Book review: Christian Jihad
by Colonel V. Doner
★★★★★
The Lord God is the universal governor of all nations. Humans are unable to govern justly without Scripture as their governing authority, the Bible is the only standard by which to run a government, there is no absolute separation of church and state. –The Coalition on Revival
“Yeah, uh-huh,” I said to myself as publicist Kathleen Campbell promised me a review book that is “really GOOD!” Well, she was right on the money, though it turned out to be also a bit frightening. Christian Jihad is a look at religion gone wrong and the infringement of Church upon State.
The Coalition on Revival prepared a series of seventeen documents for Christian living, and promptly informed its readers and members that they had “determined that it is mandatory for all Christians to implement this worldview in society.” On Independence Day, 1986, at the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. James Kennedy, the COR’s keynote speaker who had just been voted Clergyman of the Year, said the documents “had the historical significance of the Magna Carta or the Declaration of Independence.” The San Francisco Examiner held a different opinion: “700 preachers shepherding 600 million born-again Christians gathered here not so much to celebrate America as to plot to take it over. The funny thing, if you have a bizarre sense of humor, is that they have a heck of a chance of succeeding.” Colonel V. Doner, this book’s author, describes signing a “blood oath,” a solemn covenant with Almighty God that he was willing to be martyred in order to do God’s will.
Yes, this is an autobiography of sorts, and I was hooked from page two. Doner was a founding member of the fundamentalist Christian Right in the 1970’s and 80’s and a leader of the radical Theocratic Dominionist movement at the end of the millennium. An insider from his impressionable teenage years, Doner gives us the scoop on fundamentalist agendas, including how they spill over into political campaigns such as those of Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, and Michelle Bachmann. As an insider, he qualifies to explain just how powerful the grip of fundamentalist religion can be, the unswerving, complete confidence that one knows the absolute Truth of God and the socio-political worldwide agenda of that God.
Doner devotes an entire chapter to Sarah Palin, whom he discredits through her association with the religious right. I choose not to involve myself in political issues on this blog, so in fairness to our modern-day Esther, I’ll admit that Doner’s treatment will strike many as an unsubstantiated smear. After all, understanding others and seeking common ground, he says, may be the way to disarm neo-fundamentalists.
The book’s final section provides a challenge to “make Jesus’ number-one command of love the test of who’s truly a ‘Born-Again Christian’.”Doner appears to have lived out his suggestion before proposing it. He left behind his “neo-fundamentalist Washington power trip” long enough to devote an uninterrupted week for prayer and prioritizing, and in the book’s final pages, he describes his 180-degree turnaround, devoting himself just as earnestly now toward humanitarian interests. I was inspired at Doner’s closing words: “I’ve come home to God’s love at last. I am truly born again.”
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Fantasy Football, Anyone?
Put on the whole uniform of the Team, that ye may be able to stand against the blitz of oncoming linebackers. Don the hip pads of truth, the shoulder pads of righteousness, the cleats of preparation. Don’t forget the facemask of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then clutch the pigskin with much Spirit, for that is what the Play Book of your Coach in Heaven demands.The River of Life
Twice before Lee Harmon has written about Christian topics, once on the gospel of John and once on the book of Revelation. But the question people keep asking him is this: As a liberal Christian, why do you care so much about the Bible? Others wonder whether he is truly a Christian at all.
The Way It Happened
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| Revelation: A love story gone awry. | The Gospel: A love story set aright. |
What really happened 2,000 years ago? How did a persecuted minority of end-time believers known as Christians, with their dreams of Armageddon and a conquering Messiah named Jesus, evolve into the largest religion in the world? Author Lee Harmon explores the period in which the New Testament was written in his books about John's Gospel and Revelation.
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About Lee
Hello! I'm an author, historical Jesus scholar, book reviewer, and liberal Christian, which means I appreciate and attempt to exercise the humanitarian teachings of Jesus without getting hung up on any particular supernatural or religious beliefs.
The Bible is a magnificent book that has inspired and spiritually fed generations for thousands of years, and each new century seems to bring a deeper understanding of life’s purpose. This is true of not only Christianity; through the years, our age-old religions are slowly transforming from superstitious rituals into humanitarian philosophies. In short, we are growing up, and I am thrilled to be riding the wave.
I avidly read all thought-provoking religion titles. New authors: I'd love to read and review your book!
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Hi! While Lee writes the articles and reviews the books, I edit, organize, and maintain the blog. The views expressed here are Lee's but I'm his biggest supporter! :-)
“our modern-day Esther”?????????????
lol … an evocative comparison, don’t you think? Esther is my mother’s favorite book in the Bible, and probably my least favorite.
Evocative, yes, but accurate? Esther was a champion; our Governor SP quit mid-term. I was a great t-shirt when SP was trying to get the Presidential nomination, which read – “Sarah Palin – 2012-2014 1/2.” As to Esther, I think Vashti was as much a champion as Esther, as she refused to allow herself to be exploited, at great risk.
Without speaking to her success or failure, Palin is the strikingly beautiful champion of the religious right. What frightens those on the wrong side of her religious alliance is what she may do when she gets into Washington. If she follows in the path of the original Esther, we’re in for a bloody cultural war.
Mind you, I’m not voicing my own opinion, merely echoing the fears of her adversaries.
While Jesus never rode into Rome to take down the corrupt government I am afraid Palin would have. Corruption deals with itself and finally ends up nowhere. Think Jesus knew that? We need to be about the business of love in our own lives, it is the only way to deal with the logs of religion which are clogging our eyes as we have become judges and censures instead of lovers and friends!
Hi Laude! Sounds like we’re on the same page!