Hurricane Irene Aftermath; Deep into 'Dominionism'

Denominational disaster relief agencies are gearing up to help those communities devastated by the massive inland floods caused by Hurricane Irene, later a tropical storm. The New York Times reports that Irene could rank among the nation's top 10 costliest storms. The news outlet also has some truly stunning photographs of the power of rushing water to wash away homes, businesses and entire towns.

Among the earliest church-related reports:

The United Church of Christ posted a report on the status of its churches on the denominational website. United Methodist News Service writer Linda Bloom devoted her blog to how people of faith substituted online contacts for Sunday worship as New Yorkers awaited the big storm. Episcopal News Service writers Matthew Davies and Mary Frances Schonenberg offer a detailed account of damages to Episcopalian parishes along the Eastern seaboard. Presbyterian News Service also posted a brief report on church damages, saying assessments were in early stages and noting that denominational leaders had issued a call for prayers for those affected by the storm.

Links to the denominational disaster agencies from these articles provide methods, including online payments, for making donations to aid hurricane relief and recovery. Typically, church-related disaster agencies invest in providing long-term assistance to aid storm victims after public aid stops.

What's more, through the funding provided by the annual ecumenical One Great Hour of Sharing fund drive, donors can be assured that more of their contributions go to direct aid. For example, with the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the denomination bears all administrative costs so that 100 percent of disaster donations go to direct assistance. In contrast, Charity Navigator reports that 11 cents of every dollar given to the American Red Cross goes for fundraising and administrative expenses.

TPC's Take: Clearly, donations to crisis services through denominational disaster agencies often provide more bang for the buck than other private institutions.

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So is the far-right religious doctrine of Christian dominionism – the idea that Christians have the God-given authority to take over the world – a genuine concern for the 2012 presidential campaign, or is it just a flash in the pan?

Those who follow the religious right will want to read a profound exploration at Religion Dispatches between investigative reporter Sarah Posner and religion scholar Anthea Butler concerning the recent media dust-up over C. Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation. Remember, NAR and its conservative cohorts such as the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, Lou Engle's The Call and Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer bankrolled and organized Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Aug. 6 "prayer rally" in Houston's Reliant Stadium, a week before he announced his presidential candidacy.

Posner and Butler have the street creds to take on this topic from a truly factual, rational viewpoint, unlike the recent screeds of writers such as Newsweek's Lisa Miller and political consultant Ralph Reed (alas, Reed's article on the evangelical vote was not available on Patheos.com when we double-checked for it on Aug. 31).

Posner, author of God’s Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters and RD’s senior editor, has specialized in tracking the religious right for several years. To say that she's on to the religious right like white on rice is not an overstatement. Likewise Butler, associate professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania, also has specialized in tracking conservative evangelical and Pentecostal religion particularly in the Black church, such as in her book, Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World (UNC Press, 2007).

TPC's Take:Their dialogue is long, but those who want to be truly well informed about this phenomenon's influence on both politics and religion should make time to read it.

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Tar Sands Action Update: Thus far, more than 700 people have been arrested outside the White House during the Tar Sands Action opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline from the Canadian tar sands across America to refineries on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast. Check out the post from  Danielle Simms, Obama Campaign Volunteer: Because We Want Change We Can Believe In.