Michael Flynn, Donald Trump and the ascendance of spiritual warfare in America

Michael Flynn, Donald Trump and the ascendance of spiritual warfare in
America

Flynn has become a central figure in a network of extremists,
conspiracy theorists and election deniers held together by the
mechanism of Christian nationalism. 

Oct. 2, 2022, 1:00 PM SAST
By Bradley Onishi, author of the upcoming “Preparing for War: The
Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — And What Comes
Next" and Annika Brockschmidt, author of “America’s Holy Warriors: How
the Religious Right is Threatening Democracy”

In September, The Associated Press and PBS Frontline released the
first part of an in-depth reporting project that looked at how retired
lieutenant Army general Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump's
national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, has
been relentlessly stumping for Trump while warning his audiences that
the U.S. is in the midst of spiritual warfare. Flynn “has drawn
together election deniers, mask and vaccine opponents,
insurrectionists, Proud Boys and elected officials and leaders in
state and local Republican parties,” writes Michelle R. Smith. In sum,
the report details how Flynn has become a central figure in a network
of extremists, conspiracy theorists and election deniers held together
by the integrating mechanism of Christian nationalism. 

Christian nationalism is becoming a bigger factor among Republican
voters, with 61% of Republican respondents saying they supported
declaring the United States a Christian nation.

Also last month, a new University of Maryland Critical Issues Poll was
released suggesting Christian nationalism was becoming a bigger factor
among Republican voters, with 61% of Republican respondents saying
they supported declaring the United States a Christian nation.

These two things are not unconnected. 

As the scholars Samuel Perry and Philip Gorski show in their recent
work “The Flag and the Cross,” white Christian nationalism especially
is not about orthodox Christian belief or even Christian practice. The
“Christian” in Christian nationalism is really a cultural identity
that uses Christian symbols and myths to bind together American
nationalism to white ethnicity. In other words, it provides a
transcendent authority to a movement that seeks to consolidate
political power and, often, maintain white ethno-cultural standards. 

One of the geniuses of Christian nationalism is its agility. As a
cultural identity, Christian nationalism is nimble and flexible enough
to include militia groups, QAnon theorists and election deniers who
believe Trump is the rightful president — not to mention conservative
Christians for whom the rhetoric of spiritual warfare and apocalypse
are everyday parlance. 

Flynn is a particularly high-profile leader who has seamlessly married
faith, conspiracy, politics and militancy. But he is not exactly
unique. Plenty of Christian nationalists on the American right are
becoming MAGA celebrities. Some earn significant sums by claiming the
election was stolen and asking God to restore the country to
greatness, even if it takes a civil war. (And they’re often saying so
in even more bombastic ways than Flynn is.)

What is unique about Flynn is that he was once a legitimate insider in
the American armed forces. The three-star general may have retired
from the military, but he remains a loyal soldier in Trump’s army. In
the minds of his audiences, Flynn’s authority and credentials are
unassailable. Thus, his appeal stretches across the various dimensions
of the MAGA movement, making him a powerful node in a hardy coalition.
When, as the AP/Frontline report shows, Flynn says that America is in
the midst of “spiritual warfare,” claims that public schools are
teaching “filth” and “pornography,” explains that many Americans are
“evil” and “don’t think and act like us,” and asserts that House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a literal demon, it hits differently. 

While the report from AP is alarming, those who had read Flynn’s
memoir already knew how conspiratorial his worldview had become over
the past decade. Former President Barack Obama warned Trump not to
pick Flynn as his national security adviser — to no avail. Shortly
after Flynn started the job, staff members quickly became worried
about how extreme his views seemed. During a  December 2020 meeting
with Trump, Flynn reportedly spread lies about election fraud and
called for martial law. He has not softened his tone.

OPINION

The original 'Hocus Pocus' was terrible. The sequel is brilliant.
While Christian nationalism is more about cultural identity than
theology or religious practice, it’s worth peering behind the rhetoric
to understand the theological underpinnings of this crusade to “save”
America. Flynn has teamed up with a specific brand of Christian
extremists who belong to a movement largely unknown to most Americans,
dominionism, inspired by something commonly referred to as the Seven
Mountain Mandate. Flynn appeared on stage with the Rev. John Hagee, a
prominent dominionist, at Hagee's San Antonio church during a November
2021 stop on the “ReAwaken America” tour. There, Flynn called for a
national American religion. “If we are going to have one nation under
God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under
God, and one religion under God,” he said. 

Dominionism, like Christian nationalism, is still mostly a descriptive
term applied from the outside, by academics and journalists. However,
now that various right-wing politicians and pundits have started to
embrace the term “Christian nationalist” we might start to see a more
open embrace of “dominionism” as well. 

The movement has roots in Pentecostalism, which in turn has its roots
in a 19th-century American movement centered on the Holy Spirit and
the conferral of pastoral authority through direct anointing from God.
But dominionism also draws significant influence from R.J. Rushdoony’s
Christian Reconstructionism, which calls for theonomy — a society
governed by the biblical laws and guidelines found in the Hebrew
Bible. Dominionism specifically calls for Christians to reclaim the
“seven mountains of dominion” in society for God: family, religion,
education, media, entertainment, business and government. 

The dominionist subgroup that has arguably gotten the most traction
lately is the New Apostolic Reformation. Founded by C. Peter Wagner in
the 1990s, its adherents, like Paula White, became famous during the
Trump administration. NAR adherents believe in modern-day prophets
with a direct line to God, anointed apostles and spiritual warfare
fought by Christians against demons. Certain adherents of spiritual
warfare believe that not only people but buildings and institutions
can be possessed by evil spirits (hence Flynn's comments about
Pelosi). 

As the AP/Frontline report highlights, white Christian nationalism has
united disparate parts of the MAGA movement by offering them a
cultural identity to rally behind. And while it may be hard to
believe, Flynn is actually more understated and matter of fact than
many of the celebrity pastors and pundits who garner headlines. That
makes him powerful — and the consequences of that power are worrisome.

Source: https://t.co/mYZKynDKvE
or 
<https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/michael-flynn-trump-americas-christian-nationalism-threat-rcna50289>

-- 
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web:  http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk