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Christian Nationalism is Neither [1]
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Date: 2025-01-09
Christian Nationalism is neither Christian, nor nationalism.
It is not Christian, in part, because it purports to apply Biblical law to modern American society. Biblical law predates Christianity by several hundred years. The books of the law were composed around 1400 B.C., while the Bible states that Jesus’ followers were first referred to as Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26) in about 35 A.D.
The supposed Christian Nationalists are, by definition, closer in relation to the Pharisees of the Old Testament in their insistence on the primacy of Biblical Law. Like the Pharisees, they misunderstand the purpose and meaning of Biblical Law – it was intended to provide a standard of conduct which was impossible to carry out, thus forcing the Hebrew people to be trapped in sin – crimes enumerated as sinful acts and punishments evoking sinful behavior. The only way out of sin was the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus, who could actually complete the law and bring it to a close by establishing God’s merciful deliverance from sin. In doing so, Jesus demonstrated and taught the true image of God’s law – to love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, and soul; to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40).
By insisting on enacting Biblical Law into modern American society, these adherents are suggesting that we revert to pre-Christian times when the compassionate teachings of Jesus were not acknowledged.
Further, these Pharisaical folks neglect the primary demand of Biblical Law – if one practices part of the Law, they must practice all the Law (James 2:10). There is no picking and choosing what to accept and what to neglect. That means they must also practice the injunction to “care for strangers and foreigners, for you were once strangers and foreigners yourselves.” (Deuteronomy 10:19), among others that insist on compassion and mercy.
Nationalism is the identifying of the nation as the central form of civilized community which is the object of ultimate loyalty. That is, in the U.S., holding the Constitution as the founding document of the nation as the primary source of law and order above all else – including individual people. Loyalty to the U.S., often defined as patriotism, is focused on the Constitution.
On the topic of Nationalism, the Pharisaical folks fail entirely. They offer their loyalty to one man – Donald Trump. His entire presidential administration is built of the application of a loyalty oath holding him as above the Constitution and civil and criminal law. At best, this is fidelity to a demagogue. Demagogic fidelity includes putting the person above even the God to whose law they claim to adhere, further alienating them from Christianity.
Christian Nationalism is neither Christian nor Nationalism - it is Pharisaical Demagoguery. We should insist on referring to the movement as such.
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