Category Archives: Nationalism

Anxiety, Arrogance, Blindness, Christians in America, Nationalism, Religious Right

Many Will Come . . .

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These are funny times. Pundits are magnanimous in their talk about how divided these United States are. The divisions are many and strident. At I write these words, the election is just over and the political alienation is palpable.
From the right, many are claiming protection for their righteous values while from the left the push for women’s reproductive rights and the LGBTQ+ front continue their own advocacy efforts.

The Reverend Jerry Falwell was instrumental in the formation of a platform for Christians to unite politically forming a voting bloc for politicians to solicit. The Moral Majority (some said was neither) was a conservative group built in the way the Tea Party was built to create a voting bloc. Today’s bloc is simply called the Evangelical Right with many “leaders”.

In the lead up to the 2024 election, a persistent narrative emerged that Donald J. Trump was specifically chosen by God for the mission of being the president of the United States. Books have been written and illustrators have been busy embellishing this tale of predestined favor with T-shirts and hats. In a book titled “Why God Chose Donald Trump for President” Muhammad Kanafsky shares this delightful prose: “Donald Trump is one of those who loves to work and improve life in this World. That is why God chose him to be President of the United States of America.” I can only assume this was self-published.

What has been startling is how his pursuit of the evangelical vote fed into the self-serving non-Biblical movement called Christian Nationalism. A movement promoting the idea that these United States were established by God to be a Christian nation. Christians from across the nation have condemned this fiction. [Editor’s note: Please see my post https://www.the6p.net/2022/12/01/why-christian-nationalism-is-both-non-scriptural-and-heretical/

This yarn about Trump’s designation as a chosen leader is one of the most misbegotten pails of hamster vomit the world has ever seen. In the words of Christ from Matthew 24:4-8 as rendered in The Message:

“Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.”

Nationalism, Religious Right

Why Christian Nationalism is Both Heretical and Non-Scriptural

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The so-called Christian Nationalist movement has no actual foundation for existence short of embodying the metaphorical “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. This movement only seems to be embraced by a small number of followers, but that number could be increasing.

According to the Washington Post, Christian Nationalism is an ideology that says Christianity is the foundation of the United States and that government should protect that foundation.

Strangely enough, many of the participants in the movement are those identifiable as far right extremists whose attachment to the Kingdom seems tangential at most if not superficial.

A foundational truth that the promoters of this clique seem to miss is that we are not to be encumbered or tied down by politics or earthbound country. Those who consider themselves true citizens of the Kingdom, also considers themselves “strangers and pilgrims on earth” [Hebrews 11:13], but they are “not of this world” as Jesus said.  [John 17:14]
Since the days of the Apostle Paul, we have heard it reiterated, these are the last days before the triumphant return of our coming King. How can we become so enamored of a country that is temporary and soon to fade away? How could the
concept of a Christian Nationalist not be an oxymoron?

It was Paul who reminded us that we are to be ambassadors for the Kingdom. Dictionary.com defines an ambassador as: a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative. The ambassador does not get involved in the affairs of the country in which s/he is stationed. How then, do we justify commitment and investment to the country where we’re stationed? And to what end?