Christian right ideology and the prayer warriors

For some of the “Prophetic Elders” Palin is the Hebrew Testament’s “Deborah” or modern day “Esther” (“handpicked by God”). Palin’s mentor, Mary Glazier, had a vision of her, “standing alone mantled with an American flag”. Joyner, believes that, “there is a spiritual authority in Palin, and in time, the church will actually be organised as a military force with an army, navy and air force”.

The language of the NAR is aggressive and militant. Apostles talk of Generals, spiritual warfare, freedom fighters, arms and weapons, SWAT (Strategic Warriors at Training), and of Todd Bentley’s Joel’s Army, “prophesied to become an Armageddon - ready military force for young people with a divine mandate to physically impose Christian dominion on non-believers”.

At one level, I guess all this is not so hard to swallow when US soldiers are already carrying “Jesus Rifles” (“spiritually transformed firearms of Jesus”) with biblical verses inscribed on their gun sights (2COR4:16), and a Defence Secretary was found slapping Bible verses on top secret intelligence briefings.

While the Oath Keepers provide the armed muscle for the Tea Parties, it is the NAR which provides the prayer and prophetic protection. It is this prophetic element of the NAR which makes it easy for many to dismiss it as fringe and marginal, if not delusional. For example, what in the world are “Prophetic Based Suicide Prevention” programs!

Or what to make of senior Apostle Ana Mendez, and her secret prayer expedition to Mt Everest, called “Operation Ice Castle”, against the “Queen of Heaven” (a demonic power misinterpreted as Mary, honoured by Muslims as Fatima, and known to others as Diana). Following that expedition according to Mendez, whose ramblings can be found on the Transforming Melbourne website, things then began to happen: fires in Indonesia; a basilica destroyed in Assisi; Princess Diana was killed; and Mother Teresa died!

Prayer and prophetic expeditions such as Operation Ice Castle are based on two further strategies. Spiritual mapping, which “is the scouting and detailed mapping of the territory (city) to document the sources of demons and generational curses … gates and portals through which demons gain access are of particular significance”. And a series of “Transformations” videos, distributed by Transforming Melbourne, setting out in detail how and what to do (with the demons).

Danny Nalliah’s Catch the Fire Ministries called for, “an offensive spiritual attack on demonic strongholds” after discovering a coven of witches on Mt Ainslie.

Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and major supporter of The Family (“a secret organisation of powerful Christians in Washington” who “preach a gospel of Biblical capitalism, military might, and global American empire”) had a vision for “Christian world-control”. Her vision, the second strategy, called “Reclaim 7 Mountains of Culture” targets “seven areas for Christian fundamentalists to reclaim”: the Mountains of government, education, media, arts, religion, family and business.

Supporting these strategies is the rewriting of the Bible, because “liberal bias has become the single biggest distortion in modern Bible translations”. The new translation will, “utilise powerful conservative terms”, “express free market parables” and provide, “a framework against liberal bias”.

Does this have any impact in Australia?

The American Christian right ideology is pervasive in Australia, and in some denominations, such as Pentecostals and the myriad of para-church groups and companies, is totally reshaping them. It’s difficult to actually measure such influence, or the degree to which, for example, NAR networks are moving cash and resources into Australia.

I wonder, for example, are those politicians supporting the Parliamentary Prayer Network aware that the organisers are ICA members combating the Queen of Heaven? Do those who send their kids to YWAM activities know they’re an integral part of Loren Cunningham’s campaign for a global American empire?