I recently read Matthew D. Taylor’s excellent The Violent Shall Take it by Force, which describes the origins of the independent charismatic movement of Christianity that was a force behind the January 6 riots. The theologian in me was fascinated by the different religious beliefs either implicit or explicit in their worldviews and attitudes, but one of them has had me thinking for more than a week.
The leaders of this movement prophesy, among other things, that God wants Christians to dominate. This belief in their divinely ordained triumph guides much of the rest of their beliefs and actions. It’s hard for me to see how someone can, on the one hand, say they take the Gospel seriously, and on the other hand, believe that God would reveal such a message and subsequently let it lead them to all manner of behavior that contradicts the Gospel.
One of my guiding principles in discernment is think twice if you hear God telling you to do the easy thing. By “easy” I mean those things that stem from our basest human nature. It’s “easy” to take more than our fair share, to live lavishly, to get back at people when we feel wronged, to reject the stranger or the weak, to bully, to be selfish, to harm. Perhaps this is why the Scripture is constantly reminding us not to do these things.
When you live as if there are more important things than winning or having your own way, there are folks ready to make fun of you. You’re a loser, a fool. You take the path that gives you meaning rather than wealth. You put others needs above your own. You resist the cutting remark. You walk away from the silly conflict instead of proving you can win an argument. You respect the outcome of an election when it doesn’t go your way.
Dominance is the preeminent “virtue” of our times. It can be mighty attractive, I grant you, but I don’t believe you can worship the God of the Bible and worship domination. There’s nothing wrong with winning, but you can’t win at all costs, or let domination be the principle driver of your actions. A Christian’s earthly pursuits have to operate within the constraints of the Gospel, which tells us to take the plank out of our own eye and to store up our treasures in heaven, that the last shall be first and that God endured humiliation and the cross. I admire how the adherents of this movement keep listening for God’s word, but we should be on guard against messages that pull us away from the hard work of following the word we have already heard. The Reign of God is among us, waiting to be lived.
I deliberately limited myself to one component of this movement’s theology – no attempt here to cover all the bases. I encourage you to read the whole book!
