James Dobson's Bloodthirsty Swan Song

https://julieroys.com/james-dobson-calls-for-assassination-vladimir-putin/

Some of us have long known James Dobson to be something of a fool, a would-be politico who envisions himself as not only the Christian Right's stalwart and wise leader, but the great moral discerner of our times – even the Evangelical elder statesman, their version of Winston Churchill. And yet at times the real evil and rot of his heart comes to the surface. This was seen with his recent call for the assassination of Vladimir Putin.

Dobson sold his soul fifty years ago to the idols of mammon and power and now at nearly eighty-six he can't go on much longer. He's done enough damage to the testimony of Christ. Let's hope this call to violence and sin was his swan song as pathetic as it is.

A promoter of Right-wing extremism and war, Dobson never shed a tear for the people of Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan even as America slaughtered them and wove a web of deceit in order to do so. When reports emerged regarding the destruction of the Iraq's ethnic Christian communities, the terrorists were blamed and the war unleashed by George Bush was whitewashed and cast in terms of helping these people – when in reality Bush and the Neo-Cons in their ignorance and avarice destroyed the fragile social fabric of several of the nations created by the Western powers in the aftermath of World War I. It was a kind of sick sequel to the imperialist manipulations of another generation – all of which resulted in contrived states with authoritarian regimes as these countries had no basis for democracy and in many cases no historical or cultural basis for their political existence.

Dobson would have been outraged had foreign leaders and religious figures called for the assassination of Bush but he can't see this or even comprehend it as he is completely blinded by his own self-serving ethic – one that has been fully on display many times over the years when discussing social problems, health care, and the like.

The Roys article is helpful but as is often the case it is confused in its reporting and this piece is no different. Tooley is effectively a Right-wing or even CIA asset and not to be trusted in any capacity. His theology is dubious as is his commentary. He is effectively a Dominionist working within the United Methodist Church and given the recent course of that denomination and its pending schism he has either succeeded or failed depending on how one reads the situation. It's not entirely clear but one thing is certain – it was his goal, not just to turn the apostate denomination back in a more theologically conservative direction (as viewed from the Evangelical vantage point) but also to run interference for the political Right and attempt to steer the denomination (or factions within it) in the direction of the GOP.

Contrary to both Tooley and Dobson, the actual New Testament or Christian position is one that understands the big picture when it comes to geopolitics and the present wars. The particulars of God's plan is certainly beyond us but as we know the broad strokes of the grand scheme concerning the course of this age and that nations will ever be at war with one another – we can see all of these events as propelling the world toward the Day of the Lord.

It's hardly a situation in which we can say one nation or group of nations is good and another is evil. Rather the Biblical imagery is one of clashing beasts, of evil powers contending for the mastery, vying for power, and feeding off the destruction of populations and the brutalising of the image of God.

Dobson in his blindness supports these notions as long as the beast happens to be the American one.

Rather than call for assassinations and war like James Dobson, we are to pray for rulers, show love and compassion to people and the suffering in particular – again, something that Dobson profits from and at the behest of his political allies seeks to foment and amplify.

Tooley and those like him are not following the New Testament on these points but stirring activism and seeking to rationalize Ukrainian Christians disobeying Christ and taking up arms to kill their fellow man.

Erroneously labeled by the mainstream media as a Fundamentalist, Dobson certainly views himself as a conservative stalwart and yet the past fifty years have shown he's one of the architects of the great Evangelical compromise and he bears no small part in planting the seeds of the present apostasy. He's not a stalwart. He's a theological and ethical sell-out.

Through the influence of Dobson, Evangelicalism has embraced psychology, feminism, and abandoned Christian ethics for mammon and power. Reports reveal he was more or less laughed at by those within the Bush White House. Unlike the unrepentant felon and former political operative Charles Colson, James Dobson didn't understand how things worked or how things could get done – but the Bush people patronised him because of his massive base and connections. He thought himself an important player in the affairs of the administration. In truth he was being used.

It's clear that for Dobson, his hero isn't the apostle Paul or anyone else specifically Christian. Rather it's Winston Churchill, revealing with great clarity that Dobson sees Christianity primarily in terms of culture, society, and power and he thinks Churchill to be some kind of savvy and moral leader to emulate – points that many would challenge on multiple fronts. This also exposes Dobson's own foolishness, and all things considered it is right and proper to refer to him as a buffoon. A Christian leader that has compromised ethics, grown rich, allied with powers, supported evil, and yet clearly understands nothing and has in his many decades of life learned nothing – is rightly called a fool. That's not name calling. That's a moral condemnation.

Now desperate and defeated, all that he has stood for (or thinks he stood for) has crumbled into ashes. His ministry was wrested away from him. As he grew rich he wanted to get richer and thus transformed it into its corporate form. He lost control and was forced out – all hidden in a fog of lies. Such practices are par for the course with many so-called Evangelical ministries.

Dobson gave himself to the misguided culture war – even while he helped the Evangelical community to keep moving the goalposts and compromising their stands and values in order to keep the numbers up and the money coming in.

In his later years he allied with fascistic forces and charlatans and has destroyed any testimony that he once possessed. He soon will meet his Maker and when the report comes over the news I will tremble as I did with Jerry Falwell and other figures like Tim LaHaye. It's a Matthew 7 moment if ever there was one. I would not for anything want to be James Dobson. He is a lesson in self-deception and delusion and now in calling for murder his rotten fruit is on display for all to see. He has so utterly lost his way that even the likes of the Roys Report and Mark Tooley are forced to call him out.

See also:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2020/03/palin-apostasy-on-display.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-nation-christian-right-and-levins.html