Fringe dwelling Lyle Shelton has close ties with "Christian dominionist" theology - historian

QLD election Toowoomba 2006

Chrys Stevenson is an historian and has in 2011 written an article that goes very deeply into the history of both the Australian Christian Lobby and Lyle Shelton. He traces the influences that shaped Shelton as he grew up and embraced them. It's clear that Shelton adheres to Christian "dominionist" theology; the idea that Christians must infiltrate all levels of gov to make laws according to their strict conservative religious views.

If this sounds like some kind of extreme left-wing conspiracy theory (and I'm well aware that it does!) take a look at the website for the NACL where the dominionist rationale is clearly laid out:


"Either Christian morality or Humanist amorality will prevail. Christians must be in positions of leadership to decide which it will be. Said one Christian politician, 'I didn't believe Christians should impose our traditional moral values and ideals on those that opposed them, so I did nothing, and they in time imposed their immorality on me ... If we do not support the legislation of Christian morality, we allow the legislation of humanist immorality."


When Yates stepped down as the ACL's chief of staff, the role was taken on by Lyle Shelton. The ACL could hardly have found a candidate with a finer dominionist pedigree.


Lyle Shelton is the son of Ian Shelton, pastor of Toowoomba City Church, a "transformation" ministry which grew out of the now defunct Logos Foundation, a cultish group closely associated with dominionist and reconstructionist theology.


Apparently, Shelton Snr joined Logos in the early 1980s when Lyle was in his pre-teens. When the group folded in the wake of its leader's sexual indiscretions, it was resurrected by Shelton in the guise of the Toowoomba City Church. Shelton Senior's vision is for Toowoomba to become:

 

"a transformed city where all the spheres - sport/arts/leisure, welfare, health, media & information, law/police/judiciary, politics & government, business & commerce, education - ... come under the lordship of Christ."

 

............................................

 

Prior to joining the ACL, Lyle worked with Summit Ministries Australia, an offshoot of an American organisation headed by Christian dominionist, David Noebel.

 In the 70s, with the communist threat fast diminishing, Noebel was among the first to employ anti-gay rhetoric as a new focus for fundamentalist fear-mongering - a strategy put to good use by the Australian Christian Lobby. According to Noebel in The Battle for Truth:

 

"[G]overnment exists not so much to create laws as to secure laws, to apply God's laws to general and specific situations ... False law-making - such as 'concessions to the majority' as a basis for the legalisation of abortion, homosexuality, pedophilia or incest - will not be tolerated by God."

 Summit's clearly stated goal is to "prepare tomorrow's servant leaders to engage and transform our culture."

 

For some years, Summit Australia held a "biblical world view conference" in Australia. Far from distancing himself from this den of dominionists, Jim Wallace, managing director of the ACL, was on the programmes for 2006 and 2007 along with David Noebel and Darrell Furgason. Shelton was recruited from Summit to the ACL in 2006. ABC

Stevenson observes even back in 2011 the undue influence Shelton and the ACL has over the Australian Federal gov. In doing so he points out that if this were Muslims demanding religious laws of their own be passed by gov there'd rightly be outrage. One such radical Muslim was even banished from the Lakemba Mosque for demanding just that. That it's time the Australian gov saw the ACL and Shelton for what they really are; extremists who don't deserve to be part of the democratic processes in Australia, let alone given the voice and influence they have. 

The Australian Christian Lobby is so intimately linked with dominionist theology it beggars belief that it does not subscribe to its aims. Nobody denies that, in a democracy, all citizens have a right to have their voice heard in the public square. But, the privileged role accorded to the ACL by our political leaders must now be questioned. 


Just as responsible Muslims have distanced themselves from the lunatic ravings of Ibrahim Siddiq-Conlon, it is time for the leaders of Australia's mainstream Christian churches to publicly disassociate themselves from the right-wing, extremist, divisive dominionism of the ACL. 


Perhaps, in their intimate association with the ACL, our government is conforming to the maxim, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." But, as citizens of a multicultural, multi-faith, multi-denominational, secular, democratic society, Australians - of all faiths and none - should "beware the enemy within." ABC  

Remember he's talking about the Labor Gillard gov back in 2011. Yet this gov is even more intimately linked to the ACL and Shelton. Almost tied at the hip, to the point where the ACL even drafted a marriage discrimination bill. 

After all Shelton did run for the National party in the QLD 2006 state election and became an advisor to Barnaby Joyce after failing to get office. The ACL seems almost a branch of the National party rather than an independent body. Jobs for the boys?