Kerrod Trott 
Thwarted in their attempts to take over the South Australian branch of the Liberal Party earlier this year (https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/04/21/speirs-calls-for-end-to-libs-divine-right-recruitment-drive/), it would appear that adherents of “Dominion Theology” in our local Evangelical and Charismatic churches have turned their attention to Local Government, with a concerted push to get candidates elected at the Onkaparinga Council at November’s Elections.
What is “Dominion Theology”? One of the early prophets of “Dominion Theology” in the US, George Grant, wrote in his 1987 book The Changing of the Guard: Biblical Principles for Political Action:
“Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ—to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness. … But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice. … Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land—of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts, and governments for the Kingdom of Christ.”
See: Dominion theology – Wikipedia
Seeking to conquer local government in the name of Jesus Christ, one of the Mayoral Candidates in Onkaparinga led a hand-picked team of Church-associated Ward candidates into the election campaign.
The candidate, a long-time member of the Edge Pentecostal Church at Hackham, did not shy away from espousing his conservative Christian views. He spoke out against putting fluoride in our drinking water, and stated that local government should not be concerned with environmental matters. He does not believe that Onkaparinga Council should declare a Climate Emergency, either.
Questions were also raised about the involvement of the right-wing, anti-vaxxer Australian Federation Party in the election campaign.
Followers of these right-wing candidates were also involved in disruptive behaviour while acting as scrutineers at the vote count conducted by the South Australian Electoral Commission, harassing and filming EC staff and scrutineers from other candidates.
Their behaviour prompted the South Australian Electoral Commissioner to call in the Police, suspend the vote count and issue a rare reprimand to the scrutineers concerned, as reported in the Adelaide Advertiser. (Unfortunately pay-walled.)
Police called as chaos runs rife in council election count
The electoral commissioner has reprimanded scrutineers whose “inappropriate and disruptive” behaviour led to police being called to the Onkaparinga Council Chambers.
The disruptive behavior shown at the Electoral Commission is, unfortunately, straight out of the US Evangelical play book.
We’ve all seen the images of Trump supporters claiming corruption and voter fraud in the US, trying to disrupt the electoral process by occupying the US Capitol on January 6th.
Is this type of behaviour now becoming part of politics here in Australia.?
We hope not.
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