Dominionism in American Politics

 St. Francis of Assisi  (I like the dog!)



Michelle Goldberg at the Daily Beast discusses the ties between Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and the Dominionism movement in America.  To Dominionists, Barack Obama might as well be a Muslim.

As I watched the video of Rick Perry orating at "The Response," his National Day of Prayer event at the aptly named Reliant Stadium in Houston,  my mind wandered to the gospel that the Catholic Church and Protestant faiths feature on Ash Wednesday year after year:

¹ “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

² “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. 

 ⁵ “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  Matthew 6:1-6.

I understand why this gospel might not strike a strong chord with some evangelicals.  But if they are believers in the inherent truth of all the literal words of the Bible (which no Catholic theologians are) then they need to think about how brazenly politics and theology should be mixed.  It's Jesus' explicit admonition, not one issued by liberals, atheists, moral relativists or the founding fathers.

Or to put it another way, as did St. Francis of Assisi:  "Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words."