Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. - Matthew 5:37 (ESV)
Dr. Michael Brown is a dominionist and gatekeeper for the NAR, even though he tries really hard to not appear so. The problem of course is his efforts reveal what he is running from. There are, as in most things, degrees of dominionism. No one is suggesting that Dr. Brown is as rabid as Greg Locke or Mario Murillo. I am sure Brown would stand against some of the crazier things they both have said, without actually naming them of course. Brown is more of a moderate dominionist who is constantly trying to distance himself from what he believes. Any mixing of "patriotism" and faith is of course dominionism. In the above link, Brown tries to explain the "difference" between the two and that is where he of course goes off the rails. The bible teaches us that we are not citizens of this earth or any country within. We are citizens of heaven and God does not permit dual citizenship - just read the first commandment. Still I appreciate this article from Brown because it shows how one can become deceived into minimizing the heresy of dominionism. So, let us reason once more together.
"There are certainly times when our religious faith and our patriotism go hand in hand. At other times, our religious faith might cause us to seem unpatriotic. But at all times, it's important that we distinguish between our faith and our patriotism. Blurring the lines can be dangerous." - Dr. Michael Brown
I separated this short blurb first because it is the foundation of everything he gets wrong. There is NO time that our faith and patriotism go hand in hand, no time. Why? Because our faith is not in the things of this world and patriotism is expressly about a country in this world. Brown is correct that blurring the lines between the holy and the profane is extremely dangerous but he will proceed to do just that.
"Before I focus on the subject of this article, let me give you some different but related examples. Let's say you're a Christian and a policeman. If you give a driver a ticket for speeding, you're doing so as a policeman who happens to be a Christian, quoting the law to the driver, not the Bible. If you share the gospel with the driver, you're doing so as a Christian who happens to be a policeman, quoting the Bible to the driver, not the law. Any policeman can issue a ticket. Only a Christian would share the gospel. Let's say you're a Christian and a soldier fighting terrorists in Syria. If you kill an enemy combatant, you're doing it as a soldier who happens to be a Christian. If you pray for the enemy's family, you're doing it a Christian who happens to be a soldier. Any soldier can kill the enemy. It takes a Christian to pray for the enemy's family. If you're a Christian and a veteran reciting the pledge with pride, you're doing so as a veteran who happens to be a Christian. If you pursue a fresh spiritual awakening in America, you're doing so as a Christian who happens to be a veteran. Many veterans can recite the pledge with pride. It takes a Christian to pursue a fresh spiritual awakening. Yet in each of these three instances, there's a good deal of overlap. The Christian policeman wants to be a good witness on the job, and as a Christian, he is committed to serve with integrity. As for the Christian soldier, he prays for protection and for success in his mission of taking out the bad guys. As for the Christian veteran, in his mind, love for God and love for country go hand in hand. Plus, as far as he is concerned, his beloved America is special because of its Christian roots." - Dr. Michael Brown
These are slightly clever ways of blurring the lines but let's cut through the haze. We are always a Christian in this world. In everything we do, we are a Christian. So, when we ticket a speeder as a policeman, we do so as a Christian. Now obviously we ticket him because of the laws that we are charged with enforcing but HOW we do it is as a Christian. For example, we do so politely, without malice and without returning any grief we might get. We turn the other cheek, as Jesus taught. The soldier example is starker. Notice how to Brown, the people on the other side, must be the "bad guys." The patriotism and faith Brown has in his country dismisses the fact that he took a life by simply praying for them. God does not respect the wars of man. A better example of this is real life. In 2006 Israel invaded Lebanon, which has a large Christian community. So, whose side is God on when Israel kills Christians? We need to stop believing God is definitively on "our side" as a country and we need to focus on making sure our lives are on His side, as individual people. Even his last example is obviously polluted by dominionist thought. First of all, why the pride in reciting the pledge to something other than God? Why pledge your allegiance to a flag, or a republic? Before you say that the pledge says under God remember why that clause is in the Pledge of Allegiance! It was inserted into the pledge during the red scare of the 1950s. That was a direct result of a lying, fear mongering Senator named McCarthy, who built his political career on bearing false witness about people by claiming they were communists. There is nothing hallowed about the pledge beloved. It is another indoctrination creed based on nationalism. Brown even admits that for the Christian veteran, love of God and country go hand in hand. Read the first commandment! That is the definition of idolatry! The fact that Brown's imaginary veteran this so highly of America because of its "Christian roots" only shows how poorly he has been taught by the apostate church. Were some of the founders Christian? Absolutely. Some were also atheist and deists. Thomas Jefferson rewrote the bible to remove any reference to Christ as God. There is plenty to be proud of in American history but the whitewash that Christians give to it is painfully inaccurate. We did not have "Christian roots" and the veteran Christian ought to place God above all else. I would say he should make that a pledge, but the bible says to not even take pledges, as we see in the key verse today above.
