Founded 1978 (1978) Type Nonprofit 501(c)(3) | Founder Steve Schiffman Tax ID no. 58-1374143 (EIN) | |
Motto "Exercising Servanthood Dominion" Location 3150-A Florence Road
Suite 2
Powder Springs, GA 30127 | ||
American Vision is a United States nonprofit organization founded in 1978 by Steve Schiffman. It operates as a Christian ministry, and calls for "equipping and empowering Christians to restore America’s biblical foundation." The organization promotes Christian Reconstructionism and Postmillennialism, and opposes dispensationalism. Gary DeMar was the organization's president from 1986 to 2015. DeMar is now Senior Fellow, while Joel McDurmon is president.
Contents
Activities
American Vision publishes books "primarily for use in Christian schools and for home schoolers." The group has published over 175 books, DVDs, CDs, and MP3s. The group also publishes a daily newsletter and podcast and is active in the creation science movement.
American Vision trains parents, teachers, pastors and activists "in developing family-oriented biblical worldviews." It hosts an annual "Worldview Conference", which has featured speakers such as Herbert Titus.
Beliefs
DeMar has written that "The Bible attributes self-consciousness to preborn babies." American Vision is opposed to abortion. The group maintains that the First Amendment's demand that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" means that Congress may not establish a state religion. The group maintains that the First Amendment does not prohibit members of Congress from making laws that are in submission to the Bible. DeMar has said that not all homosexuals would be executed under a “reconstructed government" but that he did believe that the occasional execution of "sodomites" would serve society well because "the law that requires the death penalty for homosexual acts effectively drives the perversion of homosexuality underground, back into the closet"
DeMar also wrote a "long-term goal" should be "the execution of abortionists and parents who hire them". Islam is another enemy; in August 2010 he said that "the long-term goal of Islam is the abolition of our constitutional freedoms."
The Southern Poverty Law Center designated American Vision as an anti-gay hate group because of its purported support of the "death penalty for practicing homosexuals." However, American Vision has written multiple articles explaining that it does not advocate literal Mosaic "death penalty" for all the Mosaic death penalty crimes, because "Biblical law has transferred First Table punishments from earthly civil governments to the throne of heaven", and right now only the moral principles are still binding.