Big Questions About Templeton: How the Philanthropic Giant Legitimizes Faith Healing | Political Research Associates

Much ink has been spilled about the Templeton Foundation’s influence on research in the hard sciences. Zoologist and outspoken secular activist Richard Dawkins has quipped that the Templeton Prize is usually given “to a scientist who is prepared to say something nice about religion.” Jerry Coyne, a prominent American biologist, condemned Templeton’s mission as a “serious corruption of science” and warned of the “cronyism that has always infected Templeton,” particularly in relationship to its study of “Big Questions,” a somewhat vague field of inquiry centered on quandaries like the nature of free will, consciousness, and evil. Sean Carroll’s criticisms of Templeton are somewhat more measured; he does not think there is any hard evidence that “Templeton works in nefarious ways to influence the people it funds.” For Carroll, the problem isn’t that Templeton is anti-science, but rather that “their views on science are very wrong.” Quantum physicist Michael Brooks echoes these views in the New Scientist, contending that Templeton does a disservice not so much to science as to religion, by advancing a conception of religion so “stripped-down, vague and wooly” that it “puts the new Templeton religion comfortably beyond assault from questioners.”
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While the Foundation’s influence on the hard sciences has often been the focus of criticism, the social science- and healthcare-related research in which it engages can be far more problematic. The more subjective nature of the social sciences—and, to a lesser extent, healthcare—may make these fields more vulnerable to pseudoscientific concepts and dubious methodologies.

The ready acceptance of pseudoscience undergirds Templeton’s “history of seeding fields of study almost from scratch,” as Nathan Schneider describes it. In the early 1990s, the Foundation began heavily funding the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR), an organization established “to ‘objectively’ examine the role that religion and spirituality might play in physical and mental health.” At the time, hardly any medical schools offered courses on religion. But today, after two decades of Templeton-promoted research, three-quarters of U.S. medical schools utilize spirituality within their curricula. This development was facilitated by a combination of awards given to NIHR researchers; an NIHR-derived, multi-volume literature review of religion and health research; and numerous Templeton Foundation-funded programs concerning the intersection between science, religion, and medicine.

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Many of the Godly exemplars profiled by Flame of Love are as sociated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a right-wing  Charismatic and Pentecostal movement organized around parachurch groups known as apostolic networks. The NAR is committed to the principle of spiritual warfare against evil spirits that it believes threaten the well-being of Christians. One such exemplar is Che Ahn, who founded the evangelical organization The Call along with Lou Engle, the Charismatic evangelist associated with the 2009-2010 Ugandan“Kill the Gays” bill.52 Poloma herself describes the two men’s close friendship in glowing terms.53

Ahn (like Heidi Baker, another exemplar) is a member of the Revival Alliance, a powerful apostolic network that oversees six other major apostolic networks.54 The leaders of five of these six subordinate ministries, along with several of their spouses, are among Flame of Love’s highlighted Godly exemplars. The STEPP study, too, is marked by such connections: Alliance member Randy Clark, founder of the evangelical Global Awakening ministry, has worked closely with Stephen Mory, one of the study’s co-authors.55 Moreover, Candy Gunther Brown herself has served on the board of directors of the Global Medical Research Institute, a prayer research organization that originated as a Global Awakening initiative, though independent of that ministry.56 Subjects for the STEPP study were primarily recruited at meetings cosponsored by Global Awakening and Baker’s Iris Ministries.57

The Revival Alliance leaders’ work incorporates some shocking ideas about a variety of issues, particularly mental healthcare. Baker is known for “‘expelling’ demons from children.”58 Another couple has helped promote the supernatural healing of autistic children59 through a particular form of Charismatic exorcism, or deliverance, called Sozo.60 As I wrote in my 2015 book The Failure of Evangelical Mental Health Care, Sozo’s healing practices seem little different from the long-discredited practice of recovered memory therapy. (Sozo leaders and proponents also maintain, in terms akin to the increasingly discredited diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, that individuals with bipolar disorder have “parts,” or people living inside of them who need to be integrated into a core personality.ii)

While the Flame of Love Project was ostensibly a scientific enterprise, in practice the project served primarily as a public relations project celebrating NAR leaders, as well as providing an academic justification for many of their beliefs and policy priorities, including their economic agenda. The Templeton Foundation has enjoyed a friendly association with a variety of right-wing groups and think tanks that share its support for open markets and entrepreneurship; the Heritage


Big Questions About Templeton: How the Philanthropic Giant Legitimizes Faith Healing | Political Research Associates

Mike Bickle’s 5 Million Bibles For Russian Theocracy | TWO Care

In a May 2014 Twocare.org special report, I delved into the history of a little known early 1990s U.S. evangelical campaign in which American evangelicals and fundamentalists carried out the religious indoctrination of millions of public school students in Russia, in former Soviet Union territory, and in former Eastern European Soviet ally nations. These American evangelicals were, of course, vehemently opposed to LGBT rights, and one of the leading organizations behind the effort, Campus Crusade For Christ, would later be exposed by Truth Wins Out for its effort to disseminate anti-gay propaganda across an entire continent, in Africa.

But when I wrote that Twocare.org report I was unaware that there were direct ties between leaders of the emerging, dominionist “apostolic and prophetic” movement (now commonly referred to as the New Apostolic Reformation) and the campaign to evangelize Russia which ramped up with the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Now, thanks to video posted by Rick Joyner’s Morningstar Ministries, we have some information on those ties.

While Twocare.org has previously investigated at length the funding behind such US-based anti-LGBT efforts as the World Congress of Families, this report delves into the movement background of evangelists such as Bob Weiner, Mike Bickle (pictured), Rick Joyner, and their New Apostolic Reformation movement fellows working to export the NAR’s dominionist style of Christian supremacy to Russia and the world.

Mike Bickle’s 5 Million Bibles For Russian Theocracy | TWO Care

Rubio Accepted Endorsement From Dominionist Who Claims Constitution Based on Bible | TWO Care

And in 2010 Barton helped to rally the dominionist Christian right behind Marco Rubio and to lift Rubio to the United States Senate, from which perch Rubio has now launched a presidential bid.

In 2010, A febrile, Koch brothers-financed, Christian right activist-led political spasm known as the “Tea Party” swept the land.

And, Christian right presidential hopefuls such as former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee began to maneuver in advance of the 2012 election. In March 2010 at the annual, arch-conservative CPAC convention in Washington D.C., Huckabee quipped that all Americans should be forced to listen to David Barton’s version of American history – at gunpoint if necessary.

The ensuing controversy failed to deter Marco Rubio. Quite the contrary. Up onstage at a September 15,  2010 Longwood, Florida political rally, candidate Marco Rubio appeared for a heartfelt endorsement from former Vice Chair of the Texas GOP and pseudo-historian David Barton (pictured). To hammer home the point Barton then posted a special 5 minute, 52 second video endorsement of Rubio.

Barton and Rubio were the main attractions at the September 15th rally according to advance publicity, with Barton billed as a “constitutional scholar”.


Little more than a month later Barton’s close friend, New Apostolic Reformation prophet Cindy Jacobs, would release a prophecy forecasting the rise of a church-based third major political party led by “righteous” politicians such as Marco Rubio. Jacobs teaches that dominionist Christians have the God-given mandate to “subdue”, “make subservient”, and “bring into bondage” all unbelievers.

The dual September 15th appearance by Rubio and Barton was almost unnoticed* by media, except for, most prominently, coverage from Talking Points Memo reporter Brian Beutler – who noted that Barton had just helped orchestrate a wildly controversial religious right campaign to revise Texas textbook standards.

Less than a year later, Barton began publicly promoting the New Apostolic Reformation’s “7 Mountains” dominionist program, which advocates that charismatic Christians should, as NAR apostle Thomas Muthee outlined shortly before blessing and anointing Sarah Palin in a 2005 ceremony, “invade… infiltrate” seven key sectors of society: government, business, media, education, arts and entertainment, religion, and the family.

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David Barton enjoys a close working relationship with the Christian supremacist apostles and prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation, whose dominionist agenda, that calls on believers to “rule as kings”, finally gained some mainstream media notice in 2011 after a prayer rally, dominated by NAR apostles and prophets, that kicked off Texas governor Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential bid.

Rubio Accepted Endorsement From Dominionist Who Claims Constitution Based on Bible | TWO Care

Christian right secession fantasy: Spooky neo-Confederate talk grows louder at the fringes - Salon.com

Just how far will religionists go to obtain their goal of a theocratic nation? One writers look at Frederick Clarkson's "Rumblings of Theocratic Violence."

[Still working through Clarkson's article as it is a long one,,,]

But religion goes to a much deeper place in defining who we are, and motivating us to act. When religious motivations are engaged toward similar ends, the level of threat they pose will almost certainly rise dramatically as a result.

“[S]omething has changed in recent years,” Clarkson notes, as “disturbing claims are appearing more frequently, more prominently, and in ways that suggest that they are expressions of deeply held beliefs more than provocative political hyperbole.” He also cites “powerful indications in the writings of some Christian right leaders that elements of their movement have lost confidence in the bright political vision of the United States as the once and future Christian Nation — and that they are desperately seeking alternatives.”

Perhaps most ominously, there is a growing convergence of theocratic and neo-Confederate thinking, Clarkson finds:

At least some of the historic culture warriors of the Christian Right seem to be considering an ostensibly unlikely coalition with the Neo-Confederate movement. The coalition would lead their followers in religious and political directions in which violence is as likely as the outcomes are uncertain. It is an unlikely coalition, not necessarily because the Christian Right and most Neo-Confederates differ much on issues, but because Christian nationalism is so fundamentally at odds with the notion of fracturing the nation due to a loss of hope and faith in the role of the United States in God’s plan.

In short, if you think that secession talk has been crazy since President Obama took office, it could get significantly worse. The sort of standoff we saw at the Cliven Bundy ranch could pale in comparison to what a religiously motivated group — certain that God is on their side — might do.

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As Clarkson notes, today’s Christian right is no longer defined by a handful of high-profile leaders well-known throughout the political media, as it was in years before. That earlier generation has been followed by “a generation of hands-on political operatives who now sustain a more decentralized Christian right,” and he highlights a handful of them who share in an overall drift toward a potential for violent conflict, though they come from a variety of different starting points.

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This is not the sign of a movement inclined toward any sort of acceptance or compromise, to say the least. Indeed, the more isolated the Christian right becomes on certain social issues, such as gay marriage, the more they move toward forging previously unthinkable alliances, even to the point of re-unifying Protestants and Catholics:

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Whether anything like what they envision comes about should not be our only concern, so that if it seems unlikely, we can safely ignore them as well. Widespread organized mass violence isn’t the only threat out there. We’ve already seen an example at the Cliven Bundy ranch of how quickly an armed anti-government camp can be drawn together. At least the media covering it had some idea that radical ideologies and conspiracy theories were involved. But religion goes to a much deeper place in defining who we are, and motivating us to act. When religious motivations are engaged toward similar ends, the level of threat they pose will almost certainly rise dramatically as a result.

No one envisioned the Bundy Ranch standoff before it occurred. No one envisioned the Oklahoma City bombing in advance, either. But there have been people warning us that these sorts of things can happen. And now we’re being warned that, with the addition of religion to the mix, something far more toxic could well lie ahead. Remember, these are people who believe they’re fulfilling God’s plan. When things don’t go their way, it’s hard to grasp the depth of their dis

Christian right secession fantasy: Spooky neo-Confederate talk grows louder at the fringes - Salon.com

| Pastor at Cory Booker's Church Calls for Return to Time When Only Christians Could Vote in Newark

Is Cory Booker's church fair game for discussion in an election? When the senior pastor endorses Booker in a video released by his senate campaign, I would say yes. David Jefferson, Jr., senior pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Newark, endorsed Cory Booker's candidacy in a video released by his senate campaign in early August as part of the "Voices for Cory" series. The evangelistic outreach pastor at Metropolitan Baptist is Apostle Bernard Wilks, who has led and organized municipal events, and is head of Transformation Newark. Wilks has called for the return of the city to Puritan Newark's guidelines allowing only "Christian believers" to vote or hold leadership roles in the city. The significance of this is not just it's shock value, but in understanding the symbiosis of the school privatization and extreme "free marketers" funding Booker, and the Religious Right leaders who redirect the frustration and anger of those most impacted by our current economic structure. For more on the role of Wilks' Transformation Newark see a previous article. Video after break.

Wilks is discussing "The Nehemiah Plan," a term that is being used to discuss Transformation campaigns around the country.

| Pastor at Cory Booker's Church Calls for Return to Time When Only Christians Could Vote in Newark

Enlightened Catholicism: More Up Is Down From The GOP Leadership And It's Evangelical Supporters

The interesting part of this individual's posting,,,

I have nothing to really add to the this article. I am in a state of shock that we have politicians that would stoop to this level, using sick kids, to attempt to blame the Democrats for the fact it was these very same 'noble' Republicans who voted to shutdown the government, causing the problem in the first place.

But if that wasn't enough, there is also the news that the religious right part of the Tea Party, those Evangelical Christians associated with the New Apostolic Reformation are calling for a military take over of the country. Here's the stirring words of Rick Joyner from a radio show "Prophetic Perspectives" broadcast on September 30th, as quoted in an article by Bruce Wilson at the blog Talk to Action.

I mean, there's no way our Republic can last much longer. It may not last through Obama's second term. There are a lot of people that feel, you know, it can't. There are forces right now seeking to undermine and to destroy the Republic. There's almost a glib and almost a joyful disregard of the constitution, and a belittling of the constitution. We can't make it without that -- that's our foundation, our moorings. We're heading for serious tyranny....Since it is this faction of the Republican Party which has made it their mission to undermine and destroy the government, this is another stunning example of Up is Down and Down Is Up reality.)

......I think we've been used in some wonderful and powerful ways by God, we've been one of the most generous nations in history, we've done so much good -- and that's why I appeal to the Lord -- don't let us be totally destroyed. Please, raise up those who will save us. And as I start telling friends from a long time that no election's going to get the right person in there that can restore us because the system is so broken, so undermined right now -- the whole system.
I believe our only hope is a military takeover: martial law.

I haven't been writing too much about the NAR and it's agenda to infiltrate the military for quite awhile, but maybe it's time to remind readers that this agenda is very real and this call for a military takeover is what this agenda has always been about and why the NAR has spent so much capital and effort on the Air Force Academy specifically and the military in general.

Enlightened Catholicism: More Up Is Down From The GOP Leadership And It's Evangelical Supporters

Taking dominion: Champion the Vote unites with Hispanic New Apostolic Reformation movement | God Discussion

The latest group to be featured by the Champion the Vote project is the Hispanic Action Network, led by "apostles and prophets" of the New Apostolic Reformation network.

United in Purpose's Champion the Vote aims to get more Christians "with a Biblical worldview" to the voting booth to vote for candidates who oppose abortion, oppose marriage equality, will cut government spending and will stand for "religious freedom." Among its many supporters are Christian right organizations like the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and the American Family Association. Another "Champion the Vote" proponent is Kenneth Copeland, who proclaimed last November, "If you're a Christian and you don't vote, then you are out of line with the Word of God. You're out of line in your place as a believer in the Body of Christ because the United States of America is the only nation in history that was ever organized by people for a specific purpose to praise and worship God."

Quoting a statement by Charles Finey, the latest Champion the Vote video (embedded below) says, "If the very foundations of our nation fall away, the pulpit is responsible." The "Hispanic Action Network" will provide pastors with "an easy way to encourage your congregation to become responsible Christian citizens" and "equip them to apply a biblical worldview to every area of their lives." The Network claims to offer "a biblical citizenship model that's run by a volunteer leader, appointed by you" who will be trained to mobilize Christians to take action.

This latest effort for "biblical citizenship" appears to be fueled by New Apostolic Reformation leaders who promote seven mountains dominionist theology, such as Cindy Jacobs, who participated in a ceremony called "DC 40" which promoted the idea that the nation's capital should be renamed "the District of Christ" and Lou Engle of The Call. Jacobs and Engle have been active with groups such as the Oak Initiative in promoting seven mountains theology, as Right Wing Watch reported back in 2010.

Taking dominion: Champion the Vote unites with Hispanic New Apostolic Reformation movement | God Discussion

Christian Group Says Demon Sex Makes You Gay | Alternet

"Can demons engage in sexual behaviors with humans?" the magazine asks. Why yes, they can! At least according to the article's primary source, a former stripper-turned-ministry leader named Contessa Adams. Adams shares her decades-long struggle with demon sex, sparing no horrible, sexy detail:

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The primary demon fighter in the modern Christian world is the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a global network of Charismatic Christian ministries devoted to Dominionism, the idea that they must take over public institutions in order to save America and the world from ... demons (and gays, of course),,,

Bruce Wilson, who's reported on the movement for years, tells Alternet, "for the apostles and prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation, demon powers, and also divine curses -- incurred by human unfaithfulness to God's plan, are at the root of virtually any and all conceivable misfortunes, from crime trends, drops in the stock market, and declining SAT scores, to headaches and dandruff. I mean that literally."

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As Rachel Tabachnik, who's done extensive reporting on NAR,  told NPR,  "The apostles teach what's called 'strategic level spiritual warfare' [because they believe that the] reason why there is sin and corruption and poverty on the Earth is because the Earth is controlled by a hierarchy of demons under the authority of Satan."

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Here are just a few places you might encounter Satan's minions,,,

Christian Group Says Demon Sex Makes You Gay | Alternet

Beyond Alarmism and Denial in the Dominionism Debate

Beyond Alarmism and Denial in the Dominionism Debate

This article from August of last year may not seem important to some as Rick Perry is no longer a GOP presidential candidate. But even tho Perry is out, the New Apostolic Reformation is not. The influences of this ideology runs deep. Just some of the points made in this article:

C. Peter Wagner was the Donald McGavran Professor of Church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary when I was there as a student in the early 1990s. He had had a career on the mission field in South America before coming to Fuller, and what brought him there was a book he had written about his time as a missionary called Look out! The Pentecostals are coming.

That book chronicled what he termed the “move of the Holy Spirit” in the world today, and that the healing and deliverance ministries of Pentecostalism would reform the church. Wagner is not a theologian—and this is an important point—because much of what he is teaching is not filtered through systematic theology, or any other creed or doctrine. Rather, it is from the realm of the “Holy Spirit” and is “spirit-led” or derives from “divine revelation.” That makes it difficult to characterize, since he is mixing a lot of old doctrines and “heresy” together to make his NAR movement.

Wagner’s founding of the NAR comes out of two streams: one, his time at Fuller seminary from the 1970s on, working with John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard church movement, and second, from his work in the church growth movement. He was considered to be the heir of Donald McGavran, founder of the church growth movement. That movement essentially said “whatever grows a church is good” and needs to be nurtured. When McGavran retired in the early 1980s, Wagner was his heir apparent.

Two things that concern me "spirit-led" and "whatever grows the church is good". Something about those two thoughts send chill up and down my spine. when I first read this article the hair on my neck stood straight. Too cult-ish sounding to me, a bit of Catholicism and Mormonism mashed together; my first thoughts.

The NAR was “created” by Wagner after leaving Fuller. Wagner believes that the offices of apostles and prophets are still given by God for today, and they are not just for the church, but for the world. Some apostles are to lead the church, and others are to lead in the world, in order to bring the world under the rule of Jesus or the “Kingdom of God.” This “reformation” operates a lot like a Amway organization, with certain apostles, who are connected to churches having an area that they preside over; others are “apostles” because they have achieved success in the “world.”

I like the use of the word "created" as that is exactly what has occurred. An empire is born, a means to control the masses; not unlike the Roman Empire or the Catholic Church it developed into.

I’m really glad you brought up the entrepreneurial/multilevel marketing aspect of this. There’s big money in all the conferences, books, DVDs, speaking honoraria, and so forth. His “apostles” have a pecuniary interest in bringing in more followers and rising higher in the hierarchy.

,,,they’re interested in the bodies that NAR types bring to events like Perry’s and ultimately to the voting booth. That’s been a longstanding strategy of GOP candidates

Bring me the money!! Religion as big business, and yes it is big!!

All of the groups are enmeshed in a symbiotic web. These evangelists’, apostles’, and leaders’ messages are the commodity, and you have to buy the books, conferences, and other materials in order to get the blessings. I know that will seem distasteful and a caricature to some, but these events are well-attended, and at a hundred bucks a person, revenues from book and DVD sales. Conferences and meetings like Lou Engles’ The Call are not just prayer meetings, they are Christian marketplaces, with all sorts of spiritual wares being sold.

As to the political interaction, all of these groups know they don’t have the numbers alone to bring folks in, they need to interact for like-minded causes. Electing a “Christian” is a like-minded cause, whether you believe in dominionism or not. A politician like Perry knows that he has to get these groups to coalesce together on his side in order to get votes and support. Whether Perry believes what they preach is up for debate, but it is clear that he is willing to use them to the fullest extent to gain the support he needs for a presidential run.

These events are, like I said, performances that are carefully staged and mapped out; there may be a series of speakers who seem like they are reacting spontaneously to what’s happening, moved by the holy spirit. But it’s carefully orchestrated, along with mesmerizing music, for maximum impact. It’s big business.

For the last 30 years, journalists have had an easy time reporting on the religious right, because all they did was pay attention to to white male leaders of big organizations like Focus on the Family, National Association of Evangelicals, or Family Research Council. The days when a nice soundbite from Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, or Ted Haggard would suffice are over. If journalists and others want to understand the last 10 years of the religious right movement, they will need to pay attention to the theological, religious, and ethnic diversity among evangelicals, Pentecostals, and non-denominational churches.

And what they are putting in the koolaide,,,

When journalists discount the religious right it just tells me that they are still uncomfortable writing about religion; it takes work to understand the nuances of belief. What this brouhaha about dominionism and NAR shows is that there is a place for the naysayers and the dominionist researchers alike. What Rick Perry’s prayer rally did was to give all of this a big enough footprint in the media so that everyone felt comfortable pontificating about what they thought was going on, even if some journalists didn't get it

No when they discount the RR they trying to save their own asses. Thankfully not all journalists can be categorized as such.

The fact of the matter is, the players have shifted, the playing field is broad, complex and worldwide, and religious conservatives’ role in American electoral politics is still strong. To cite Led Zeppelin, the song remains the same. Only the players of the song have changed, and they’ve added some old and new instruments to make their performances of religiosity and political action remain the same moral tune.