will emerge if everyone “collaborates” on these plans, and that only Christian fundamentalists stand in the way of creating a 21st Century Utopian Society. The goal, then, becomes one of identifying and targeting these fundamentalists for a “global mind change.” It used to be that the chief tool in the futurists’ armament was fear. Fear was brandished like a sword, with venerable experts predicting global devastation scenarios if humans didn’t agree to take certain drastic political or personal action. But after several decades of “global warming” threats, Americans became desensitized to this type of fear mongering. They were more complacent than ever about continuing their affluent lifestyle. Fear of terrorism, however, still remains an effective tool to manipulate people into accepting new restrictions on their freedom. A positive-sounding strategy for the future came out of the New Age movement. On its face it appeared to be a utopian solution. It is the teaching that man is a cocreator: that man possesses the unique ability to intervene in his own evolution as a species, and that he can alter the future by creating a more utopian planet. This Theosophical teaching – that man can become a co-creator with God – has now found a comfortable home in the neo-evangelical churches, particularly amongst those who hold dominionist ideals. Dominionism has a goal to establish a visible and physical “Kingdom of God” on earth. It sounds utopian. But in reality it is totalitarian. Already, as this plan is underway, unethical and unbiblical tools are being utilized to push this agenda forward. Below are just a few examples of how dominionism leaders are manipulating people in the churches.
Forging a New Eschatology
The future is very important to dominionists. But they don’t currently use fear tactics to accomplish the switch to a new eschatology. Instead they are holding out promises of restoring Genesis 1 paradise conditions on Earth. This is an alternative to the Armageddon scenario and it bypasses Judgment Day. This may be a surprise to those who have read Tim LaHaye’s popular Left Behind series. But within the leadership of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), where the old Manifest Sons of God/Latter Rain doctrines have taken hold, a pre-tribulation rapture is no longer taught. In some ways, Left Behind has served well as a convenient decoy while the framework of the new eschatology could be constructed and marketed. Despite statements of faith to the contrary, most evangelical mission agencies and parachurch groups have now adopted the underlying belief structure of the new eschatology coming out of the NAR. At the very least, most agencies have borrowed the terminologies and methodologies of dominionism eschatology. The most extreme form of this new eschatology teaches that Jesus Christ will not return in the flesh, “but rather Christ and His Church are becoming one in nature and essence, and that the Church , as the ‘ongoing incarnation of God,’ is Christ on earth.”(Al Dager, DISCERNMENT PAGE 2 JULY/AUGUST 2006 PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 Vengeance Is Ours, p. 70). A significant variation on this eschatology teaches that the Bride can perfect herself on Earth, and that only when this is accomplished will Jesus return.
An important corollary to this doctrine is the idea that man is a co-creator with God. This doctrine is precisely the same as that of the New Age Theosophists, but it is sometimes cloaked in biblical-sounding terminology. This doctrine holds that the “Kingdom of God is a present reality in the earth, and is only waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God to demonstrate the Kingdom by taking their authority over the kingdoms of the earth. This will take place before Jesus can return.” (Dager, p. 72)
How will the “sons of God” achieve this dominion over the earth? First, they start by setting up dominion over the church. Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, such as C. Peter Wagner, teach that the offices of the New Testament “apostle” and “prophet” must be “restored,” and that the church needs to submit to these men as if they were the oracle of God on Earth. This is the cell church structure of small groups, which rely upon the very effective method of peer pressure to induce conformity to dominionist ideals:
For how can the leaders of the movement gain dominion unless Christians are made to conform to the dictates of the apostles and prophets?
And how can Christians be made to conform except through fear and guilt? No one wants to miss out on what appears to be a move of God. Ignorance on the part of those who are unsure of their relationship to God breeds indecision which, in turn, results in acquiescence to authority at the expense of their personal relationship to God.
Today the principles…are implemented in dominion theology through the use of covenants. (Dager, p. 81-82)
Spiritual Antics
New spiritual practices are the most evident manifestation of dominion theology. A host of new spiritual “methods” are being touted in the postmodern church today as a solution to every possible spiritual problem. These heretical practices promise a way to a “higher” spiritual ground (in a true Gnostic sense) where one attains a greater perfection in Christ. At best, these heretical spiritual methods cause people to focus time and energy (and money) on newfangled activities such as prayer marches, contemplative activities, cleansings and confronting demons, etc. This is time, money and energy that is not being spent on a positive presentation of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Word of God.
At worst, these spiritual methods cause people to stumble into idolatry. Icons, anointing oils that are said to posses spiritual properties, chantings, spiritual formations, chakra healings, Reiki, Yoga, etc. all lead to eastern mysticism. Despite any application of Christian veneer, these practices lead one away from the Gospel Truth into error and heresies. There is a segment of the church, mainly those recipients of the Elijah List and/or Joel News on the Internet, who are regularly fed doses of hyperspiritual prophecies about dominionism activities. In many cases these readers are told to “do” something, but it is usually some sort of psycho-spiritual gobbledygook. Sadly, these pseudo-prophecies manipulate those people who are emotionally and spiritually vulnerable. The dominionist rhetoric of these “prophecies” is very militaristic, but at present it is still a spiritualized militancy. At some point in the near future, however, the spiritual antics may become bootcamps for a more serious and threatening militancy.
These spiritualized methods also serve as a decoy. They keep many Christians busily focused on activities that seem spiritual on the surface. They cloak the real manipulations of dominionism. In contrast to the sobering material presented below, these current spiritual antics look like a drunken picnic.
Physical Machinations
Rick Warren of purpose-driven fame epitomizes the physical machinations of dominionism. He has accomplished what the New Apostolic Reformation “apostles” and “prophets” could not. He has moved the Church-at-large into a new era of pragmatism and utilitarianism via the corporate business model. This model is not unique to Rick Warren. He has simply packaged Peter Drucker’s model and marketed it to the Church. The model is actually the same one used in government reform, education reform, and health reform. In Drucker’s 3-legged stool plan for “Society,” the Church must work collaboratively for the State welfare and to further Corporate interests. What does this model look like? And what does it mean for the Church?
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PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 First of all, this model is based on “systems theory.” The Church is seen as just one component of the Earth’s system, and must fit the parameters of an emerging world order in which all “spheres” of Society work together in a harmonious whole. This system works by monitoring human activity in every facet of life – from health care to mental health, from early education to workforce, from banking to giving, from worship to practice, from cradle to grave. To sell this idea to the Christian public, dominionists like the Coalition on Revival – and now the marketplace ministries – have focused on building the “kingdom of God” via these “spheres.” New ecclesiologies have been concocted to justify expanding the definition of the Church to include these “spheres” of the World. How is human activity monitored? Anything measurable can be assessed. Therefore human behavior has been broken down by the behavioral socialpsychologists into measurable units. This includes one’s values and beliefs. Performance criteria have been developed. Standards have been set, and methods to measure—such as assessments—have been developed. This information is then databanked. This system works on the principle of rewards and penalties. Those who meet the established goals (outcomes, purposes) will be rewarded. Those who don’t will be penalized, coerced, compelled, or worse…. And this is precisely where the New Gospel of Pragmatism and Utilitarianism comes to the forefront. Christians must be persuaded that these measurement, statistical and surveying activities are all for the common good. They must come to fervently believe the doctrine that “the ends justify the means.” In order to “fulfill the Great Commission” this pragmatism must be believed and carried out by churches, mission agencies and parachurch organizations. In this new system, one of the most important measurements will be that of a Christian’s “mental” and/or “spiritual” health. This is because there will be no tolerance for diversity. Dominionism intends to set up a global- government. This government will be both spiritual and political, a hierarchical new order for world governance. It will be easier if people already have the “correct” beliefs, values and attitudes. Last summer Rick Warren spoke at both the Aspen Institute and The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, both organizations with a strong internationalist agenda. Warren’s Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan is very interconnected with the United Nations and globalist agendas. This is a key point. Dominionist church leaders are openly networking with the globalist elites.
A Few Examples of Manipulations
STATISTICS: In his talks to these internationalist groups, Rick Warren relied heavily on statistics. Statistics is a key tool for dominion. With statistics one can monitor progress towards goals and manipulate the variables to achieve the desired outcome. In a recently published book entitled Mental Health Screening, Dr. Dennis Cuddy, an international expert on globalism, wrote about the significance of statistics and monitoring everyone’s mental health. One historical example was a Truman administration public health campaign to get the American public to accept water fluoridation. The architect of this campaign was Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, who had authored a 1928 book entitled Propaganda. Bernays wrote that politicians and businessmen should take “a survey of public desires and demands” in order to say “I must lead the people. Am I not their servant?” Those who manipulate the organized habits and opinions of the masses constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of the country…. It remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world…. As civilization has become more complex, and as the need for invisible government has been increasingly demonstrated, the technical means have been invented and developed by which opinion may be regimented. (Cuddy, p. 22-23, quoting Bernays)
Another current leader who utilizes statistical surveys as a mechanism to change Christian behavior is George Barna of the Barna Research Group, Inc., who has recently written a book entitled Revolution. The explosion of Revolutionaries in the U.S., however, raises new challenges for people involved in ministry. “This new movement of God demands that there be new forms of leadership to appropriately guide people in their faith journey,” Barna said. “It requires new ways of measuring how well the Church at-large is doing, getting beyond attendance figures as the indicator of health. And it demands that new tools and resources be accessible to a growing contingent of people who are seeking to introduce their faith into every dimension of their life.”
[http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&B arnaUpdateID=201]
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PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 PSYCHO-SOCIAL: The manipulative methods of psycho-social engineering have been progressively refined and perfected over the past century. Dr. Cuddy explains some of the history and techniques of psychosocial manipulations which can alter a person’s beliefs, values, opinions, attitudes and practices. By subtly or subliminally suggesting new ideas, people can be lured into developing new patterns of thinking or acting. Dr. Cuddy also explains how psycho-social methods can be used for global social control. He quotes from a 1946 UNESCO document:
We are assigned the positive function of building peace in the minds of men through science, education and culture. The Executive Secretary’s report gives us the blueprints for the development of what one may call a world brain, a world mind, or a world culture, which alone can be the basis of a world authority or a world government. (Cuddy, p. 91) MARKETING: These same psycho-social methods have been widely incorporated into the advertising industry. The methodologies of marketing, including the manipulations of public opinion and buying behaviors, have been brought into the Church. Much of this has been done through the vehicle of leadership training, where converts enthusiastically begin to market new ideas (including dominionism and eastern mysticism) to the evangelical church.
PERSUASION: Another important piece of historical background cited by Dr. Cuddy comes from a book by Colin Simpson entitled Science of Coercion:
Communication Research and Psychological Warfare
1945-60, where Simpson refers to
the engineering of consent of targeted populations at home and abroad…. Various leaders in the social sciences engaged one another in tacit alliances to promote their particular interpretation of society…. They regarded mass communication as a tool for social management and as a weapon in social conflict…. Key academic journals of the day…concentrated on how modern technology could be used by elites to manage social change, extract political concessions, or win purchasing decisions from targeted audiences…. This orientation reduced the extraordinarily complex, inherently communal process of communication to simple models based on the dynamics of transmission of persuasive—and, in the final analysis, coercive—messages. (Cuddy, p. 23) FELT NEEDS: There are many subtle arts of persuasion. The integration of humanistic psychology into the church during the past four decades has particularly brought a mindset of “felt needs” to the forefront. People in the pews have been trained to respond like Pavlov’s dogs to emotive suggestions and appeals, particularly if it “meets my needs.” Rick Warren relied upon this method during the 1980s in his church growth seminars with C. Peter Wagner. SURVEILLANCE: One of the more sinister aspects of the creeping evangelical tolerance for persuasive tactics is the use of surveillance. Often this is done under the guise of “accountability.” Concerning America’s national mental health plan, Cuddy asked::
At this point, one might ask what an American mental health initiative has to do with world government. Relevant to this, Dr. David Satcher as U.S. Surgeon-General delivered a speech on November 12, 1998, declaring:
We have a clear blueprint in place…. Every child should be given the opportunity for a healthy start…. No priority yet has generated as much interest and enthusiasm as this one on mental health…. Our efforts will be focused on maintaining a global health surveillance…. Healthy People 2010 is the United States’ contribution to the World Health Organization’s call to the nations of the world to renew their commitment to health for all. (Cuddy, National Mental Health Program, p. 26) DATABANKING: Surveillance requires the databanking of information. Surveillance begins with the cell group structure, in which private aspects of parishioners’ lives are computerized, databanked and used for future reference. Obviously, given human nature, the uses for such personal data may not be wellintentioned. The cell church software is modeled after multi-level network marketing programs. How high up on the multi-level hierarchy can such personal information travel?
ASSESSMENTS: Another surveillance tool can appear to be quite innocuous – the assessment test.
James Sundquist wrote an analysis of Rick Warren’s
SHAPE program in chapters 10 and 11 of his book,
Who’s Driving the Purpose Driven Church? This
quasi-spiritual, psycho-social inventory is aptly named “SHAPE.” Assessment tests are used as a mechanism to “shape” human behavior, and to “mold” people’s values, beliefs and doctrines. Chuck Colson has now partnered with Rick Warren to develop a dominionist “worldview” curriculum and assessment tool.
PHARMACEUTICALS: The late Dr. Francis
Schaeffer repeatedly warned about the dangers of
human manipulations. He feared – and rightly so – that
the evangelical Church in the near future would be
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seduced by utopian schemes and cave in to totalitarian
solutions. He worried that the evangelicals would slide
into a situation where they would accept an
authoritarian rule by an elite group. In a chapter from
The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century
entitled “Modern Man the Manipulator,” Schaeffer warned about Arthur Koestler, who wrote a book The Ghost in the Machine. Koestler believed that humans were still evolving. Schaeffer observed:
Not believing in the fall of man, he explained man’s dilemma this way: man has evolved with a lower and an upper brain that are not in harmony. What we must ask our scientists to do is to develop a super-drug that will bring the two halves into proper relationship. Such a drug would make man passive and prevent his constant quarreling. He has suggested that the way we may administer it is in the water supply. (p. 85) Dr. Dennis Cuddy in his book Mental Health Screening provides documentation on the role that the pharmaceutical industry plays in creating a new ethos of mental health across the globe. The pharmaceutical industry has teamed up with internationalists for the “transformation” of the continent of Africa, a goal that is shared by the dominionists.
UTILITARIANISM: Dominionism teaches the gospel of “whatever it takes” (Rick Warren). This doctrine is being taught to everyone in the pews. In How Should We Then Live? Dr. Schaeffer warned about the consequences of the church adopting the doctrine of utilitarianism: “the teaching that utility is the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions.” But when utilitarianism is made the standard—if there is no absolute standard to judge it by or if the standard existing in the Bible is not courageously applied—then the concept of “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” is easily manipulated. (p. 142) OTHER TECHNIQUES: In chapter 12 of How Should We Then Live?, which has the interesting title of “Manipulation and the New Elite,” Dr. Schaeffer warns about the “coming of an elite, an authoritarian state, to fill the vacuum left by the loss of Christian principles… a manipulative authoritarian government” (p. 229). He warned of the psychological determinism of B.F. Skinner, the sociological determinism of operant conditioning, and the chemical and/or genetic determinism of Francis Crick.
Dr. Schaeffer raised questions particularly relevant to dominionism. Schaeffer asked:
In light of this discussion about social manipulation, three questions arise. First, who will control the controllers? Second, what will happen now that people have no boundary condition indicating what they should do in contrast to what they can do? Third, if mankind is only what modern people say it is, why does man’s biological continuation have value? (p. 239) Particularly relevant are Schaeffer’s comments about the potential scenarios for a new authoritarianism:
“Random and indiscriminate terrorism is even more frightening…. We have already seen indications of how people give up liberties when they are faced with the threat of terrorism.” A “radical redistribution of the wealth of the world, including a “redistribution of power where a “manipulating authoritarian government might be easily welcomed, in the hope that such a government would somehow soften the unpleasant results caused by a lessening of prosperity and world power.” A “growing shortage of food and other natural resources” could lead NOT to compassion, but utilitarianism – “…we can expect open pragmatism increasingly to take the place of the partial compassion which has existed.”
“a growing food shortage is apt to constitute an increasing pressure to cause people to drift along with a growing authoritarianism which promises solutions.” (p. 247)
Dr. Cuddy’s book Mental Health Screening gives
current examples of precisely what Dr. Schaeffer was
warning about. The future is now!
For further information on these topics:
Dr. Dennis Cuddy has written two books on the subject of mental health screening. This 2-book set is available from Discernment Ministries for a price of $15.00. Many of the topics in this article have been covered in the daily posts at the Herescope blog run by the Discernment Research Group. Regularly visit this blog http://www.herescope.blogspot.com to stay informed. Other materials used to write this article are available from Discernment Ministries:
Education Reform: the deliberate dumbing down of america: A
Chronological Paper Trail by Charlotte Iserbyt. Dominionism: Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion, Al Dager.
Purpose-Driven model: The Pied Pipers of Purpose, a monograph by Leslie, Leslie & Conway, and Who’s Driving the Purpose-Driven Church? by James Sundquist.
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PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 Every week you will see new information appearing on the www.discernment-ministries.org website under various topics of interest. The he HERESCOPE Blog is updated quite often. You can access this on the website and add it to your “favorites” list. The following is an article from last week that is most important in the light of the incredible days in which we live.
J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 0 6
Foundation Imperialism
It seems like an extraordinary coincidence. C. Peter Wagner launched his new “philanthropic apostles” at the same time that Bill Gates, the world’s richest billionaire, retired from running the Microsoft Corporation to spend his time doing philanthropy at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
On the heels of this, Warren Buffet, the world’s second richest billionaire, announced that he will give 5/6ths of his shares from his Berkshire Hathaway stock to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This isn’t some wild-eyed conspiracy theory. The title of today’s post comes from a quote yesterday in Forbes magazine, in an article entitled “Philanthropy With A Business Bent” by Paul Maidment, which explains the changing face of philanthropy:
“[Buffet’s] Gates Foundation donation, marked a serious coming of age of entrepreneurial philanthropy. The skills and approaches of business are being applied to the work of doing good. A new breed of philanthropists is seeking to maximize the social impact of their actions, just as they sought to maximize shareholder value in their businesses.
“…The Gates Foundation is already moving beyond the pure medicine dimensions of health into agriculture and micro-financing. In the end, it and other foundations will inevitably find themselves in the business of promoting sound social infrastructure, open markets, the rule of law and transparent and corruption-free administration.
“Such a business-based approach to social and economic change will increasingly bring foundations into conflict with governments and special interests with their own political agendas….
“Nor will all cultures be comfortable with philanthropic foundations that promote Western values of freedom, technological progress and entrepreneurship to solve the world’s underlying problems.
“That day is still a ways off, that of foundation imperialism even further.”
It may be a myth—a media reinforced myth— that these philanthropic foundations will be promoting “Western values.” In reality, these foundations are promoting a form of Western imperialism that more closely reflects the values, goals and agendas of the United Nations, especially the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Ground zero for the world’s leading philanthropic efforts happens to be the continent of Africa. It is here where Bill Gates, Rick Warren, Ted Turner, Bono, Brad Pitt, the United Nations and an incredible array of multi-national corporations, think tanks, philanthropic groups, agencies, mission groups, churches, etc. have all focused their attention. The main public priority is global health issues, but underneath lurks all sorts of other agendas.
Domionism and the Great Outpouring of Wealth
Rick Warren’s connection to all of this is quite significant because of his Christian dominionism—that which he acquired from the New Apostolic Reformation (elsewhere documented in Herescope posts). The NAR leaders’ “prophetic” predictions about a “great outpouring” of wealth may be connected to these recent philanthropic maneuvers. The Christian mission agencies, parachurch organizations and international groups who have been promoting NARstyle dominionism for the past two decades have positioned themselves globally to be on the receiving end of this great outpouring of philanthropic wealth. Last November Rick Warren was invited to a Global Health Summit hosted by TIME magazine and supported by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At this summit he hobnobbed with over 400 leaders, including Bill Clinton (Clinton Global Initiative), Bill Gates, Condoleeza Rice, Ted Turner (who gave his fortune to the UN), Madeleine Albright, Bono, Paul Wolfowitz (World Bank), and others.
At this summit it was revealed that the World Bank was looking at “church-health facilities” to see how they could partner. Faith-based organizations took center stage as the participants were told that they “are able to reach those difficult areas that the government cannot reach.” Significantly—and perhaps an indication of future funding—Rick Warren “noted…that many times churches are the only infrastructure in a remote village that lacks a post office, a hospital, or a school.”
Following this summit, Warren traveled to speak to the Anglican Conference in Pittsburgh. At this conference he explained how churches would serve as DISCERNMENT PAGE 7 JULY/AUGUST 2006 PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 a distribution network:
“He envisioned the church—and here he includes non-Christian religious communities—as a global distribution network that could deliver solutions in villages with no school, no post office, no clinic and no phone service.”
An October 31, 2005 article in Fortune magazine entitled “Will Success Spoil Rick Warren?” confirmed this very point, also promising an “army of volunteers”:
“PEACE stands for Partner with or Plant churches, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation. ‘We don’t know how to do this,’ he told the pastors in Kigali, ‘but together we can figure it out. I’m going to get the best minds I can to help me.’ About all he knows for sure is that the project will be driven by local pastors who will get help from churches in the developed world. ‘The church has a distribution point in every community,’ he says, ‘and we have a massive army of volunteers that neither business nor government has.’”
The Truth:
Is the World using the Church? Or is the Church using the World?
Compromise with the spirit of the world and the spirit of the times will not produce a true love of one’s neighbor. And charitable acts devoid of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not true compassion.
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)