Critique of the Seven Mountain Mandate and Dominion Theology
The Seven Mountain Mandate and Dominion Theology are concepts that advocate for Christians to exert influence and control over various sectors of society. While the term "seven mountains" is not directly found in scripture, proponents often interpret Revelation 17:9, which speaks of a woman sitting on "seven heads and seven mountains," as a symbolic reference to societal spheres [1]. However, this passage in Revelation is typically understood by commentators like Jamieson, Fausset & Brown to refer to the city of Rome, known for its seven hills, and to require spiritual discernment to understand its symbolic prophecy [1].
Dominion Theology, in its various forms, suggests that God has given humanity a mandate to exercise dominion over the earth, often extending this to mean that Christians should take control of governmental and cultural institutions. This idea draws from the Genesis creation account where humanity is given dominion over creation. However, the application of this concept to political and social control is a subject of theological debate.
Theological traditions, such as those represented by Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology, emphasize the importance of divine law and its application to individual and societal morality. For instance, Hodge discusses the Seventh Commandment, noting that its principles extend to purity in thought, speech, and behavior, and that the integrity of the family relation is crucial for the well-being of the state and church [2]. While this highlights the importance of Christian ethics in society, it does not inherently endorse a mandate for political or cultural takeover. Hodge also addresses the justice of divine judgments, such as the deluge or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were inflicted due to offenses, even if children perished [3]. This perspective underscores a focus on divine justice and moral order rather than a strategy for earthly dominion.
The interpretation of biblical texts like Revelation 17:9, which describes a symbolic vision, is crucial in understanding the critique of the Seven Mountain Mandate. The passage is seen as requiring spiritual discernment to understand its prophetic meaning, which historically has been linked to the city of Rome [1]. This contrasts with interpretations that apply "seven mountains" to contemporary societal structures as a call to Christian control.
Sources
- Revelation (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Revelation 17:9: Compare Rev 13:18; Dan 12:10, where similarly spiritual discernment is put forward as needed in order to understand the symbolical prophecy. seven heads and seven mountains--The connection between mountains and kings must be deeper than the mere outward fact to which incidental allusion is made, that Rome (the then world city) is on seven hills (whence heathen Rome had a national festival called Septimontium, the feast of the seven-hilled city [PLUTARCH]; and on the imperial coins, just as here, she is represented as a woman seated on seven hills”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 49: § 11. The Seventh Commandment. This commandment, as we learn from our Lord’s exposition of it, given in his sermon on the mount, forbids all impurity in thought, speech, and behaviour. As the social organization of society is founded on the distinction of the sexes, and as the well-being of the state and the purity and prosperity of the Church rest on the sanctity of the family relation, it is of the last importance that the normal, or divinely constituted relation of the sexes be preserved in its integrity. Celibacy. Among the important ”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 47: come upon the men of his generation. Then it is unjust that the Jews of the present day, and ever since the crucifixion of our Lord, should be scattered and peeled, according to the predictions of the prophets, for the rejection of the Messiah. Then, also, were the deluge sent in wrath upon the world, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the extermination of the Canaanites, in which thousands of children perished innocent of the offences for which those judgments were inflicted, all acts of stupendous injustice. If this principl”