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There’s a growing effort within mainstream Christian culture here in the U.S. to redefine and embrace Christian nationalism as a triumphalist badge of honor. Alluding to Kellyanne Conway’s post-truth “alternative facts,” Phil Vischer satirized this perspective with an alternative definition: “Christian nationalism simply means you want your nation to promote good, healthy Christian values like love of neighbor.”1 Those who are engaging in these rhetorical gymnastics are being disingenuous about their motives, ignorant about theology, and/or delusional about reality.
A solid book on this topic is Paul D. Miller’s The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism.2 He argues there’s a long history of people duplicitously using the language and symbols of Christianity to baptize their cultural and political agenda. Miller is right. Even giving them the benefit of the doubt about their misguided sincerity, Jesus’ followers going all the way back to the apostles keep repeating the same blunder of trying to redirect The Way of Jesus into an earthly institution with geo-political power. That error is quite simply anti-Christ.
My critiques run deeper, though. Just as the meaning of patriotism isn’t mere love of country but a willingness to employ violence on behalf of one’s country, which runs contrary to Jesus’ radical nonviolence, so Christian nationalism isn’t mere support for one’s nation alongside advocacy of traditional values in the public square. No, Christian nationalism is about giving one’s ultimate allegiance to their temporal citizenship and in return gaining access to the levers of power to hegemonically preserve Christian privilege.3 That’s idolatrous to the eternal Kingdom of God.
Jesus told the disciples that Gentile rulers wish to rule over others, then added, “But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”4 Christendom, Christian nationalism… it’s all a counterfeit. Why can’t Christians get this through their skulls?
The original beatniks were suspicious of Christians trying to rule over them, and for good cause. They were then and they still are today. Truthfully, I don’t trust ’em, either. Christian culture claims to spiritually form people as disciples yet resists The Way of Jesus at every turn.5 The unspoken idea seems to be Jesus is great in theory but was too impractical and countercultural to actually emulate in the real world. It all reminds me of G.K. Chesterton’s quote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”6
Emphasis on the satire.↩
Miller has strong conservative bonafides both theologically and politically, which he openly acknowledges puts him out of sync with today’s Right.↩
That’s a fundamentally different discussion than almost all Americans Christians want to have. They want to first label patriotism as a virtue, then carefully parse what Christian nationalism does and does not mean exactly and what racial component may or may not factor in. yyyyyyyeah… I reject that premise. This mindset seems incapable of even imagining that allegiance/loyalty to your country makes you a traitor to your King and His Kingdom.↩
Those passages are in Mark 10 and John 18.↩
I’m not just talking about sin issues that result in flawed execution, but principled opposition and 180° deviation from the actual life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus.↩
Lookin’ at you, Christian nationalism. Lookin’ at you, American patriotism. Do you people not realize there are Christians in countries around the globe?↩
