Tag Archives: Christian nationalism

Christian Nationalism?

“To be a Christian (aka a Christ follower) means following a leader who never led an army, who never used a weapon, who opened the table to outsiders, and who told us to welcome the stranger (as a way of welcoming Jesus).” (Carlos A. Rodriguez, “It’s Time to Choose,” Sojo.net, Sept/Oct 2024.)

I grew up during the height of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union threatened to take over Europe. At the time, it was easy to identify Christ with those countries allied against Stalin and other Soviet leaders. I read of children my age in Berlin who waited for American and allied nations to drop supplies and overcome the Soviet blockade of parts of Berlin. They  depended on the airlifts to survive.

With these examples, we easily identified the Soviets with enemies of Christ. Surely Jesus would not want little children to starve.

However, any human grouping, even a Christian one, is subject to the temptation of worshiping the group instead of Christ. Those early Christians, persecuted and often despised, persevered by loving even their enemies. Yet, as their bravery and kindness won that battle, some later fell victim to the temptation to serve earthly kingdoms instead of Christ.

The temptation is with us today, when we make the United States our focus instead of Christ. As Christians, we are surely required take advantage of our citizenship. However, if we identify country with God, we commit a form of idolatry.

Rather, we perform better citizenship if we join to create a government that takes care of widows and orphans and strangers. Just as many of our ancestors came to this country to seek a better way of life, we also will seek just, open, and orderly ways to help those today who wish to come to this country. In the long run, they will bless us. We should know, having been blessed ourselves by our immigrant ancestors.

Loving Our (Political) Enemies

Today, we are faced with a rise of what is called “Christian nationalism.” In this movement, the Christ story is supposedly tied to America.

This comes close to proclaiming the worship of a country. It also elevates political parties to claiming almost godly status. If our side loses, we, being God’s people, must prevail even if it means physically overcoming the other side, as was attempted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Christianity can be championed in at least two ways. Too often, the church of the early modern era chose the political, nationalistic route: Those who didn’t follow the prescribed belief of an established church risked being killed, tortured, or exiled.

Though they certainly had their faults, the revived Christian groups of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries chose a decidedly better way of championing Christianity. Groups of Christians, not countries, were more likely to carry Jesus’ story to the non-Western world. This movement included “good works” like feeding the hungry and setting up schools, in home countries as well as on mission fields.

Today, we risk falling again into the trap of “might makes right.”

“Democracy is currently facing an unprecedented crisis, both in the United States and around the world.” (Daniel K. Williams, “The Forgotten Christian Cause: Preserving Democracy,” Christianity Today, October 17, 2022)

We are all sinners, prone to error. Until we recognize that we are not capable of playing God ourselves, democracy may be in danger.

“Democracy in the U.S. will succeed only if parties on both sides are ‘willing to allow their worst enemies to govern if they win an election.’” (Historian James Kloppenberg, quoted in the Williams article.)