No More Separation of Church and State

Dominionism is the theocratic idea that Christians are called by God to exercise dominion over every aspect of society by taking control of political and cultural institutions. It has been a Christian evangelical goal for decades to take conservative Christian control at every level of government.

And now they have Mike Johnson two heartbeats away from the Presidency.

Johnson has ties with a network of non-denominational, charismatic Christians, the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR. The movement is small but growing quickly, and so is its political influence. Its followers believe there is a theological imperative to bring America under, quote, "biblical governance." They have a plan. It's known as the Seven Mountains Mandate, or dominion theology.

The seven spheres of influence are the home, the church, civil government, business, which includes technology, arts and entertainment, which includes professional sports, education, and the last one is media.

The NAR is hardline anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage.

And now there is a tremendous uptick in the rhetoric of violence among prominent Christian right leaders

1.5 Degrees Is Not the Problem

As Erle C. Ellis writes in a December 4, 2023 NYTimes guest essay:

As leaders around the world meet for the 28th time to address the climate crisis — this time in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s largest oil producers — they need to rethink this threat and some of the other central challenges of our times.

Those other challenges include devastating losses of biodiversity and plastic pollution so widespread, it is now found on the world’s tallest mountain, in its deepest ocean trench and in our veins. In the long history of this planet, our current time, the human age known as the Anthropocene, is the first in which a single species will so rapidly reshape the future of Earth’s climate and all the other conditions that make life as we know it livable.

These crises are not about the planet going haywire. They are crises caused by failures to assign and enforce social responsibilities. And the wealthiest, most powerful and most capable societies that have ever existed on this planet are behaving as if they owe nothing for what they have gained at the expense of imperiling life on Earth. Such behavior is not only unethical. It is precisely the opposite of what deep history tells us has enabled societies to avoid collapse in the face of severe environmental challenges.

Dr. Ellis, a visiting fellow at the Oxford Martin School, is a professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the author of “Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction.”

If Trump Wins...

The Atlantic, as their loyal readers know, is deliberately not a partisan magazine. “Of no party or clique” is their original 1857 motto, and it is true today. Nonetheless, they were moved to devote an entire issue to the dangers of Trump winning the Oval Office again. They believe him to be “an antidemocratic demagogue, one who is completely devoid of decency”.

Cover of January/February 2024 issue of The Atlantic.

You can read the articles here.