The Power Worshippers

by Katherine Stewart

  39. Collected Works, a speech called “The Proclamation and the Negro Army,” given during the Civil War, Frederick Douglass Papers, digital edition, 560.

  40. PBS.org, American Colonization Society, 1816–65.

  41. Mitchell Snay, Gospel of Disunion: Religion and Separatism in the Antebellum South (Cambridge University Press, 1993), 55.

  42. The Rev. J. H. Thornwell, “Sermon Preached at the Dedication of a Church Erected in Charleston, S.C.: The Rights and Duties of Masters” (Steam-Power Press of Walker & James, May 26, 1850), 14.

  43. Mitchell Snay, Gospel of Disunion: Religion and Separatism in the Antebellum South (Cambridge University Press, 1993), 186.

  44. Robert Dabney, Discussions by Robert L. Dabney, D.D., L.L.D. vol. 4 (Mexico, Mo., 1897), 194, 205–08.

  45. Robert Dabney, “Women’s Rights Women,” Southern Magazine, 1871 (Dabney Archive).

  46. Robert Lewis Dabney, “Anti-Biblical Theories of Rights,” Presbyterian Quarterly, July 1888 (Dabney Archive).

  47. Ibid.

  48. Ibid.

  49. “Understanding R. J. Rushdoony,” Mark Rushdoony, uploaded by Branch of Hope Church, January 19, 2016, 1:06:27, at 23:20 minute mark, text of a talk given September 16, 2005 at Chalcedon’s 40th Anniversary Conference in Cummings, Georgia, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQfK_5L82IQ.

  50. Chris Smith, “Rousas John Rushdoony and the Rise of Christian conservatives,” California Magazine, Cal Alumni Association, Fall 2012.

  51. Mark R. Rushdoony, “Rousas John Rushdoony: A Brief History, Part II: ‘You Are Going to Be a Writer,” Chalcedon.edu, April 21, 2016, https://chalcedon.edu/magazine/rousas-john-rushdoony-a-brief-history-part-ii-you-are-going-to-be-a-writer.

  52. Sebesta and Hague, “The US Civil War as a Theological War,” 263.

  53. Ingersoll, Building God’s Kingdom, 16.

  54. Sebesta and Hague, “The US Civil War as a Theological War.”

  55. Euan Hague, Heidi Beirich, and Edward H. Sebesta, eds., Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction (University of Texas Press, 2008), 58.

  56. Rousas John Rushdoony, This Independent Republic (Thoburn Press, 1978, 1964), 82.

  57. Rousas John Rushdoony, This Independent Republic (Thoburn Press, 1954), 22.

  58. Rousas John Rushdoony, The Nature of the American System (Ross House Books, 1965), 8.

  59. Ibid., 7.

  60. Rushdoony, This Independent Republic (Thoburn Press, 1954), 37.

  61. Rousas John Rushdoony, Politics of Guilt and Pity (Craig Press, 1970), 19.

  62. Rousas John Rushdoony, Institutes of Biblical Law (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1973), 251.

  63. Rushdoony, This Independent Republic (Thoburn Press, 1964), 82–83.

  64. Mark Potok, “Doug Wilson’s Religious Empire Expanding in the Northwest,” Southern Poverty Law Center, Intelligence Report (Spring 2004), https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2004/doug-wilson%E2%80%99s-religious-empire-expanding-northwest.

  65. Douglas W. Wilson: Robert Lewis Dabney: The Prophet Speaks (Vision Forum, 1999).

  66. “The Bible, Slavery, and America’s Founders,” Wallbuilders.com, https://wallbuilders.com/bible-slavery-americas-founders. Last accessed July 15, 2019.

  67. Sebesta and Hague, “The U.S. Civil War as a Theological War.”

  68. Billy Graham Center archives: “Papers of William Ashley ‘Billy’ Sunday and Helen Amelia (Thomson) Sunday, Collection 61,” https://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/061.htm; http://are.as.wvu.edu/cbush.htm.

  69. Robert Leeson, Hayek: A Collaborative Biography, Part XI: Orwellian Rectifiers, Mises’ “Evil Seed” of Christianity and the “Free” Market Welfare State (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), 361.

  70. Rousas John Rushdoony, Christianity and Capitalism (Chalcedon Foundation, 2000; originally published by Coast Federal Savings Free Enterprise Department in the 1960s). Digital version pages 96, 119.

  71. A. A. Hodge, Popular Lectures on Theological Themes (Presbyterian Board of Publications, 1887), 283–84.

  72. Rushdoony, Messianic Character of American Education, 334–35.

  73. Rousas John Rushdoony, “Intellectual Schizophrenia (Q & A),” tape code RR151B3, Chalcedon Archive.

  74. Rushdoony, Messianic Character of American Education, 332, 108.

  75. Anson Shupe, “Prophets of a Biblical America,” Wall Street Journal, April 12, 1989.

  76. D. James Kennedy, A Godly Education, sermon pamphlet (Coral Ridge Ministries, 1986), 20.

  77. Ibid., 7.

  78. Gary North “Announcing: The Ron Paul Curriculum Is Open for Business,” April 06, 2013, https://www.garynorth.com/public/10862.cfm. See video at 25-second mark.

  79. Gary North, “The Intellectual Schizophrenia of the New Christian Right,” The Failure of the American Baptist Culture, vol. 1, Christianity and Civilization (Tyler, TX; Geneva Divinity School), 25

  80. Milton Friedman, “The Role of Government in Education,” Economics and the Public Interest: Collected Works of Milton Friedman Project Records, ed. Robert A. Solo (Rutgers University Press, 1955), 123–44.

  81. Robert Dabney, “Secularized Education,” Discussions, vol. 4 (Ross House Books and Sprinkle Publications 1979 [1897], 219, 8.

  82. Mark R. Rushdoony, “Rousas John Rushdoony: A Brief History, Part VI: ‘The Lord Will Perfect That Which Concerneth Me,’ ” Chalcedon.edu, December 17, 2016.

  83. Frances FitzGerald, “A Disciplined, Charging Army,” New Yorker, May 18, 1981.

  84. “Prayer Targets: Biblical Basis for Testimony; Kavanaugh Confirmation; Pledge to Pray, Vote, and Stand,” Watchmen on the Wall, October 03, 2018, https://www.frc.org/prayerteam/prayer-targets-biblical-basis-for-testimony-kavanaugh-confirmation-pledge-to-pray-vote-and-stand.

  85. Ingersoll, Building God’s Kingdom, 212.

  86. Rev. David Woodfield, “The Eschatological Worldview of C. Peter Wagner and the New Apostolic Reformation,” North-West University, in cooperation with Greenwich School of Theology, April 2017.

  87. C. Peter Wagner, Dominion! How Kingdom Action Can Change the World (Chosen, 2008), 59.

  88. Frederick Clarkson, “Christian Reconstructionism: ‘Theocratic Dominionism Gains Influence Part 3,’ ” Public Eye (Political Research Associates), May 19, 1994.

  89. Sarah Posner, “Amazing Disgrace: How Did Donald Trump—a Thrice-Married, Biblically Illiterate Sexual Predator—Hijack the Religious Right?” New Republic, March 20, 2017.

  90. Press release from Christian Newswire, “Southern Baptist Pastor Submits Resolution Against Social Justice,” May 14, 2018.

  91. FitzGerald, “A Disciplined, Charging Army.”

  CHAPTER 6: THE USES AND ABUSES OF HISTORY

  1. Steve Green, Faith in America (Looking Glass, 2011), 18.

  2. Ibid., 18.

  3. Ibid., 7.

  4. Rob Boston, “Hobby Lobby Independence Day Ad Is a Real Mess,” Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Wall of Separation Blog, July 6, 2017, https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/hobby-lobby-s-independence-day-ad-is-a-real-mess.

  5. Elizabeth Flock, “Hobby Lobby Thinks the Bible Can Save America. Now Its Museum Has to Convince Its Critics,” PBS News Hour, July 18, 2017.

  6. Steve Green, Faith in America (Looking Glass, 2011), 50.

  7. Ibid., 77.

  8. Nate Blakeslee, “King of the Christocrats,” Texas Monthly, September 2006.

  9. Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, January 1, 1802, https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html.

  10. Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Monticello.org.

  11. Treaty of Peace and Friendship, signed at Tripoli, November 4, 1796.

  12. Paul Blanshard, Religion and the Schools: The Great Controversy (Beacon, 1963).

  13. Ulysses S. Grant speech before the Army of Tennessee, Des Moines, Iowa, 1875.

  14. “Ten Steps to Change America,” Wallbuilders.com, https://wallbuilders.com/ten-steps-change-america.<
br />
  15. Dan Quinn, “David Barton, Jesus, and Taxes,” Texas Freedom Network, tfnblog, March 26, 2011, https://tfn.org/david-barton-jesus-and-taxes.

  16. Tanya Somanader, “Mike Huckabee Wants Every American to Be ‘Forced at Gun Point’ to Learn from Radical Historian,” ThinkProgress, March 31, 2011, https://thinkprogress.org/mike-huckabee-wants-every-american-to-be-forced-at-gun-point-to-learn-from-radical-historian-5e33c5452b5a.

  17. Will Bunch, “Glenn Beck’s Plan to Save America … with Christian-Right Pseudohistory,” Philadelphia Enquirer, February 9, 2010.

  18. Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, January 1, 1802.

  19. “David Barton, America’s Godly Heritage,” uploaded by Sheldon Livesay, July 5, 2016, 50:56 min, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2TOCXzX4NM.

  20. David Barton, The Myth of Separation (WallBuilders Press, 1992), 42.

  21. Rob Boston, “David Barton: Master of Myth and Misinformation,” Institute for First Amendment Studies, June 1996, www.publiceye.org/ifas.

  22. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, “The Most Influential Evangelist You’ve Never Heard Of,” All Things Considered, NPR, August 8, 2012.

  23. David Austin Walsh, “David Barton’s The Jefferson Lies Voted the Least Credible History Book in Print,” History News Network, July 16, 2012, https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/147149#.

  24. Hagerty, “The Most Influential Evangelist You’ve Never Heard Of.”

  25. Warren Throckmorton, “More of the Story Behind the Demise of David Barton’s The Jefferson Lies,” February 11, 2015, https://www.wthrockmorton.com/2015/02/11/more-of-the-story-behind-the-demise-of-david-bartons-the-jefferson-lies; Rob Boston, “The Barton Lies: Conservative Christian Scholars Debunk ‘Christian Nation’ Propagandist,” Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Wall of Separation Blog, August 9, 2012, https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-barton-lies-conservative-christian-scholars-debunk-christian-nation.

  26. Elise Hu, “Publisher Pulls Controversial Jefferson Book, Citing Loss of Confidence,” NPR, August 9, 2012.

  27. https://www.drivethruhistory.com/series/american-history.

  28. https://www.christianbook.com/drive-thru-history-america-foundations-character/9781414311838/pd/311834.

  29. The Black Robe Regiment, Mission Statement, http://www.blackrobereg.org/mission.html. Accessed July 10, 2019.

  30. Kyle Mantyla, “Jim Garlow to Head Gingrich’s “Renewing American Leadership,” Right Wing Watch, March 9, 2010, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/jim-garlow-to-head-gingrichs-renewing-american-leadership.

  31. WallBuilders Profamily Legislative Network, “The ProFamily Legislators Conference,” https://www.profamily.com.

  32. “ ‘Christian Nation’ Guru Promoted Bush and GOP in ‘Below the Radar’ Scheme,” Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a publication of, December 2004, https://www.au.org/church-state/december-2004-church-state/people-events/christian-nation-guru-promoted-bush-and-gop-in.

  33. Kyle Mantyla, “Brownback’s Hero: Propagandist David Barton,” Right Wing Watch, October 19, 2006, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/brownbacks-hero-propagandist-david-barton.

  34. Patricia Murphy, “The Evangelical Power Broker behind Ted Cruz,” Daily Beast, January 29, 2016.

  35. David Barton, Myth of Separation (WallBuilders Press, 1992), 268.

  36. “Johnson Amendment Is Limiting Our Free Speech and First Amendment Right,” WallBuilders Live!, aired April 17, 2017.

  37. David Brody, “David Barton Tells Brody File: Donald Trump’s Using the CEO Model, Not Government Model,” CBN News, September 9, 2016, https://www1.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2016/09/09/david-barton-tells-brody-file-donald-trumps-using-the-ceo-model-not-government-model.

  38. “David Barton Talks on Brody File This Week,” CBN News, September 15, 2016, https://www1.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2016/09/15/david-barton-talks-trump-on-brody-file-this-week-says-he-doesnt-have-to-be-deep-on-the-issues?amp.

  39. Greg Price, “Donald Trump Opposition a Sign of End Times and ‘Demonic’ Right-Wing Pastor Claims,” Newsweek, July 3, 2018.

  40. Lance Wallnau, God’s Chaos Candidate: Donald J. Trump and the American Unraveling (Killer Sheep Media, Inc., 2016), 30.

  41. “Every Tribe Every Nation Making Bibles Accessible And Translating It Into All 6,000 Plus Languages,” WallBuilders Live!, aired April 18, 2017, https://wallbuilderslive.com/every-tribe-every-nation.

  42. “Hobby Lobby’s Steve Green PART II—TheBlazeTV—The Glenn Beck Program - 2013.09.20,” uploaded by Jared Law, September 20, 2013, 2:33 min, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7f_t6SihSU.

  43. “Bible Museum Coming to D.C. This Fall with State of the Art Technology,” WallBuilders Live!, May 1, 2017; “Part 1 - Behind the Scenes Setting Up the Museum—David Barton Talks About Some Items He’s Brought,” posted by Joel Helgeson, July 11, 2013, 2:50 min, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWreybUjLrk.

  44. Michelle Boorstein, “D.C.’s New Bible Museum Says It Wants to Avoid Politics. But Its Opening Gala Is at the Trump Hotel,” Washington Post, November 15, 2017.

  45. Candida Moss and Joel S. Baden, “Just What Is the Museum of the Bible Trying to Do?” Politico, October 15, 2017.

  46. Michelle Boorstein, “Hobby Lobby’s Steve Green Has Big Plans for His Bible Museum in Washington,” Washington Post, September 12, 2014.

  47. “Vice President Mike Pence Makes Surprise Appearance at FRC’s Watchmen on the Wall Conference,” May 31, 2018, http://nrb.org/news-room/articles/nrbt/vice-president-mike-pence-makes-surprise-appearance-frcs-watchmen-wall-conference.

  48. See Generations website: https://www.generations.org/faqs/76.

  49. See My Faith Votes website for October 24 event with Kirk Cameron: https://www.myfaithvotes.org/my-faith-votes-presents-kirk-camerons-revive-us-2-live-from-museum-of-the-bible-tuesday-oct-24.

  50. “The Center for National Renewal,” posted by Churches in Covenant, https://vimeo.com/201143659.

  51. “Capitol Ministries Leaders Come from Around the World for D.C. Fall Training Conference,” Capitol Ministries, https://capmin.org/resources/ministry-updates/capitol-ministries-leaders-come-around-world-d-c-fall-training-conference.

  52. John Hudson, “Ex-Palin Aide Lands Job at Trump’s State Department,” Foreign Policy, February 9, 2017.

  53. Nicole Goodkind, “Here’s What Ivanka Trump’s Rabbi Thinks about Families Being Separated at the Border,” Newsweek, June 20, 2018.

  CHAPTER 7: THE BLITZ: TURNING THE STATES INTO LABORATORIES OF THEOCRACY

  1. Frederick Clarkson, “ ‘Project Blitz’ Seeks to Do for Christian Nationalism What ALEC Does for Big Business,” Religion Dispatches, April 27, 2018, http://religiondispatches.org/project-blitz-seeks-to-do-for-christian-nationalism-what-alec-does-for-big-business.

  2. See Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, http://cpcfoundation.com/first-freedom-coalition-project-blitz. At that time, audio of two phone conferences was accessible on the website. Last accessed June 1, 2018; See Project Blitz Legislation Grid, “2018 Religious Freedom Measures,” compiled by Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aNCKlvhokEZZLLG5IhOskk1NjXw_7Y15/view.

  3. “Lea Carawan—Cofounder and Executive Director, Congressional Prayer Caucus,” The Trey Blocker Show, February 5, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJHZ8OKPTEU.

  4. See intregrityleadership.org: http://integrityleadership.org/about-us. Note point 2, “Integrity’s Operating Strategy.”

  5. Buddy Pilgrim, “Freedom Is Under Attack,” integrityleadership.org, June 4, 2017, http://integrityleadership.org/freedom-is-under-attack/; “Buddy Pilgrim—God and Money,” Life Today with James and Betty Robison, lightsource.com, March 13, 2012, at 5:37 mark: https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/life-today/buddy-pilgrim-god-and-money-264143.html.

  6. Point of View interview with Buddy Pilgrim, November 1, 2018, at 42–43:04 mark: https://pointofview.net/show/thursday-november-1-2018.

  7. Proje
ct Blitz teleconference audio, February 13, at 22:55 mark; see Katherine Stewart, “A Christian Nationalist Blitz,” New York Times, May 26, 2018.

  8. “Encouraging Schools to Display Motto ‘In God We Trust,’ ” Minnesota Senate Media Services, May 4, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOS_Z5sW_QU.

  9. “ ‘In God We Trust’ Motto Sparks Debate in Minnesota: ‘How about Bringing Respect Back in Schools?’ ” Fox News Insider as seen on Fox & Friends Weekend, May 6, 2018.

  10. At press time, Project Blitz organizers were discussing “strategic” rebranding and other organizational developments. Rob Boston, “Project Blitz Wants to Hide Its Christian Nationalist Agenda. It’s Too Late for That,” Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Wall of Separation Blog, November 08, 2019, https://www.au.org/blogs/project-blitz-exposed.

  11. Moriah Balingit, “Does ‘In God We Trust’ Belong in Schools? More and More States Say Yes,” Washington Post, December 1, 2018.

  12. Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, “Report and Analysis on Religious Freedom Measures Impacting Prayer and Faith in America (2017 Version),” https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwfCh32HsC3UYmV0NUp5cXZjT28/view. Last accessed July 15, 2019.

  13. Teleconference audio, at 24:30 mark; also see Project Blitz download titled “Report and Analysis on Religious Freedom Measures Impacting Prayer and Faith in America” (2017 version), 23–34.

  14. Teddy Wilson, “State-Level Republicans Pour Taxpayer Money into Fake Clinics at an Unprecedented Pace (Updated),” Rewire, February 16, 2018, https://rewire.news/article/2018/02/16/state-level-republicans-pour-taxpayer-money-fake-clinics-unprecedented-pace.