Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Love, Joy, Feminism

Home
Nonreligious
The End Times, Part II: Social Justice, Dominionism, and the Culture Wars

The End Times, Part II: Social Justice, Dominionism, and the Culture Wars

Last updated on: August 6, 2012 at 10:44 pm by Libby Anne

The End Times, Part II: Social Justice, Dominionism, and the Culture Wars 2012-08-06T22:44:00-04:00 Libby Anne

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Whether Christians are Postmillennialist, Amillennialist, or Premillennialist has a dramatic affect on how they view the world. Understanding this aids in understanding things like social justice, dominionism, and the culture wars.

Postmillennialists, Amillennialists, and Premillennialists

Catholics are generally Amillennialists while mainline Protestants are generally either Amillennialists or Postmillennialists. The distinction between the two is often vague. Amillennialists believe we are currently living in a (figurative) millennium and that Christ’s return could come at any minute, or not for hundreds or thousands of years. Amillennialists generally don’t involve themselves in watching for the signs of the end times, and instead concentrate on living Christian lives in the here and now. Postmillennialists are similar, except that they believe that Christians must work to bring about the Millennium, when the world will be at peace, governed by Christian ethics and values.

There are actually two types of Postmillennialists. Most Postmillennialists are your mainline Protestants who run soup kitchens and talk about social justice. Some Postmillennialists, however, are extremely conservative, mainly of the reformed (i.e. Calvinist) traditions. These are the dominionists, the ones who believe in establishing a theocracy – some even hope to bring back Old Testament law. (See Gary Nash and Rousas Rushdoony, for instance, or Vision Forum.) To be clear, there are very few hard-core dominionists. What I find more interesting about dominionism than the few who want to bring back Old Testament law is the influence some dominionist ideas have had beyond hard-core dominionism itself.

Most conservative Protestants are Premillennialists, who, like I said before, believe in a coming tribulation, with a rapture at some point, and that the end times are imminent. These are the ones who watch for signs of the end times, speculate about the identity of the antichrist, and interpret current events through a Biblical end times lens. These are the ones who believe that the end times might begin at any moment.

Cultural and Theological Bleed

Now there is also this thing I call “bleed.” In other words, the edges get blurry in interesting way and cultural and theological influence spreads ideas around. This often happens unintentionally, but understanding it is key to understanding things like the political influence of dominionism.

First, through cultural icons like Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series, Premillenialism has gained a hearing beyond just conservative Protestants. In fact, even some Catholics have been taken in, prompting the composition and marketing of books like The Rapture Trap, explaining to Catholics that that whole Premillennial, Tribulation, and Rapture thing is neither Biblical nor grounded in church tradition.

Second, while today’s evangelicals and fundamentalists alike trace their lineage back to the late nineteenth century Bible conferences that birthed Premillenialism, some progressive evangelicals have rejected Premillenialism and embrace either Amillennialism or, more likely, Postmillennialism. They generally talk about social justice rather than watching for the signs of the times. These sorts of evangelicals are often associated with the emergent church.

Third, a surprising number of Premillennialists have been influenced by the thinking of Postmillennial dominionists. You would think Premillennialists would care only about watching for signs of the end times and nodding as the world gets worse and worse, and that is why it was so very odd to see Jerry Falwell getting into politics. Beginning in the 1970s, Francis Schaeffer, himself a Premillennialist but influenced by some of the ideas of Postmillennial dominionism, called on Christians to resist the “moral decay” they saw around them and fight the “secular humanism” that was taking place in society. Schaeffer’s influence should not be underestimated, and he was himself involved in the founding of numerous religious right organizations. The combination of the threat presented by (apparent) moral decay and the galvanizing call of Schaeffer, influenced by dominionist thought, resulted in numerous Premillennialists rejecting isolationism and engaging politically in the “culture wars.”

Note: Schaeffer was not, strictly speaking, a dominionist. Being “influenced by dominionist ideas” is not the same thing as being an actual full dominionist. There are very few who actually want to restore Old Testament law. Most of those influenced by dominionist ideas simply want to work through the ballot box to preserve our nation’s “moral foundation” and spread “Christian” values. It’s the difference between upholding “traditional” marriage and urging a return to stoning gay people. I find both problematic, but I don’t think it’s helpful to treat the two like they’re one and the same.

It sometimes seems like Premillennialists don’t realize what is happening when embracing certain ideas from Postmillenial dominionism. I actually sensed this disconnect as a child. I wondered why we would be so politically involved in trying to “take back the nation for Christ” if we knew that the future held only defeat and decline, followed by the Tribulation. Shouldn’t we just focus on saving souls and leave everything else alone, I wondered? I actually asked my dad this at one point, and he thought for a minute before concluding that “we have to try.” In other words, we know we’re going down, but we’re not going down without a fight. This thinking, though, is new. Before the influence of Schaeffer, Premillennialists were generally more separatist, focusing on saving souls rather than on injecting religion into politics. But it’s also important to remember that Schaeffer could only have the influence he had because of the visibility of the startling “moral decline” that began in the 1960s. In this atmosphere many Premillenialists felt very threatened, and Schaeffer’s ideas, influenced by dominionist thinking, filled a need.

This should help make all that Premillennial, Amillennial, and Postmillennial stuff more clear. It also serves as a way to introduce the idea of dominionism and touch on the origins of the culture wars, both things I will write more about in the future. As always, feel free to add to what I’ve said – I don’t know everything, after all!

Also in this series:

Part I – The Millennium, Tribulation, and Rapture

Part II – Social Justice, Dominionism, and the Culture Wars

Part III – Dispensationalism

Part IV – The Tribulation in Detail

Part V – Signs, Prophesies, and Current Events

Part VI: Rapture Anxiety

Part VII: Dispensational Premillennialism’s Recent Origins

Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism

Previous Post

February 13, 2012

The End Times Part I: The Millennium, Tribulation, and Rapture

Next Post

February 14, 2012 The End Times Part III: Dispensationalism

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atheism Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism Family Feminism Homeschool Meta Parenting Patriarchy Politics Purity Quiverfull Social Justice Uncategorized Worthwhile reads

Select a Month February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Jesus use to wash the disciples’ feet?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A scroll His robe A cup and sponge A towel and basin