# Dominionism **Summary.** Dominionism is a theological and political position holding that Christians are called to exercise governance — "dominion" — over the structures of human culture and society. In its NAR form, this is organized around the "Seven Mountain Mandate": the church must occupy the seven mountains of cultural influence (government, media, education, family, religion, business, arts/entertainment) to prepare the world for the return of Christ. The primary theorist of NAR dominionism is [[C. Peter Wagner]]. Dominionism is the political extension of [[Apostolic Authority]] and the [[Five-Fold Ministry]] governance model into cultural and civic spheres. --- ## The Scriptural Anchor The dominionist reading most often draws on two texts: **Genesis 1:28 (the "cultural mandate"):** "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." Dominionists read "subdue" and "dominion" as a continuing mandate for human governance of creation — specifically, Christian governance of society. **Matthew 28:19 ("the Great Commission"):** "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." In the dominionist reading, "nations" (ἔθνη, *ethne*) means not only individuals but national structures and systems. Discipling nations means transforming their institutions to reflect Christian governance. These readings are not universally accepted. The mainstream Reformed tradition distinguishes the creation mandate from civil governance and draws on sphere sovereignty (Kuyper) to separate ecclesiastical and civil authority without collapsing one into the other. Mainline traditions generally read the Great Commission as a missionary call to welcome persons, not a mandate to govern institutions. > [!contradiction] > **Dominionist position:** Christians are mandated to transform cultural institutions to reflect God's governance. The church's goal is not only personal salvation but societal dominion. > **Reformed sphere-sovereignty position:** Each sphere of society (church, state, family, school) has God-given authority within its domain; the church does not govern the state and vice versa. > **Mainline/progressive position:** The Kingdom of God works through transformation of hearts and pursuit of justice, not through political control. Theocratic dominion conflates the church's mission with empire. --- ## The Seven Mountain Mandate Wagner's most concrete contribution to dominionist theology is the "Seven Mountain" framework, developed in the mid-2000s. The claim: human society is organized around seven spheres of influence, each governed by principalities or powers (in the spiritual-warfare framework). These mountains are: 1. **Government** — civil law, legislation, executive power 2. **Media** — news, entertainment, information distribution 3. **Education** — schools, universities, curriculum 4. **Family** — marriage, household, child formation 5. **Religion** — churches, spiritual communities, religious institutions 6. **Business** — commerce, economy, finance 7. **Arts / Entertainment** — culture-making, music, visual arts, sports The mandate: apostolic-prophetic Christians must "take" each mountain — occupy positions of leadership and influence in each sphere — to displace the demonic control Wagner held to be currently operative and to prepare the culture for the Kingdom of God. Wagner described this as the end-times assignment of the apostolic church. Strategic-level spiritual warfare (binding territorial spirits, intercessory prayer as geopolitical action) provides the invisible parallel to political and cultural engagement. Apostles and prophets govern the spiritual action; Christian professionals and cultural leaders occupy the mountains. This framework directly underlies the involvement of NAR-aligned apostles and prophets in U.S. political processes, especially around the 2016 and 2020 elections. When named prophets declared Donald Trump God's anointed king, they were operating within the Seven Mountain framework: government is a mountain, apostles have governance authority over mountains, therefore prophetic direction of political outcomes is within their mandate. --- ## Types of Dominionism Scholars of Christian Nationalism and NAR (including Matthew D. Taylor and Kristin Kobes Du Mez) distinguish forms of dominionism by degree: **Soft cultural dominionism:** Christians should be culturally influential, hold public office, and work to align public life with Christian moral principles. This is common in mainstream evangelicalism and is not NAR-specific. Many holders of this view reject the label "dominionism." **Hard reconstructionist dominionism (Theonomy):** Associated with Rousas John Rushdoony and Christian Reconstructionism; argues that Old Testament civil law (including Mosaic penal codes) should govern civil society. This is distinct from NAR dominionism, though the two overlap in some networks. **NAR apostolic dominionism:** The form examined in this wiki. Characterized by the Seven Mountain framework, strategic-level spiritual warfare, prophetic-apostolic governance, and the explicit claim that apostles hold governmental authority over cultural spheres. Distinguished from Reconstructionism by its charismatic epistemology (direct prophecy, signs and wonders) and its lack of theonomic law-code interest; NAR dominionism is about governance structures, not legal codes. --- ## Relationship to Other Key Concepts **[[Apostolic Authority]]:** Dominionism is the outward, political extension of apostolic authority. If apostles govern the church, and if the church is called to govern culture, then apostolic authority reaches into the seven mountains. The same unaccountable authority that creates harm within congregations creates a template for unaccountable governance in the civic sphere. **[[Five-Fold Ministry]]:** The governance structure that makes dominionism operative. Apostles govern networks; those networks extend into cultural spheres. Five-fold ministry inside the church becomes seven-mountain mandate outside it. **[[Christian Nationalism]]:** Dominionism is the theological infrastructure for organized Christian Nationalism in charismatic streams. Not all Christian Nationalism is explicitly NAR, and not all NAR theology is explicitly dominionist, but the Seven Mountain framework provides the clearest theological rationale for Christian political takeover. **[[Fallible Prophecy]]:** When dominionist prophecies fail — as they did massively in 2020 — the fallible-prophecy doctrine provides the escape hatch. No NAR apostle or prophet has vacated office following a failed political prophecy. **Worship music:** The Seven Mountain framework names arts/entertainment as one of the mountains to be occupied. This is explicit in some Bethel and IHOPKC teaching: worship music is a prophetic-apostolic tool for transforming culture, not only building up the local congregation. This framing shapes the cultural ambition of Bethel Music as a label and global worship-music enterprise. See [[Praise and Worship Theology]] and [[NAR Worship Critique Traditions]]. --- ## DEIB Assessment Dominionism is not theologically neutral on questions of who holds power. The seven-mountain framework prioritizes leadership by those the apostolic network recognizes as anointed — which, in the NAR's documented history, has meant predominantly white, predominantly male apostles and prophets governing networks with global cultural reach. The mandate to "take" cultural mountains does not address questions of justice, redistribution, or historical accountability in any systematic way. Wagner's framework was explicitly about seizing influence rather than dismantling oppression. The communities most harmed by the systems the seven mountains govern — poor communities, communities of color, LGBTQ+ people, women — do not occupy the center of the dominionist vision. This stands in structural contrast to liberation theology and the UCC's justice-centered ecclesiology, both of which locate the church's mission with the marginalized rather than at the top of mountains. --- ## Source Coverage Gap This concept page is synthesized from existing wiki pages. It is not yet grounded in primary dominionist texts. Priority ingests: 1. C. Peter Wagner, *Dominion! How Kingdom Action Can Change the World* (2008) — primary source 2. Matthew D. Taylor, *The Violent Take It by Force* [[The Violent Take It by Force]] (in Readwise/Books, not yet ingested) — likely the most rigorous academic treatment of NAR dominionism in recent scholarship 3. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, *Jesus and John Wayne* — covers Christian Nationalism and dominionistic impulses in the broader evangelical world --- ## Open Questions > [!question] > Is there any substantive critique of dominionism from *within* the charismatic tradition — from Pentecostal or charismatic voices who are not cessationist but reject the seven-mountain political application? Worth tracking. > [!question] > How does the UCC's "God Is Still Speaking" identity relate to the dominionist framework? The UCC affirms ongoing revelation and prophetic imagination (Brueggemann) without dominionist governance conclusions. What makes the hermeneutical trajectory different? --- ## Related Pages - [[New Apostolic Reformation]] — the movement in which dominionism is most systematized - [[Apostolic Authority]] — the ecclesiastical authority claim that extends into dominionism - [[Five-Fold Ministry]] — the governance structure applied to cultural spheres - [[C. Peter Wagner]] — primary theorist of the Seven Mountain Mandate - [[Christian Nationalism]] — the political expression of dominionism in American public life - [[Fallible Prophecy]] — the doctrinal mechanism that protects prophets after dominionist political failures - [[IHOPKC]] — a major node; end-times eschatology intersects with dominionist preparation - [[Bethel Church]] — occupying the arts/entertainment mountain; Bethel Music as cultural project - [[Praise and Worship Theology]] — the theological-worship tradition shaped by the mountain-taking framing - [[NAR Worship Critique Traditions]] — critique of worship music that flows from dominionist formation