I bumped into Christian Nationalism

I received a letter at church today from the Chair of the Republican Senate District 36 in Minnesota. I assume most of the local churches received the same letter. There were some red flags for me in the letter that made me think he leaned towards Christian Nationalism and after a quick internet search I found he clearly did as he writes for an organisation called Restore Minnesota.

I had never heard of Restore Minnesota, which as someone concerned about the growth of Christians Nationalism within the church I can only blame myself for. So I looked at their about page and with sadness read that they falsely believe:

America is the greatest nation in the history of the world. Our founding was rooted in The Mayflower Compact’s directive to honor God and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, a theme that was preserved by our Founding Fathers as they used the Bible as their primary source material for the contents of The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. However, at the present time, America is in a free fall. Due to illegal, unethical, immoral and unconstitutional decisions made by rogue government leaders and corporate bullies who hate God and hate America, our nation, the nation the rest of the world has looked to as the shining city on a hill, the beacon of hope and freedom, is on the verge of moral, spiritual, educational and economic collapse. We cannot allow that to happen.

When it comes to a twisted, ahistorical understanding of the founding of the United States this is about as bad as it gets. It’s hard to know where to begin, so I won’t. I’ll just leave their statement here to make you aware of it and allow you see what the heresy of Christian Nationalism looks like. Any respected historian’s work on the founding of the United States will demonstrate just how far off base this thinking is. If you are a Christian, particularly one from another country or with an understanding of orthodox theology on the kingdom of God, you’ll appreciate just how far off removed this is from the good news of Jesus Christ.

There are some great books by sociologists like Gerardo Marti, Andrew Whitehead, Philip Gorski, and Samuel Perry that address in depth the topic and dangers of Christian Nationalism. Conservative writers like David French and Russell Moore also have some great material available if you’re interested in digging deeper.

But it’s not just what they believe that matters. What they believe saddens me, because they claim to represent Christ, but as a Christian leader in the community their mission frightens me.

Our mission is to create a statewide network of Minnesota patriots committed to developing citizens who support and defend the Biblical principles, values and ideals espoused by our founding fathers in The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States and the many other support documents that laid the foundation for the establishment of our Christian nation.

Why does this frighten me? Because it conflates American patriotism with being Christian. It pushes for a “Christian nation” when Scripture is clear that all the kingdoms of this world are to be seen as Babylon. The idea that is “our Christian nation” tells you there is no place for Muslims, Jews, Hindus, atheists, anyone not like us, because it’s “ours.” No, it’s not ours, yours, or anyone’s! Scripture is clear that it’s all God’s, every nation, the whole earth. There’s also an authoritarian streak in their position which becomes clear when they list “Local Control” as one of their values.

As a result of all this Restore Minnesota calls

God-fearing, America-loving patriots who know it is time to take God-directed action and become the informed, authoritative leadership in every sphere of our local communities.

Nowhere did Jesus say his people were to hold “authoritative leadership in every sphere of our local communities.” Give me a break, the way of Jesus is the way of the cross, it looks like foolishness and weakness to the world. The way of Jesus is not the way of government control, establishing an autocratic theocracy by which everyone is supposed to live by. The way of Jesus doesn’t require winning as world defines winning, rather the first shall be last, blessed are meek, blessed are the poor, and to embrace Paul’s thought we are to, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Service over control, compassion over coercion, love over legalism.

So, I will continue my opposition to Christian Nationalism and the false gospel they proclaim as I seek to follow the way of Jesus and his call to proclaim the kingdom of God. In doing so I will promote love for all people, including my enemies. I won’t ask, “Who is my neighbour?” I will ask, “Who can I be a neighbour too?” If my enemy is hungry I will feed them, if they are thirsty I will give them something to drink. I will not be governed by fear, I will live out of love and grace, the love and grace I have received from God in Christ.

And yes, I will continue to call people to repentance and proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ, inviting others to bring their lives into alignment with the life of Christ.

One final comment - The threat from within the church from heresies like Christian Nationalism pose a far greater threat to the gospel of Jesus Christ than any movement that originates outside the church.