Christian right Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Criticism== Criticisms of the Christian right often come from Christians who believe Jesus' message was centered on [[social responsibility]] and [[social justice]]. Theologian Michael Lerner has summarized: "The unholy alliance of the Political Right and the Religious Right threatens to destroy the America we love. It also threatens to generate a revulsion against God and religion by identifying them with militarism, ecological irresponsibility, fundamentalist antagonism to science and rational thought, and insensitivity to the needs of the poor and the powerless."<ref>{{cite book |last = Lerner |first = Michael |title = The Left Hand of God (book) |publisher = Harper Collins |year = 2006 |page = [https://archive.org/details/lefthandofgodtak00lern/page/1 1] |isbn = 978-0-06084247-5 |title-link = The Left Hand of God (book) }}</ref> Commentators from all sides of the aisle such as [[Rob Schenck]], [[Randall Balmer]], and [[Charles M. Blow]] criticized the Christian right for its tolerance and embrace of [[Donald Trump]] during the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]] despite Trump's failure to adhere to any of the principles advocated by the Christian right groups for decades.<ref>Posner, Sarah. [https://newrepublic.com/article/140961/amazing-disgrace-donald-trump-hijacked-religious-right "Amazing Disgrace"] ''New Republic''. March 20, 2017. November 16, 2017.</ref><ref>Blow, Charles M. [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/opinion/moore-trump-religious-right.html "Moore, Trump and the Right's New Religion"]. ''The New York Times''. November 16, 2017. November 16, 2016.</ref> In a 2023 interview with [[NPR]], [[Russell D. Moore]] stated that he had come to believe that Christianity was "in a crisis" after hearing multiple pastors speak of congregation members rejecting quotes from the [[Sermon on the Mount]] as "liberal talking points" and not backing down upon being informed of their source.<ref>Detrow, S. [https://www.npr.org/2023/08/05/1192374014/russell-moore-on-altar-call-for-evangelical-america "Russell Moore on 'altar call for Evangelical America'"], ''NPR'', ''All Things Considered'', August 5, 2023. January 18, 2024.</ref> ===Interpretation of Christianity=== {{See also|Christian left}} One argument which questions the legitimacy of the Christian right posits that [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]] may be considered a leftist on the modern [[political spectrum]]. Jesus' concern with the poor and feeding the hungry, among other things, are argued, by proponents of Christian leftism, to be core attributes of modern-day socialism and [[social justice]].<ref>{{cite web|work=A Political Glossary|url=http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/right-wing|publisher=Auburn University|last=Johnson|first=Paul|title=Right-wing, rightist|year=2005|access-date=October 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819232535/http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/right-wing|archive-date=August 19, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Bobbio, Norberto and Allan Cameron, ''[[Left and Right: The Significance of a Political Distinction]]''. [[University of Chicago Press]], 1997, p. 51, 62. {{ISBN|978-0-226-06246-4}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">J. E. Goldthorpe. ''An Introduction to Sociology''. Cambridge, England, UK; Oakleigh, Melbourne, Australia; New York City, USA p. 156. {{ISBN|0-521-24545-1}}.</ref> However, others {{who|date=March 2021}} contend that while Jesus' concern for the poor and hungry is virtuous and that individuals have a moral obligation to help others, the relationship between charity and the state should not be construed in the same manner.<ref>Petersen, David L. (2005). "Genesis and Family Values". ''Journal of Biblical Literature''. '''124''' (1)</ref><ref>Paul Edward Gottfried, ''Conservatism in America: Making Sense of the American Right'', p. 13.</ref> According to Frank Newport of [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]], "there are fewer Americans today who are both highly religious and liberal than there are Americans who are both highly religious and conservative." Newport also noted that 52% of white conservatives identify as "highly religious" while only 16% of white liberals identify as the same. However, [[African-Americans]], "the most religious of any major racial or ethnic group in the country", are "strongly oriented to voting Democratic". While observing that African-American Democrats are more religious than their white Democrat counterparts, Newport further noted, however, that African-American Democrats are "much more likely to be ideologically moderate or conservative."<ref>[https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/258032/religious-left-numbers-problem.aspx The Religious Left Has a Numbers Problem by Frank Newport | Gallup, June 4, 2019] (retrieved May 5, 2020)</ref> Some criticize what they see as a politicization of Christianity because they say Jesus transcends political concepts.<ref>Stephen J. Nichols: [https://books.google.com/books?id=mcP0olaD8j0C&pg=PA204 ''Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to "The Passion of the Christ"''] pp. 204β209. Westmont, IL, 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Shermer |first=Michael |url=http://trueslant.com/michaelshermer/2010/07/29/was-jesus-a-conservative-or-a-liberal/ |title=Was Jesus a Conservative or a Liberal? β Michael Shermer β Skeptic |publisher=True/Slant |date=July 21, 2010 |access-date=December 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004104302/http://trueslant.com/michaelshermer/2010/07/29/was-jesus-a-conservative-or-a-liberal/ |archive-date=October 4, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] referred to Jesus as "the first Socialist".<ref name="Gorbachev">{{cite web |title=Biography of Mikhail Gorbachev|url=http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/explore/biography.cfm?name=Gorbachev,%20Mikhail|work=National Cold War Exhibition|publisher=Trustees of the Royal Air Force Museum|access-date=August 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K6FOU-s0l0QC|title=The Tragedy of American Compassion|first=Marvin|last=Olasky|date=February 1, 1994|publisher=Regnery Publishing|isbn=9780895267252|access-date=March 3, 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> ===Race and diversity=== The Christian right has tried to recruit social conservatives in the [[black church]].<ref name="BoyarinItzkovitz2012">{{cite book|last1=Boyarin|first1=Daniel|last2=Itzkovitz|first2=Daniel|last3=Pellegrini|first3=Ann|title=Queer Theory and the Jewish Question|date=June 19, 2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231508957|page=85}}</ref> Prior to the [[2016 United States presidential election]], [[African Americans|African-American]] Republican [[Ben Carson]] emerged as a leader of the Christian right.<ref name="Miller">{{cite web|url=http://religiondispatches.org/meet-the-new-christian-right-same-as-the-old-christian-right/|title=Meet the New Christian Right, Same as The Old Christian Right|last=Miller|first=Patricia|date=December 12, 2016|work=Religion Dispatches|access-date=May 17, 2018}}</ref> Other Christian African-Americans who identify with conservatism are [[Supreme Court justice]] [[Clarence Thomas]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/faith-freed-clarence-thomas-hate-118621|title=Faith Freed Clarence Thomas From Hate|author=Star Parker|work=[[The National Interest]]|date=February 3, 2020|access-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref> [[rapper]] [[Kanye West]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2019/11/25/the-gospel-according-to-kanye/#slide-1|title=The Gospel According to Kanye|work=[[National Review]]|author=Kevin D. Williamson|date=November 7, 2019|access-date=April 18, 2020}}</ref> [[Alveda King]], and [[pastor]] [[Tony Evans (pastor)|Tony Evans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://urbanfaith.com/2012/05/talking-politics-with-dr-tony-evans.html/|title=Talking Politics with Dr. Tony Evans|author=Christine A. Scheller|date=May 31, 2012|publisher=UrbanFaith.com|quote=[Evans:] 'God would never have endorsed what the culture is allowing [regarding same-sex marriage].' [Interviewer:] 'Doesn't the combination of limited government and social conservatism just land you in the Republican party?' [Evans:] 'No, it doesn't, because I believe that we have conservative, blue-dog Democrats who would hold to non-abortion, who would hold to the definition of a family as a man and a woman, and who would at least hold to a smaller government than now exists.'|access-date=April 18, 2020|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728121934/https://urbanfaith.com/2012/05/talking-politics-with-dr-tony-evans.html/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://world.wng.org/2012/10/vote_your_priorities|title=Vote your priorities|work=[[World (magazine)|World]]|date=October 5, 2012|author=Emily Belz|quote=[Evans] makes clear he isn't endorsing anyone or any party, but he's clear in his criticism of President Obama's positions on abortion and the family. ... 'I will always [prioritize] the [[right to life]].' ... 'Spending is totally out of control, because government's doing more than it was designed to do.' ... 'The Bible makes no provision for the redefinition of marriage and the family, other than the one that is prescribed in the Bible by God and Jesus to be between a man and a woman. It is an illegitimate issue to accept or promote from a Christian standpoint.'|access-date=April 18, 2020|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728134338/https://world.wng.org/2012/10/vote_your_priorities|url-status=dead}}</ref> ===LGBT rights=== Whilst the Christian right in the United States generally identifies with aspects of [[LGBT rights opposition]], other Christian movements argue that the biblical texts only oppose specific types of divergent sexual behaviour, such as [[paederasty]] (i.e. sexual intercourse between boys and men).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tcpc.org/library/article.cfm?library_id=152|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212223001/http://www.tcpc.org/library/article.cfm?library_id=152|url-status=dead|title=Why TCPC Advocates Equal Rights for Gay and Lesbian People|archive-date=February 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianalliance.org/site/c.bnKIIQNtEoG/b.667209/k.5987/Equality_for_Gays_and_Lesbians.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080919093841/http://www.christianalliance.org/site/c.bnKIIQNtEoG/b.667209/k.5987/Equality_for_Gays_and_Lesbians.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 19, 2008|title=Equality for Gays and Lesbians|date=December 1, 2005}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pflagdetroit.org/BibleandHomosexuality.html Bible & Homosexuality Home Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224172958/http://www.pflagdetroit.org/BibleandHomosexuality.html |date=February 24, 2015 }}. Pflagdetroit.org (December 11, 1998). Retrieved on August 24, 2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whosoever.org/how-can-someone-be-a-christian-and-a-homosexual/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421135539/http://www.whosoever.org/gayxian/articles.html|url-status=dead|title=How Can Someone Be A Christian And A Homosexual? | Whosoever|first=David|last=Mundy|archive-date=April 21, 2009}}</ref> During the Trump administration, there was a growing push{{who|date=March 2022}} for [[religious freedom bill|religious liberty bills]], aimed to exempt individuals and businesses from anti-discrimination laws intended to protect LGBT people, if they claimed that their actions were motivated by religious beliefs.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} Among the most powerful organizations that promoted anti-LGBT and anti-transgender legislation under the Trump administration is the [[Alliance Defending Freedom]].<ref name = "splc-profile">{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/alliance-defending-freedom|title=Alliance Defending Freedom|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en|access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref> ===Use of dominionism labeling=== Some social scientists have used the word "dominionism" to refer to adherence of [[dominion theology]],<ref name="Barron1992a">Barron, Bruce. 1992. ''Heaven on Earth? The Social & Political Agendas of Dominion Theology''. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan. {{ISBN|0-310-53611-1}}.</ref><ref name="DavisHankins2003">Davis, Derek H. and Hankins, Barry, 2003. ''New Religious Movements and Religious Liberty in America'', Baylor University Press.</ref><ref name="DavidsonHarris2006">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1177/0306396806061086 | last1 = Davidson | first1 = Carl | last2 = Harris | first2 = Jerry | year = 2006 | title = Globalisation, theocracy and the new fascism: the US Right's rise to power | journal = Race and Class | volume = 47 | issue = 3| pages = 47β67 | s2cid = 143793920 }}</ref> as well as to the influence in the broader Christian Right of ideas inspired by Dominion Theology.<ref name="Barron1992a"/> Although such influence (particularly of Reconstructionism) has been described by many authors,<ref name="Martin1996a"/><ref name="Berlet-Lyons2000a">Berlet, Chip and Matthew N. Lyons. 2000. ''Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort''. New York: Guilford Press.</ref> full adherents to Reconstructionism are few and marginalized among conservative Christians.<ref name="Martin1996a"/><ref name="Diamond1998p213">Diamond, Sara, 1998. ''Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right'', New York: Guilford Press, p.213.</ref><ref name="OrtizKennedy">Ortiz, Chris 2007. [http://www.chalcedon.edu/blog/2007_09_01_archive.php#3737641030821242405 "Gary North on D. James Kennedy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091011080305/http://www.chalcedon.edu/blog/2007_09_01_archive.php#3737641030821242405 |date=October 11, 2009 }}, [[Chalcedon Foundation|Chalcedon Blog]], September 6, 2007.</ref> In the early 1990s, sociologist [[Sara Diamond (sociologist)|Sara Diamond]]<ref name="Diamond1995c">Diamond, Sara. 1995. ''Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States''. New York: Guilford Press. {{ISBN|0-89862-864-4}}.</ref><ref name="Diamond1989a">Diamond, Sara. 1989. ''Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right''. Boston: [[South End Press]].</ref> defined ''dominionism'' in her PhD [[dissertation]] as a movement that, while it includes Dominion Theology and Reconstructionism as subsets, is much broader in scope, extending to much of the Christian Right.<ref>In her early work, Diamond sometimes used the term ''dominion theology'' to refer to this broader movement, rather than to the specific theological system of Reconstructionism.</ref> She was followed by journalists who included [[Frederick Clarkson]]<ref name="Clarkson1994a">Clarkson, Frederick, 1994. [http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v08n1/chrisrec.html Christian Reconstructionism: Theocratic Dominionism Gains Influence"], ''[[Political Research Associates|The Public Eye]]'' 8, Nos. 1 & 2, March/June 1994.</ref><ref name="Clarkson1997a">Clarkson, Frederick. 1997. ''Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy''. Monroe, Maine: Common Courage. {{ISBN|1-56751-088-4}}</ref> and [[Chris Hedges]]<ref name="Hedges2004a">[http://www.theocracywatch.org/chris_hedges_nov24_04.htm The Christian Right and the Rise of American Fascism By Chris Hedges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511180104/http://www.theocracywatch.org/chris_hedges_nov24_04.htm |date=May 11, 2008 }}, ''[[TheocracyWatch]]''.</ref><ref name="Hedges2005a">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.harpers.org/archive/2005/05/0080541 |title=Feeling the hate with the National Religious Broadcasters |access-date=April 11, 2007 |last=Hedges |first=Chris |date=May 2005 |magazine=[[Harper's Magazine]]}}</ref><ref name="Hedges2007a">Hedges, Chris, ''American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America'', Free Press, 2006.</ref> and others who have stressed the influence of Dominionist ideas on the Christian right.<ref name="Goldberg2006a">Goldberg, Michelle 2006. ''Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism''. New York: W. W. Norton. {{ISBN|0-393-06094-2}} (10). {{ISBN|978-0-393-06094-2}} (13).</ref><ref>Phillips, Kevin 2006. ''[[American Theocracy]]: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st century'' {{ISBN|0-670-03486-X}}</ref><ref name="McCarraher2006a">McCarraher, Eugene 2006. "Empire Falls", ''[[Commonweal (magazine)|Commonweal]]'' 133(9), May 5, 2006.</ref><ref name="Yurica2005a">Yurica, Katherine 2004. [http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm "The Despoiling of America" published February 11, 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014442/http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm |date=September 28, 2007 }}. Retrieved October 3, 2007. And also published in ''Toward a New Political Humanism'', edited by Barry F. Seidman and Neil J. Murphy, Prometheus Books, New York, 2004.</ref><ref name="Yurica2005b">Yurica, Katherine 2004. [http://www.yuricareport.com/Religion/TheBloodGuiltyChurches.html Blood Guilty Churches] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930221309/http://www.yuricareport.com/Religion/TheBloodGuiltyChurches.html |date=September 30, 2009 }}, January 19, 2005. Retrieved October 6, 2007.</ref><ref name="Yurica2005c">Yurica, Katherine 2005. [http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/Conference/YuricaRespondsToKurtz%20.html Yurica Responds to Stanley Kurtz Attack] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015846/http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/Conference/YuricaRespondsToKurtz%20.html |date=September 28, 2007 }}, May 23, 2005. Retrieved October 6, 2007.</ref><ref name="Maddox2005a">Maddox, Marion 2005. ''God under Howard: The Rise of the Religious Right in Australian Politics'', Allen & Unwin.</ref><ref name="Rudin2006a">Rudin, James 2006. ''The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us'', New York: Thunder's Mouth Press.</ref><ref name="HarrisLAT">Harris, Sam 2007. "[https://latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-harris15mar15,0,5899452.story God's dupes]", ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', March 15, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2007.</ref><ref name="TheocracyWatch2005a">[http://www.theocracywatch.org/ "The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912052937/http://www.theocracywatch.org/ |date=September 12, 2008 }}, ''[[TheocracyWatch]]'', Last updated: December 2005; URL accessed May 8, 2006.</ref> The terms "dominionist" and "dominionism" are rarely used for self-description, and their usage has been attacked from right-leaning quarters. [[Stanley Kurtz]] labeled it "conspiratorial nonsense", "political paranoia", and "[[association fallacy|guilt by association]]",<ref name="Kurtz2005b">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz200505020944.asp |title=Dominionist Domination: The Left runs with a wild theory |author=Stanley Kurtz |date=May 2, 2005 |journal=[[National Review|National Review Online]] |access-date=October 6, 2007}}</ref> and decried Hedges' "vague characterizations" that allow him to "paint a highly questionable picture of a virtually faceless and nameless 'Dominionist' Christian mass."<ref name="Kurtz2005a">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz200504280758.asp |title=Scary Stuff |author=Stanley Kurtz |date=April 28, 2005 |journal=[[National Review|National Review Online]] |access-date=October 6, 2007}}</ref> Kurtz also complained about a perceived link between average Christian evangelicals and [[extremism]] such as [[Christian Reconstructionism]]: <blockquote>The notion that conservative Christians want to reinstitute [[slavery]] and rule by [[genocide]] is not just crazy, it's downright dangerous. The most disturbing part of the ''Harper's'' cover story (the one by Chris Hedges) was the attempt to link Christian conservatives with [[Hitler]] and fascism. Once we acknowledge the similarity between conservative Christians and fascists, Hedges appears to suggest, we can confront Christian evil by setting aside "the old polite rules of democracy." So wild conspiracy theories and visions of genocide are really excuses for the Left to disregard the rules of democracy and defeat conservative Christians β by any means necessary.<ref name="Kurtz2005b"/></blockquote> [[Lisa Miller (journalist)|Lisa Miller]] of ''[[Newsweek]]'' said that many warnings about "dominionism" are "paranoid" and she also said that "the word creates a siege mentality in which 'we' need to guard against 'them.{{'"}}<ref>Miller, Lisa, 2011. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/dominionism-beliefs-among-conservative-christians-overblown/2011/08/17/gIQAb5eaNJ_print.html 'Dominionism' beliefs among conservative Christians overblown]. ''[[Newsweek]]''. Published August 18, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2011.</ref> [[Ross Douthat]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that "many of the people that writers like Diamond and others describe as 'dominionists' would disavow the label, many definitions of dominionism conflate several very different Christian political theologies, and there's a lively debate about whether the term is even useful at all."<ref name="Douthat11b">Douthat, Ross 2011. [http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/the-new-yorker-and-francis-schaeffer/ The New Yorker and Francis Schaeffer]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Published August 29, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.</ref> According to Joe Carter of ''[[First Things]]'', "the term was coined in the 1980s by Diamond and is never used outside liberal blogs and websites. No reputable scholars use the term for it is a meaningless neologism that Diamond concocted for her dissertation",<ref name="Carter11">Carter, Joe, 2011. [http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2011/08/a-journalism-lesson-for-the-new-yorker A Journalism Lesson for the New Yorker]. ''[[First Things]]''. Published August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.</ref> while Jeremy Pierce of ''First Things'' coined the word "dominionismist" to describe those who promote the idea that there is a dominionist conspiracy.<ref name="Pierce11">Pierce, Jeremy, 2011. [http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2011/08/dominionismists/ Dominionismists]. ''[[First Things]]''. Published August 14, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2011.</ref> Another criticism has focused on the proper use of the term. Berlet wrote that "some critics of the Christian Right have stretched the term dominionism past its breaking point",<ref name="Berlet2005a">Berlet, Chip, 2005. [http://www.publiceye.org/feeds/public/berlet/2005/11/christian-right-dominionism-and.html The Christian Right, Dominionism, and Theocracy] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918061837/http://www.publiceye.org/feeds/public/berlet/2005/11/christian-right-dominionism-and.html |date=September 18, 2008 }}. Retrieved September 25, 2007.</ref> and argued that, rather than labeling conservatives as extremists, it would be better to "talk to these people" and "engage them".<ref>Ellis Henican, [http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/Conference/SpiritualOliveBranchChipBerlet_Newsday.html "A spiritual olive branch for the far-right faithful"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006070752/http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/Conference/SpiritualOliveBranchChipBerlet_Newsday.html |date=October 6, 2008 }} ''Newsday'', May 1, 2005. Reposted at YuricaReport.com. Retrieved September 23, 2006</ref> [[Sara Diamond (sociologist)|Sara Diamond]] wrote that "[l]iberals' writing about the Christian Right's take-over plans has generally taken the form of [[conspiracy theory]]", and argued that instead one should "analyze the subtle ways" that ideas like Dominionism "take hold within movements and why."<ref name="Diamond1995b">Diamond, Sara. 1995. "[http://zena.secureforum.com/Znet/ZMag/articles/feb95diamond.htm Dominion Theology]". ''[[Z Magazine]]'', February 1995</ref> Dan Olinger, a professor at the [[Fundamentalist Christianity|fundamentalist]] [[Bob Jones University]] in [[Greenville, South Carolina]], said, "We want to be good citizens and participants, but we're not really interested in using the iron fist of the law to compel people to do everything Christians should do."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/feb/10/bible-user-or-reader/?print=1 |title=Pastors: Christian government not Jesus' cause |work=[[Anderson Independent-Mail]]|date=February 10, 2007 |access-date=December 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314003921/http://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/feb/10/bible-user-or-reader/?print=1 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bob Marcaurelle, interim pastor at Mountain Springs Baptist Church in Piedmont, said the Middle Ages were proof enough that Christian ruling groups are almost always corrupted by power. "When Christianity becomes the government, the question is whose Christianity?" Marcaurelle asked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/16678837.htm|title=Pastors don't embrace movement|work=[[The State (newspaper)|The State]]}}{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20070213/NEWS/702130319|title=Pastors fret Christian group might be a threat|work=StarNewsOnline.com}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page