Natalie at Visionary Womanhood has done an outstanding job dispelling some of the criticisms and false assumptions of what many call “Dominion Theology”, which is merely a new-sounding term for the way Christians have believed for centuries. Dominion Theology–fulfilling man’s first command and the supremacy of Christ in all things. This former “no-brainer” for Christians has now become an upheaval of controversy.
I highly recommend her article!
“I spent one hour searching for ONE POSITIVE THING on this topic…and all I found were horrific articles written by both atheists and Christians (funny how both sides agree on this issue…something is definitely amiss here, and I find that extremely fascinating…) that smear “Dominion Theology” into the ground.
I was mystified. I mean, the articles were written by folks who really had NOT studied it at all, so they were writing all kinds of lies and half-truths and hyper exaggerations all couched in frenetic emotional rhetoric. I did not find one intelligent discussion on it anywhere.Then the following article came to me in my e-mail in-box. It came from a completely different angle…and it made a great point. Every ideology is about having dominion. ”
Read the rest HERE!
8 comments
So is my understanding of the article correct, that dominion theology is the idea that Christians have the right to rule non-Christians (as Goldberg defines it in the article)?
I see in Genesis that God is ruling over us, and that man is then given dominion to rule over creation. It seems that God is setting up a natural order over things to create organization, and to let us know that we can use the earth and its resources for our good. But does this mean that we as Christians are to “take over” governments, and rule the world? I have spoken to some Christians who are amillenial in end-time view, who believe that if we successfully “take dominion” we will usher in the physical reign of Christ. If we don’t take dominion then Christ doesn’t return (though His kingdom is ruling now).
However other family-integrated, conservative, Christian churches believe a more pre-millenial view that Christ will return (on His own without us ushering Him in…in fact, that the earth will become more depraved, not better) and for us to take dominion only means that we are given authority to rule over the fish, birds, cattle, the ground, and plants (Genesis 1:25-30).
I certainly don’t want to open a debate, but I see “dominion theology” as meaning a whole host of things to different groups of people. What is your understanding of the concept and where do you see this Biblically?
It has also been my experience that “Dominion theology” almost always goes with “Replacement theology” (where God is done with all Jews and now Christians and the church have replaced them completely in His heart and plan for the world) and an Amillenial eschatology (Christ is ruling now view), or end-time view. Is this also your understanding.
Oh please understand that I am not trying to be difficult, but just to understand if these things (which I don’t all agree with) always go together, and if I have a correct understanding of what you view as “Dominion Theology”. What does dominion theology look like when lived out in the life of most Christian men?
Nicole,
I understand your questions AND your intentions–great on both parts. I will answer you later in the day when we aren’t busy with school, painting doors and answering some urgent needs 😉
yay! can’t wait! i was wondering some of the same things. 😉
First, understand that “dominion theology”, as I mentioned, sounds like a new term but is actually just a return to what Christians have historically believed since the days of Jesus. And it’s really a simple concept. Because others have said it so much better than I could, I’ll quote to give you a basic idea of what dominion theology means and why Scripture teaches it:
I hold to a post-mil view which is described here:
In “The Greatness of the Great Commission”, Gentry explains:
I read the post in its entirety, and I came away wondering, like Nicole, how Christians would implement such a notion. I get that the liberals are as much about power as the next guy, but I just don’t get it…HOW do we stop abortion? Obviously, as believers, we pray, and on a practical level, we help single moms, we talk about the lives of babies who have been sacrificed on the altar of “womens’ rights,” etc. BUT, if only God can change the heart, how do you propose this can be accomplished? What about marriage? Do you think that DOMA would do the trick?
Like Nicole, THIS time, I’m not being argumentative! 😉 Just trying to understand how this view would be implemented.
Cathy
For those who are already saturated in the study of Scripture on a daily basis (that must always come first!) and would desire to learn the accurate view of those in history who have held to a post-millennial eschatology as well as a dominion oriented theology, I highly recommend reading (in this order):
1. Paradise Restored by David Chilton (Warning…your view of God and His Word will increase exponentially AND you won’t be able to put this book down. I was moved to worship the King many times while reading.)
2. Victory in Jesus: The Bright Hope of Postmillennialism by Dr. Greg Bahnsen
3. The Puritan Hope by Iain H. Murray
It’s a thrilling, eye-opening, and rewarding study for those who have the gumption to pursue it! ; )
THanks for sending me over, I really loved the post!
Abortion-
There’s no pat answer to getting rid of abortion or any other offense to God’s law. There a lots of things that need to be done
1. love and obey God’s Law ourselves (this is how we know we are His)
2. having/adopting children for those of us who can (be fruitful and multiply). 2.B. Teaching children (all the time) to love God’s laws (Deut 6:6,7).
3. Evangelizing those around us.
4. teaching Christians to love God’s Law.
5. Disciple our nation, and teach our nation to obey God’s Laws (Matt 28:20). This will require Christians to get involved in politics. Remember, *All* authority in Heaven and earth has been given to Jesus (Matt 28:18).
Once we’ve addressed those things, there’s not necessarily one right way to get rid of abortion. The point is to get rid of abortion (w/out breaking God’s laws ourselves). So we begin as Cathy suggests, by teaching people, especially pregnant girls, about life and the sanctity of life, that they are pregnant w/ a real human, created in the image of God, etc. And provide pro-life alternatives for them. But that’s not enough. What if you can’t reach her heart? Even if she remains rebellious to God’s Word, then we still want to protect her baby, and getting rid of abortion allows us to give the baby some extra protection, and also help protect the mother from her own (would-be) mistake, by making it very hard for her to get the abortion (since it’s illegal), and discouraging her from getting the abortion (since it’s illegal). Holding her to God’s Law is an act of love to God, to the baby, and to her.
Believe it or not, one of the more hopeful ways of getting rid of abortion comes from the Supreme Court itself – watch this short clip from Molotov Mitchell on abortion, personhood, and the Constitution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIBolGi4HoQ&feature=player_embedded#!
Furthermore, it is possible for Congress to change laws that come from Supreme Court rulings, so we can apply pressure to our representatives.
Those are just a couple ideas that come to mind. But I am no lawyer. It would help if more God-fearing, God’s Law loving Christians would become lawyers to fight unjust laws. We can (those of us who aren’t lawyers), pray for them and help finance their legal fees should the opportunity arise to fight the bad laws (the same way we help finantially support Alliance Defense Fund for the sake of homeschooling rights). I think it’s far preferable too, to fight locally or at the state level than at the Federal level. Decentralized power is the ideal in the Bible.
But again, it’s impossible to give a pat answer, because there’s so much more involved in abortion than just killing babies (like how she got pregnant/how we’re dealing w/ sex, and why is she so afraid to have a baby, and more). But those are just some ideas to get your own ideas flowing. Really, people need to read The Greatness of the Great Commission, and so many other books. Many of the Christian Reconstruction books are online for free, so there’s no reason not to educate yourselves on what Dominion theologians believe, from the source. It just might be the big dose of hope you need these days.
http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/docs/pdf/the_great_commission.pdf