To understand the contemporary meaning of the Appeal to Heaven flag, it’s necessary to enter a world of Christian extremism animated by modern-day apostles, prophets, and apocalyptic visions of Christian triumph that was central to the chaos and violence of Jan. 6. Earlier this year we released an audio-documentary series, rooted in deep historical research and ethnographic interviews, on this sector of Christianity, which is known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). The flag hanging outside Johnson’s office is a key part of its symbology.
… this sector of Christianity, which is known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). The flag hanging outside Johnson’s office is a key part of its symbology
Nearly all the leaders who jumped on board this movement identify themselves as apostles or prophets who get messages from God, apparently.
They believe they’re mandated by God to conquer and take over 7 areas: “religion, family, government, education, arts and entertainment, media, and business.”
One of the influential leaders of the NAR “… seized upon the [aforementioned] flag as a symbol of the spiritual-warfare driven Christian nationalist revolution he hoped to see in American politics” and successfully campaigned to do just that in right wing Christian circles.
You may notice it popping up in political arenas.
So who gives a shit about a flag? Well it isn’t that so much. It’s that the author(s) argue that NAR was at the center of mobilizing like minded Christians for the Jan 6 insurrection. And many NAR leaders attended.
This is why, if you look closely at the panopticon of videos and pictures of the Capitol insurrection, Appeal to Heaven flags are everywhere.
So given what this flag symbolizes, the article asks what is means for the second it line to the presidency to hang this flag of Christian “spiritual warfare” outside their office.
The author then links Johnson to top NAR folks and argues that for someone prominent in this movement the flag isn’t there just because it’s a gift with no other meaning.
Anyway, this fucking lunatic is 2nd in line to the presidency. I wonder if he will ever run for president. Or if someone who shares his insane views will do so.
He holds stringent positions on abortion, thinks homosexuality is a lifestyle choice that should not be recognized under legal protections against discrimination, defends young Earth creationism, blames school shootings on the sexual revolution of the 1960s, … “The founders wanted to protect the church from an encroaching state, not the other way around,” he has said.
So if these connections are made and shared why aren’t these people being investigated? Sounds like a christian terrorists organization that has infiltrated our government.
Seditious christofascist traitor.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
He is a former constitutional lawyer and hardly the type of political figure who jeers during a State of the Union address, or gets caught in a Beetlejuice groping scandal, or shows up on cable news to take a victory lap after ousting the leader of his own party.
He holds stringent positions on abortion, thinks homosexuality is a lifestyle choice that should not be recognized under legal protections against discrimination, defends young Earth creationism, blames school shootings on the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and questions the framework of the separation of church and state.
In the mid-2000s, these NAR networks collectively embraced a theological paradigm called the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” a prophecy that divides society into seven arenas — religion, family, government, education, arts and entertainment, media, and business.
Since 2015, you can find these Appeal to Heaven flags popping up over and over: in the background of pictures of far-right politicians and election deniers like Doug Mastriano; as wall decorations in state legislators’ offices; at right-wing rallies.
We make the case in our audio-documentary series that the New Apostolic Reformation networks were at the molten core of Christian mobilization for Jan. 6, with many NAR leaders in attendance that day, including a handful of C. Peter Wagner’s closest mentees.
Carscadden’s Facebook profile page is a photo of him holding an Appeal to Heaven flag, and the Louisiana apostle posted his support for the gathering crowds of protesters on Jan. 6, 2021, writing: “We will be live in person and online as we stand with the million plus in Washington DC today.
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