A few weeks ago, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association (AFA), sent out an email blast that began:
AFA meets with Air Force -- my report to you
September 19, 2013
Dear Friend,
The American Family Association participated in high level meetings at the Pentagon on September 12, for a frank discussion on the loss of religious freedom by Christians in the Air Force and the Defense Department in general. See AFA's Press Release here.
We made our point very clear...Christian soldiers and airmen have the right to express their faith and to maintain deeply held religious convictions in every area including homosexuality and homosexual marriage.
Representing AFA was cultural expert, talk show host and author, Sandy Rios. Also present were representatives from Family Research Council, Chaplains Alliance for Religious Liberty, and Alliance Defending Freedom, part of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition which was launched in July.
The AFA, as I wrote in my previous post on this subject (which contains a lot of details that I'm going to skip here), is part of a new coalition of fundamentalist Christian organizations called the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition. This coalition was formed a few months ago for one reason -- to lobby for the Fleming amendment to the FY14 National Defense Authorization Act, an amendment that would allow anti-gay discrimination and harassment in the military under the guise of "religious liberty."
As I also wrote in my previous post, another subject of the September 12 meeting between Pentagon officials and representatives of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition was to get assurances from the Pentagon that Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), didn't have the influence at the Pentagon that a rumor started by ... um ... the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition claimed he had. Yes, they had a meeting to get assurances that a rumor they themselves started wasn't true!
One of the leaders of the Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition, who was at this Pentagon meeting representing the Family Research Council (FRC), is retired general William "Jerry" Boykin.
Now, with that background out of the way, let's get on to the point of this post.
As has been widely reported over the last few days, Rick Joyner, the head of MorningStar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries, has proposed a "military takeover" and "martial law" as the only hope to prevent the "serious tyranny" that we're headed for under the Obama administration.
On the September 30 episode of his Prophetic Perspectives on Current Events TV show, Joyner said:
"We're headed for serious tyranny. I think we've been used in some wonderful and powerful ways by God. We've been one of the most generous nations in history. We've done so much good. And that's why I appeal to the Lord: Don't let us be totally destroyed. Please, raise up those who will save us. And as I start telling friends from a long time that no election's going to get the right person in there that can restore us because the system is so broken, so undermined right now -- the whole system. I believe our only hope is a military takeover -- martial law. And that the most crucial element of that is who to the martial [marshal?] is going to be. I believe there are noble leaders in our military that love the republic and love everything we stand for. And they could seize the government."
Scary, huh? And what makes it even scarier is that a frequent guest on Rick Joyner's Prophetic Perspectives on Current Events and other shows is none other that retired 3-star general Jerry Boykin, the same retired general who met with Pentagon officials a couple of weeks ago as a representative of one of the primary organizations in the so-called Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition. In fact, Boykin was the guest on Joyner's Prophetic Perspectives on Current Events for four of the five episodes in the week leading up to his September 30 proposal for a military takeover of the government.
Boykin is also a collaborator in and board member of Rick Joyner's Oak Initiative, an organization of hundreds of Christian leaders whose stated purpose includes:
"For us, it is not simply about measuring, evaluating, or responding to the change around us but rather being change-agents and facilitating change in every aspect of our culture as we, the Oak Initiative, become infused into the areas of social, cultural, and political impact wherever we find ourselves. As individuals, being responsive where we work and live, as a group, conveying a message of true hope and sound change based on wisdom, communicated with grace and patience -- with a long term goal in mind -- the preparation of the Church to be all she is meant to be in a world that is waiting for her unveiling."
These people, my friends, are what are known as "dominionists," a term that means just what it sounds like -- these people believe that they have a mandate to take dominion over everybody and everything. This isn't a label that I'm placing on them; it is their language. So, I'm going to let them explain it to you for themselves. Take a minute to read this article, "How to Walk in Dominion," from Charisma Magazine, the opening line of which is "God never intended for His people to live in defeat. He destined you to rule," and explains that "The church's voice is resounding with the desire to see the manifestation of our God-given assignment to rule and reign over the earth (see Gen. 1:26-28)."
And what else does this same Charisma Magazine promote? Rick Joyner's Oak Initiative, an organization that has from its first appeal for leaders to join them used language very similar to Joyner's shocking September 30 statement, saying from its inception in 2010:
"Our God is a martial God, and we must run toward the battle in order to have victory. Above all, we cannot fight to boost our egos or for earthly glory. We must run to the guns and face our enemies head on."
(For a more detailed explanation of the fast-growing movement that these people are a part of and who they are connected to, see Bruce Wilson's post "Tea Party Republican -- Linked Religious Right Leader Calls for 'Military Takeover'")
Now, let's get back to Joyner's recent statement: "I believe there are noble leaders in our military that love the republic and love everything we stand for. And they could seize the government."
We at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation also believe that there are leaders in our military who would stand with Rick Joyner, Jerry Boykin, and the other dominionists should they put out the call to seize the government. The only difference is that Joyner and Boykin think this is a good thing, and we think it's something that needs to be prevented at all costs.
MRFF's Mikey Weinstein is often accused of exaggerating and using hyperbole when he calls the dominionists within the ranks of our military a "national security threat." But what do you think after reading what you've read so far here? Bear in mind that up until 2007 Jerry Boykin was an actual active duty 3-star general in the United States Army -- and there are many others just like him, and just as high in rank, who are still in our military right now. Are the words "national security threat" really just hyperbole?
The July/August 2013 issue of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Decision magazine featured a photo of Jerry Boykin on its cover, and an article titled "One of the Most Dangerous Men in America." And who is it who was labeled such a dangerous man? Mikey Weinstein!
Is Mikey Weinstein dangerous? Absolutely! He is extremely dangerous to people like Rick Joyner, Jerry Boykin, and anyone else -- particularly those in our military -- with aspirations to turn our country into a theocratic nightmare.