Beware of anyone telling you that you need to adopt a ‘biblical world view’. Such a person is likely to be some sort of ‘dominionist’, an ugly word for the uglier idea that countries should be run according to strict Christian standards. If you’re not quite sure what these standards are, don’t worry - just ask your friendly dominionist and then do as you’re told!

There are a couple of dominionist gabfests held in Australia every year, one of which was recently conducted in Canberra by the American-based Summit Ministries. About 150 people attended and a good time was had by all.

A major concern for dominionists is that:

… large numbers [of young people] raised in evangelical Christian homes lose their faith when they enter university. The various world views promoted there have a corrosive effect on those who are not prepared to take them on. Be it postmodernism, secular humanism, neo-Darwinism or radical feminism, the intellectual challenges to the faith are many.

But help is at hand:

The week-long world view conference trains people to think biblically in every area of life [philosophy, biology, politics etc.] … After the six days, students will be equipped to stand against the many world views competing against the Christian faith. They will be well-grounded in biblical foundation so that they can take on the likes of a Richard Dawkins or a Peter Singer.

And who will rescue our youth from the clutches of Satan, Dawkins and Singer? Well, apart from a few dyed-in-the-wool American dominionists like David Noebel, the list of speakers at the Canberra conference gives us a fair idea of who is leading this movement in Australia. Think of about six names and see how close you get:

Australian speakers [included] Peter and Jenny Stokes of Salt Shakers, Jim Wallace of the Australian Christian Lobby, Melinda Tankard Reist of Women’s Forum Australia, Andrew Snelling of Creation Ministries International, … Graham McLennan of the National Alliance of Christian Leaders, [and] … Bill Muehlenberg of CultureWatch.

(Bill Muehlenberg, ‘Biblical World View Conference’, New Life, 15 Feb. 2007)

With the possible exception of Tankard Reist, that looks like a pretty good sample to me. Summit hopes to hold two conferences next year, possibly in Melbourne and the Gold Coast. See you there?

Filed in: Evangelicals, Theocracy