Your Enemy's Enemy By Derek Gilbert - May 26, 2010        Tweet

Conservative Christians tend to be among the most patriotic of Americans, so it's understandable that many of us at least sympathize with the tea party movement.

But in the the zeal to oppose the socialist agenda of President Obama and his allies in Congress, too many of us have turned a blind eye to an even darker agenda at work in the opposition.

The vigorous reaction to the president's policies has provided a golden opportunity for the apostolic/prophetic movement to take its heretical Dominion Theology mainstream. The Awakening and May Day 2010 put prominent "apostles" and "prophets" like Lou Engle, Chuck Pierce, Rick Joyner, Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, and Bishop Harry Jackson side-by-side with prominent and respected mainstream evangelicals.

Even the National Day of Prayer Task Force, chaired by Shirley (Mrs. James) Dobson, included the Dominionists' "seven mountains of influence" in its mission statement.

Still, the tea party movement itself has remained mostly concerned with intrusive government rather than with restoring America's Christian roots—if, in fact, those roots ever existed. (A discussion for another day.) But that may be changing.

In February, a group of pastors reportedly gathered at the first national tea party convention in Nashville and were led to call other patriotic pastors together to reject intrusive government.

The Patriot Pastors Tea Party, planned for July 9 in Oklahoma City, is the brainchild of Rick Scarborough. Dr. Scarborough is the founder of Vision America, a ministry that encourages pastors to be politically active. For his party, Scarborough has changed the T-E-A from Taxed Enough Already to Truth Exalts America.

The message is simple: America needs another cadre of pastors willing to stand on biblical principles in matters of politics, just like the so-called "Black Brigade" who allegedly inspired the thirteen colonies to revolt.

There are other examples, and a Venn diagram of people connected to the various ministries, conferences, events, and contracts, statements, and declarations from Manhattan to Mount Vernon would produce a fascinating diagram of America's theopolitical right. Many of these initiatives were inspired or are supported by the same rage that propelled the tea party movement to national prominence.

The problem, however, is also simple: the Bible contains no political mandate for Christians. And some of those pushing this agenda won't be content with forming political action committees.

Dominion Theology teaches that Christians must literally retake the Earth from Satan before Jesus will return. To Dominionists, the Day of the Lord, which most prophecy scholars agree refers to the day that God visits His wrath on a unbelieving Earth, is the day Jesus incarnates into the bodies of a select group of believers. These faithful few will be supernaturally transformed into the dread warriors described in chapter 2 of the book of Joel.

And Christians who disagree with this twisted doctrine will be first against the wall when the global cleansing begins¹.

The doctrine is unbiblical, heretical, and frankly it just sounds crazy. And it would be—if the most influential promoters of this doctrine weren't rubbing shoulders with mainstream evangelicals and powerful politicians seeking their support.

Janet Porter, who organized the thoroughly Dominionist May Day event at the Lincoln Memorial, tells a story of the day she was hired by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy as the National Director of his Center for Reclaiming America:

I told him that he shouldn’t hire me since I didn’t agree with him on everything--I wasn’t a 'five point Calvinist.' His response was one I never forgot; he said: "Janet, we agree on the 'main things'," and he hired me that day.²

The "main things" for conservative Christians in America today appear to be abortion, gay marriage, and socialism. Anyone who agrees on those points is an ally.

Thus the supremacy of God's Word is sacrificed for political power.

Think hard before joining a movement just because it stands against your political adversary. The enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend.

Derek P. Gilbert co-hosts a weekly Internet talk show, P.I.D. Radio, with his wife, author Sharon K. Gilbert, and hosts A View From the Bunker, a weekly interview program.  He previously hosted The Drive, the #1-rated afternoon radio talk show in Columbia/Jefferson City, Missouri.  His published novels are Iron Dragons and The God Conspiracy.

Email Derek at derek at peeringintodarkness dot com. His website is www.derekpgilbert.com.