https://www.crikey.com.au/topic/god-in-the-lodge/
The Crikey series is worthy of
consideration and yet typical of such journalism it offers a secular assessment
that deals with issues that at times the authors and editors clearly don't
understand. Given that the name of the publication is tantamount to blasphemy,
one must expect a degree of hostility to the Christian faith. But it shouldn't
scare us or cause to dismiss the reporting out of hand.
In terms of their criticism of Morrison and Evangelicalism,
the publication exhibits the all too typical failure to acknowledge that
everyone brings their belief system with them, and applies it to their daily
life, and no one is truly objective. Even a democracy-inspired ideological devotion
to pure unadulterated consensus (which no one actually holds to) also expresses
a set of values, which in that case happen to be subjective – a problematic notion
which creates its own set of ethical tangles when it comes to issues such as the
basis of law and questions of precedent. There is a spectrum to the questions
surrounding democracy, something critical journalists or sometimes opposition
politicians fail to understand.
The Christian interest with regard to the Morrison story is
whether or not his views are in accord with Scripture and whether or not his
applied ethics harmonize with what the New Testament teaches. The answer is a
resounding 'no'. While we can agree that sodomite rights, and abortion are
wrong, the road by which Morrison arrived at these political positions (and his
larger motivation to enter politics) is not the Biblical one and his attempt to
transform these ethics (and his larger sub-biblical belief system) into social
policy and a means to dominate, is rooted in fundamental theological errors.
The end result is that the Church is sidetracked, led astray, and the way of
truth is evil spoken of – not for the gospel but for the way the power is
wielded and deceit and double-talk are employed.
Fundamentally misunderstanding the nature and purpose of
God's Kingdom and the Church in this age, he like all Dominionists is in
pursuit of another project, the end result being at best a kind of counterfeit
kingdom. The Scriptures speak of those who are deceiving and being deceived, something
that has to be kept in mind when weighing the totality of Morrison's endeavours.
All that said, the news story does bear investigating and it
reveals something of the Christians who depart down this road. The journalist
is flawed, defective in his reporting, and often misunderstanding the
underlying issues. But there is a story here and while Christian concerns are
going to be of a different nature, the series has some value and there's much
that can be gleaned from it – even if it's other than what the blaspheming
anti-Christian journalist intended. We shouldn't let the shortcomings of
secular journalism and lost thinking cause us to dismiss all that's being said.
The fact that Morrison is Prime Minister of Australia should concern us,
especially given its place in Pacific and East Asian geopolitics.
When it comes to Morrison's thinking and influences the role
of Pentecostalism is palpable and this takes us into a wider discussion
concerning groups like Hillsong, and the American Christian Right.
Reading about Morrison's relationship with the American Right
and the recent congressional visit to Australia, we must note it's not the
first time the US has meddled in Australian politics. In fact America has been
involved in Australian politics since the conclusion of WWII. But the last time
it was overtly done was during the Cold War when the US played a role in ousting
Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975. But that was at a time when China had
flipped over to the US column, and the US had abandoned Vietnam. This time the
stakes are much higher as Australia is a front-line state in America's ever-widening
clash with Beijing.
If the Australian secular media is disturbed about Morrison,
and his American Right-wing and Evangelical connections, as a Christian I am
far more concerned.
If Morrison acts recklessly and lies with abandon it's likely
due to his Dominionist ethics – power is the ultimate means and end, winning is
what matters and he wouldn't be the first person in power to lose his way as a
result. They start out with the highest goals and ideals but when real power is
wielded these same objectives and ethics fall prey to pragmatism and are
quickly dispensed with. Lies are permissible in the course of seeking the
greater good which is defined as political victory. Secrecy also seems to be
inherent when it comes to Christian politicking and that too tends to generate
mendacity. Bush was accused of much the same. The agenda is often anti-democratic
and in other cases cabinet heads are specifically appointed to subvert the role
of the organisation or agency they head. One can't just dispense with it
altogether without generating scandal. But if it's gutted from within, that can
be done largely off-radar or by the time the media or opposition politicians pick
up on it, the damage is done. We've seen it before. In American politics it
began in earnest under Reagan as he sought to de-regulate industry and break
environmental restrictions. Men were appointed who lied and specifically lied
about what they were doing and what their goals were.
The Pentecostal edge takes this story into a different realm
as the minimal restraint of the Scripture is removed. Cessationist Dominionists
can be appealed to – to a point. But a man carried away by visions and private
communications, there's no telling where that can go.
Of course if one believes that Prophecy properly speaking has
ceased and that the Pentecostal/Charismatic prophetic construct is false to
begin with – then one must ask just what people like Morrison are actually experiencing?
Self-delusion? Maybe. Spiritual influence? Maybe, and in some cases quite
likely. But given what the New Testament says about the finality of revelation
rooted in the apostles – then it could be argued that the spiritual influence
is in fact unwholesome. One cannot deny that such people open themselves up to
that world and the distinct possibility of deception.
We can say that in terms of Providence, Morrison was indeed chosen
but such a choice might in fact be judgment on Australia and on the Australian
church. Providential selection does not necessarily indicate favour, blessing,
or some kind of special covenant place or plan. Providence also selected
Nebuchadnezzar and other bestial agents such as Alexander and Caesar and in
modern times men like Hitler and Stalin.
In terms of the special kind of call that Morrison believes
he received – he did not receive it. For all that he is, all that he pursues,
and the way he pursues it is contrary to the New Testament. God did not call
him to that. These folks quote the 'for such a time as this' phrase from Esther
ad nauseum, but their call is not
from God, and He did not send them. They are pursuing dreams and delusions born
of their own hearts and of ideas that others (and other forces) have planted
within them.
Those that claim to do so in God's name must therefore be
reckoned as false prophets.
Morrison would not be that unusual in the American context
but he is in the Anglo-Australian world. And yet the churches in that part of
the world have changed and are changing – Dominionism has given them a new
energy and impetus, and the Evangelical-marketing approach to Christianity
fills churches. It doesn't mean that any of its Biblical and it's likely that
many of the people are in fact unregenerate. But it tickles ears. Godliness
becomes gain, the pews are filled, and people are energised. Mammon is made
holy and the financial taps are opened.
Dominionism is the elephant in the room, motivating people
like Morrison, and politicians such as George Christensen, Amanda Stoker, and Eric
Abetz. Integralism is another term that needs to be employed more frequently as
the lines have blurred between Evangelicals and Roman Catholics. In Catholic
and Orthodox circles integralism communicates the same body of ideas, albeit sometimes
in a slightly different form.
Dominionism has largely been imported from the USA and it's
interesting to note how now the Australian Right has even borrowed from some of
the American Christian Right's revisionist tricks – including quotes on their
websites from the once hated and despised Martin Luther King Jr. in order to
reach a larger demographic. The Christian Right vehemently opposed him in the
1960's and yet they've appropriated his legacy and have attempted to steal the
larger civil rights narrative. It's amazing that this specifically American
type of revisionism has found its way across the ocean.
With regard to Dominionism, it's also noteworthy that
Morrison's connections brought him to the US in 2011 when he attended the
National Prayer Breakfast – an event sponsored by The Family, the secretive Christian Right organisation that has
been demonstrated to play a role behind the scenes in American politics and (like
so many similar organisations in the secular sphere) it grooms and taps future
leaders – and helps them to make the connections they'll need to ascend the
political ladder. Morrison has obvious connections to the American Christian
Right. They've done their bit through their ecclesiastical channels and within
the circles of American power to aid and abet Morrison and quid pro quo he's promoting their narratives and policies, ideas
(we assume) he also happens to believe in.
The network has now become international, the fulfillment of (and in other cases a permutation of) Billy Graham's vision launched at Lausanne in 1974. Graham wanted Christians involved in statecraft and the shaping of society and while these movements haven't always shared Graham's style and have at times ranged beyond his scope of vision, they've reached a point where their influence has become plain for all to see. From Europe, to Latin America, Africa, parts of Asia, and now Australia, the American style of Evangelicalism which arose in the aftermath of WWII has now become a dominant force and the de facto orthodoxy within Protestantism. Its functional union with Roman Catholic Integralism is not complete but well under way and Graham, as well as other figures like Francis Schaeffer, and Charles Colson played a large role in this. Morrison and the many politicians like him are part of their legacy.