God's Next Army
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Conservative evangelical Christians hold key
positions in the US Government and now they're training the next
generation to take power. Julia Bard reports
God's Next Army investigates Patrick Henry College (PHC),
set up five years ago in Virginia, near Washington DC. Its mission is
to train young fundamentalist Christians to become the next generation
of America's cultural and political leaders. Though the separation of
church and state is enshrined in the US Constitution, with financial
backing from the evangelical community the college aims to
'rechristianise' America; to 'preserve the world from the sinfulness of
man'.
PHC students are an
isolated group who come from close-knit communities where everyone
prays together and shares moral certainties. Most have been educated at
home and have had no contact with either the social diversity or the
political and intellectual cut and thrust of mainstream schools. Derek
Archer, a prospective PHC
student believes home-schooling has protected him from the 'moral decay
of the world'.
Once at the college, the students ceremonially sign a covenant which
commits them to a strict behaviour code: no alcohol, drugs or obscene
literature; sex will be reserved for marriage; personal conflicts will
be resolved biblically; the students will be above reproach, will
uphold the tenets of evangelical Christianity and lead the nation for
Christ.
Everyone at PHC,
including the academics, also signs a statement of faith which includes
these assertions: The Bible in its entirety ... is the
inspired word of God, inerrant in its original manuscripts, and the
only infallible and sufficient authority for faith and Christian living.
Man is by nature sinful and is inherently in need of
salvation, which is exclusively found by faith alone in Jesus Christ
and His shed blood.
Satan exists as a personal, malevolent being who acts as tempter and
accuser, for whom Hell, the place of eternal punishment, was prepared,
where all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious
torment for eternity.
There are political as well as biblical imperatives. The students are
highly trained in political debating techniques for which they win
national trophies. The college is extremely well-connected in
Washington, and students are propelled towards internships working for
top politicians.
God's Next Army shows students taking their first step
towards power, canvassing for a key Republican candidate. They visit a
conservative lobbying company which is opposing the payment of
compensation to people affected by asbestos, and is trying to repeal
estate tax because 'the earth is the Lord's'.
Helped by the institution's friends-in-high-places, PHC has already provided
the current White House administration with more interns than any other
college in the USA, and more are in the pipeline - on the way to
becoming 'key players in a Christian republic'.
