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Pentecostalism – The decline, infiltration and fall of Australian Democracy

By Steve Davies

Pentecostalism – The decline, infiltration and fall of Australian Democracy

There is a strong sentiment that there’s something not right with the Morrison Government. There is also a sentiment something is not right with Prime Minister Morrison’s leadership.

These sentiments and concerns have gradually increased since Morrison’s “miracle” election win in 2019. Broadly speaking, that increase is due to the aggressive and arrogant manner in which this government has pursued its agenda.

As important as they are, set aside the many policy issues for the moment and you are left scratching your head. What is driving this government to behave so aggressively and arrogantly after an election win?

All of these questions, sentiments, views and concerns have increased further due to the reactions of this Prime Minister and that of his government to Australia’s bushfire disasters and its ongoing denial of the global climate crisis.

There have been recurring questions and reports in both the mainstream media and social media concerning Morrison’s religion – Pentecostalism. Some of these reports highlight the secrecy of the Pentacostalism.

“ … it is also a characteristic of Pentecostalism itself. Little more than a century old, this highly distinctive expression of Christianity has flourished in the spiritual marketplace by selling a feel-good message to seekers while keeping the full truth for trusted true believers.”

However, there is actually quite a lot of information that lifts the veil on the nature of Pentecostalism. In particular, the ideas and strategies that drive its ‘influence’ in the world of politics and government.

The conclusion I have come to is that serious questions need to be asked of the Prime Minister and his government.

We, the people, need to demand transparency from government on these issues. Religious influence is one thing. Dominance another.

The conversation that we must have

It is well known that the Christian Right seeks to shape government and society. The question is to what extent is the Australian Government is in the grip of dominionism and Pentecostalism? Arguably you can see this influence in this government’s stance on climate change, social welfare, employment policies, religious freedom and education.

Morrison has made no secret of his religious beliefs and affiliations – Pentacostalism. In addition, there have been questions about the influence of his religion in the press, social media and the wider community. Questions about his religious beliefs and affiliations have been further amplified by his response, as Prime Minister, to the bushfires that have ravaged Australia since September 2019.

What I am writing here is not an attack on the religious freedom of politicians as private citizens. The information I am presenting concerns dominionist strategies associated with the Pentecostalist movement and Christian Right. Strategies intended to shape and dominate governments and societies.

The strategies in question are known as the Seven Mountains Mandate. The Seven mountains mandate has a long history. It is a dominionist strategy for transforming nations and with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The advocates of this strategy have taken to using the term sphere’s of influence rather than mountains. They are doing so to soften the language. Why? To slide under the radar. To minimise resistance.

The marketing and communication is very clever. However, at the end of it the agenda is the same. To conquer the seven mountains to transform nations in the image of a particular brand of Christianity.

These strategies and their underpinnings raise serious questions concerning the infiltration of Australia’s system of government – the policies it sets and, indeed, its behaviour. Seeking to influence is one thing, seeking to dominate another.

The ideology of dominionism remains a divisive issue within the broader the fundamentalist movement itself. It has been reported that attempts have been made to recast dominionism as a benign influence (to soften the language), in order to deceive people. There is more detailed information in this Church Watch Central article; Is your church part of Houston’s NARpostolic Australian ‘Christian Churches’ (ACC) network?

Church Watch is essentially a religious research group:

“Founded by pastors, elders and members from various denominations around Australia (now with pastoral contributors from around the world), CWC investigates and publishes news on controversies, reports on scandals, resources on discernment and tools to identify cults and sects.”

They state:

“We wish to be factual as we can on Church Watch Central. If there is any information on ChurchWatch Central that you think is not accurate, please contact us at c3churchwatch@hotmail.com. All constructive criticism will be appreciated.”

There has always been tension over the separation of church and state in Australia. In view of the activities of what is broadly coated the Christian Right and the dominionist ideology we need to revisit that issue in 2020 with a particular focus on the degree of infiltration and the influence of the Seven Mountains Mandate on government policy making.

Decline

Between 2010 and 2018 public trust in Australia’s democracy, its institutions and leaders has more than halved. Research undertaken by the Museum of Australian Democracy predicts that:

“By 2025 if nothing is done and current trends continue, fewer than 10 per cent of Australians will trust their politicians and political institutions — resulting in ineffective and illegitimate government, and declining social and economic wellbeing”.

The decline in trust was sparked by conflicts within the Rudd Government. Those conflicts became public and resulted in the removal of the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the installation of Julia Gillard as Prime Minister.

The Liberal Party under Tony Abbott exploited those divisions to win office in 2013. The tactics used by the Liberal Party to gain power emboldened them to aggressively pursue a policy agenda that did not match the promises it made during the election. That resulted in a further decline in public trust.

Due to the falling popularity of the government Tony Abbott was removed from the Prime Ministership. He was replaced by Malcolm Turnbull. Prime Minister Turnbull attempted to shift and soften policy directions. Contrary to expectations within the Liberal Party Turnbull barely won the election. Hence, the seeds of conflict festered and grew within the Turnbull Government.

Conflicts between the extreme right and moderate wings of the Liberal Party resulted in two leadership spills. The eventual result of these leadership spills was the installation of Scott Morrison as Prime Minister on 18 August 2018. Scott Morrison called an election for May 2019 and won with a wafer thin majority.

The Morrison Government has continued with a policy agenda driven by its extreme right. Public disquiet with its policies and approach has grown. The Morrison Government’s weak approach to climate change, coupled with its reaction to the bushfires that have devastated large areas of Australia and have outraged Australians and the world.

Public trust is still at an all time low. The tipping point alluded to by the Museum of Australian Democracy in its December 2018 report Trust and Democracy in Australia remains.

Indeed, we are arguably past the tipping point due to the arrogance shown by the Morrison Government since the last election. An arrogance underlined by the horrific impacts of the bushfires, the government’s refusal to accept the science of climate change and listen to the public.

The gulf between the government and the community is clear – Australia found to be much less divided on need to tackle climate change than US.

Infiltration

The community and media are scratching their heads over the reaction of the Prime Minister and his Government to climate change and the bushfires. This is on top of disquiet over policies as diverse as those associated with financial institutions, Newstart, Aged Care, health and more. Increasingly the sentiment is that we do not have a normal government.

There are also deep concerns over the behaviour of government politicians and, to this day, concerns about the influence of Pentecostalism within the Morrison Government. Concerns about dominionism and the Seven Mountains mandate have been raised some media reports.

An excellent 2011 report by Chrys Stevenson; Is the Australian Christian Lobby dominionist? states:

“They say when the United States sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. And so it is with dominionism. Now an international movement, dominionism is thriving in Australia.

From local parents and citizens associations to regional councils, from our previously secular state schools to state government departments and even within Parliament House, Canberra, this particular clique of evangelical Christian extremists is working quietly but assiduously to tear down the division between church and state, subvert secularism and reclaim this nation for Jesus.

But, is there sufficient evidence to suggest that the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is at the forefront of this ideological holy war? In order to achieve their aim, dominionists plan to infiltrate, influence and eventually take over seven key spheres of society: business, government (including the military and the law), media, arts and entertainment, education, the family and religion.”

The Seven Mountains Mandate is essentially a Christian Right strategy of political and cultural infiltration and conquest.

The mandate has a long history and is also a means of unifying and growing the Christian Right. Some say, of dominating Christianity itself. The Christian right and neo-conservative politics increasingly work hand in glove. The mandate is a strategic theocratic weapon.

The convergence of interests between the Christian Right and neo-conservatives was reflected in the election of Donald Trump and, indeed, in the election of Scott Morrison.

“The parallels between Donald Trump’s unexpected triumph and Scott Morrison’s “miracle” election win are remarkable. A week on, it’s increasingly apparent this was a Trump-like victory.”

This convergence is so strong that after Scott Morrison’s election victory:

“Some of Australia’s most extreme Christian-right parties have withdrawn from politics, claiming the election of Prime Minister Scott Morrison had rendered them redundant.”

In Australia, as in America, it is evident that:

“Dominionism, like the Christian Right itself, has come a long way from obscure beginnings. What is remarkable today is that the nature of this driving ideology of the Christian Right remains obscure to most of society, most of the time. Dominionism’s proponents and their allies know it takes time to infuse their ideas into the constituencies most likely to be receptive. They also know it is likely—and rightly—to alarm many others.

It is time to ring the alarm bells over the influence of dominionism in Australia and the very real threat it poses to our system of government, democracy and society.

Fall

In a very real sense Australian democracy has already fallen. Public trust in our institutions has collapsed. We have a government that simply does not listen.

We have a government under the influence of a religious ideology that advocates the establishment of a theocracy. Capturing the Government Mountain through “Archangels” is one of the keys to that.

We have a government whose behaviour and actions suggest that it has adopted the strategies and intent of the Seven Mountain Mandate. One indication of that is the Religious Freedom Bill.

One thing is certainly clear in all of this. This government needs to come clean on the influence of this religious ideology on its behaviour, policies and actions.

I will be writing more about these matters in the very near future.

 

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25 comments

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  1. Peter Stock

    Expanded detail, please.

  2. Andrew Smith

    Difficult to parse through who is manipulating whom regarding evangelicals, conservatives, usual think tanks, media and white nationalists, but the influence and architecture is no doubt of US origins.

    Good description from 2008 in Nativist Bedfellows
    The Christian Right Embraces Anti-Immigrant Politics:

    ‘A segment of the contemporary Christian Right continues to mobilize around the belief that the United States was founded as a Christian country. According to these “Christian nationalists,” America is God’s chosen land, a “city on a hill” to echo 17th century Puritan writings, that must set an example to the rest of the world of a nation governed by Christian principles.18 Secularists and moral relativists represent a threat to the Christian nation, in their view, but so, too, do those who challenge American (i.e. conservative Anglo-Protestant) cultural norms, such as immigrants who bring their own religious beliefs into the country.’

    https://www.politicalresearch.org/2008/06/06/nativist-bedfellows-the-christian-right-embraces-anti-immigrant-politics

  3. John

    It seems to me that we should seriously examine the influence of American right wing christians and both their direct and indirect influence on Australian politics.
    Check out
    The Project Blitz organization
    The Family as described by Jeff Sharlett in his book with that title
    The Alliance Defending Freedom

    The Family has been actively working to undermine and kind of left wing or anything remotely resembling socialism for several decades. It has members all over the world including “conservative” Australian politicians and most probably other key members of the establishment..
    Both Tony Abbott and Kevin Andrews have given speeches at gabfests put on by the Alliance – Abbott at least twice. Two or three years ago Quadrant magazine featured an essay wherein the author defended the Alliance and its project for defending “religious liberty” against the prejudices of the dreaded liberals and progressives.

    There are of course numerous other similar outfits in Amerika. I would not be at all surprised if the Australian christian lobby has links with these outfits.

    Fortunately for us here in the Land of Oz our “religious” politics are nowhere near as extreme as in Amerika.

  4. Pete Petrass

    Everything about religion and the belief in imaginary sky fairies is nothing but a massive con. Religions that demand a percentage of every (brainwashed) follower are nothing short of criminals

  5. Michael

    @ Andrew:

    This is a relatively new phenomenon, becoming public here in the states right around WW1, but its roots date back to the early 19th century, and the death of the Deist Republic of the founders within 20 years of 1789. They say they worship God and Jesus, but what they really worship is Mammon. It’s disgusting, because they want power, just like any other venal capitalist. The other thing is that there is no doctrine of stewardship in Pentacostalism, which Scomo’s behavior re: the fires brings to light, and is also a capitalist belief. Use up the planet & die. Damn the Puritans.

  6. Alison

    A very interesting and well researched article. I am one who has been aware of the dominant trend of far right religious policies since Howard’s era.
    These extreme views seemed to manifest under Howard’s reign but have now become way over the top. And the culprits need to be stopped.
    The movement is insidious and extremely dangerous to Australia’s democracy.

  7. John O'Callaghan

    If Jesus is real…/ i dont believe he is… and he came back to Earth from where ever he presently resides and based on his supposed teachings then he would have his whip out in a flash, and would chase and whip Houston Morrison Trump and the rest of the faux hypocritical bastards out of their”Temples” and get straight to work helping the poor and oppressed of this world.

    These people and their respective organizations are a giant con, they can be Tele.. Evangelists... Assemblies Of God... Brian Houstons nut cases... it doesn't matter!.... they are all about building and maintaining their power base and fleecing you of every last red cent you possess until you have no other choice but total subservient resignation and capitulation to their sick criminal and debauched doctrine. ......

  8. Aortic

    As Clive James once said, ” religion is an advertising medium for a product that does not exist.” Anyone who has that snake oil piece of shit Brian Houston as a mentor seriously needs to take a good hard look at themselves. The fact that he is ” running” the country should scare the living daylights out of everyone. I note that two investigative journalists have written a now best seller called ” a Very Stable Genius” all about Trumps idiotic behaviour and outright lies from the time he commenced his Presidential run until the present. Scary stuff indeed, and with the U.K. Being torn apart by the old ” born to rule” Etonian any semblance of for the people, by the people is no more than a pipe dream. More than time for us supposedly quiet Australians to make a loud noise and hold these hapless bastards to account. If our only resort is the laughingly called Questions without Notice we are doomed.

  9. paul walter

    On the subject of Happy Clappies, the news reports that the fate of Mckenzie is decided TODAY, as a report by a Morrison functionaries is discussed in cabinet

  10. David Paull

    Nice overview thanks. One point you touched on which i think is critical is the marriage between a ‘classical’ free-market ideology (outsourcing and attack on public service and accountability) and the adoption of pentacostalism (or lets say conservative religious views) as our new ethical foundation. Same pattern that we find in the US. No co-incidence that Morrison and Trump are pretty much singing from the same hymn book. Unless we stop them, the whole country will burn to the ground.

  11. Nexus321

    Pete Petrass – good tax exempt business model though. To extort from the weak minded and gullible like the PM.

  12. Colin Mackay

    One important aspect I think was overlooked in this article, which is made explicit here https://images.app.goo.gl/kfDo2GLjGQaUCUMs7 , are the structures and strategies which sit above the ‘7 mountains’. Namely; government i.e. the goal is to govern (publicly) while the organisation is ‘governed’ privately. And the 3 strategies pursued within each of the ‘mountains’ namely wealth creation (they often speak of the ‘great wealth transfer’ from the ‘secular’ (government) to the sacred (think of religious bodies providing (exclusively) public services, without impediment #killthebill; or the Indue welfare card); warfare, the targeted promotion of chosen individuals, or diminution of ‘enemies (psyops) think Cambridge Analytica but better targeted; and teaching, attaining the correct thought patterns in individuals through punishment and reward.

    That said, good article!

  13. Jack Cade

    In my experience and opinion (drawn from that experience – working with bible-bashing colleagues), the adherents of the various sub-groups of ‘Christians’ join one or other sub-group that does not frown on their particular sin. The Pentecostals have convinced themselves that naked, untrammelled greed is actually a virtue.

  14. calculus witherspoon.

    Fundamentalism of any type, religious ideological, you name it, is a symptom of retreat from mental effort in sorting through complexities, usually through exasperation, as opportunists infect wounds of contestation after the likes of Alan Jones the tabloid msm and mega church frauds.

    The same thing has happened off shore involving other religions and philosophical systems, derived from political crises of various kinds, the patterns are too familiar.

    Hence Jack Cade’s observations as to wilfully misreadings of theology, metaphysics, ideology etc in the interests of opportunists with no actual feeling regarding ideas and hopes for humanity. There is a universe of difference between the biblical Beatitudes and the self absorbed, false consciousness alibis of religious fundamentalists seeking money or the drug of power to compensate for not being able to take life on life’s term or have normal relationships with others.

  15. James Cook

    Well written but short on verifiable evidence. I’m already convinced of the influence of pentacostalism in our government, to Australia’s detriment, but there’s not much here to use as an argument supporting that view.

  16. Harvey

    James, true, we need a longer evidence that is verifiable. Re the influence of any given religion on a politician, people are influenced according to their programmed susceptibility to be influenced. As most politicians are seeking power, it stands to reason that their underlying commonality is a lack of power thus their constant searching for ways to be perceived as being more powerful than they actually are. Picking a religion that offers to fill the power void is common. Which footy team do you follow? How a fringe religion helps to deal with the ebb and flow of mainstream politics is beyond me.

  17. Terence Mills

    interesting that Trump when seeking the religious vote posed outside a church clutching a book which may have been the Bible : now that he has lost the election he has lost interest in religions and just plays golf on Sundays.

  18. DrakeN

    I maintain that any person of firm religious conviction should be automatically disbarred from all public positions of legislative, regulatory and administrative authority on the basis of either 1. mental incompetence and/or 2. lying for personal gain.

    My opinion that: “Religions are the longest running most successful confidence tricks ever imposed on humanity” remains firm.

  19. George Theodoridis

    I think I’ve just heard Trump choke on these words: I have seen the light but it was switched off! Who switched the light off?

  20. Doug Steley

    The main problem is the prosperity gospel mantra of these people

  21. Doug Steley

    Prosperity Gospel 101
    If you are healthy wealthy and powerful then that is because you love god and god has blessed you.
    If you are poor sick disabled and powerless that is YOUR FAULT because you hate god and god is punishing you.

    If you are the person who is responsible for being poor sick and powerless then why should the healthy wealthy and powerful help you ?

    This is victim blaming to the extreme but it’s the entire message of the Hillsong cult.

    And so many of our government and now our public service have accepted this as being “God’s Truth” 🙁

  22. wam

    Religion is by men for men but it cannot exist without the hand that rocks the cradle. So let me blame the victim???
    ps The kormilda kids of 45 years ago would back up their truth with the exclamation: “…true god and the bible, oirmay

  23. Pingback: The Race To The Bottom In Our Return to the Moonlight State - New Matilda

  24. Williambtm

    DrakeN. How much did God or Jesus help the USA after their illegal invasion of Afghanistan?
    Make that all of their recent Arabic States illegal invasions, many hundreds and thousands of people were slaughtered by this same that still goes on in the wake of America’s illegal invasions. In truth, America was after the oil beneath those sandhill countries.
    Another obvious perplexity, how is it the region known as the bible-belt in America has the most religious adherents?

    The claim that America is some sort of wonderland of religious believers holds as much credibility as the Sun rising from the South.
    References to Snake-oil, Alan Jones, Ivan Milat, Scomo is great, Idi Amin, John Howard, Tony Abbott, a bucket of poop, all are one and the same.
    Our World would all the better be without the above-nominated references.

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