These days some people are talking up “Christian nationalism.” It is not clear to me what Christ and nationalism have to do with each other. The New Testament, unlike the Old, strikes me as a message of liberation from nationalism.
It’s true that America began as a Christian society and remained so until fairly recent times. However, our Founders did not found a “nation.” They founded a republican Union. And the materials that make a Christian society no longer exist except among a minority. ‘Christian nationalism” is merely an ideology. And like most ideologies is a theory about something that doesn’t exist.
American Christians should be patriots who love their land and people, not nationalists who love their government, especially a government that is a force against both Christianity and patriotism. And American Christians should recognise that our Lord created different varieties of humans, all in His image, who needed to keep to their own given boundaries.
The last thing American Christians need is more nationalism. “Christian nationalism” is just a weak and sad revival of the old Yankee Puritanism which has done so much damage to our society, It is a blasphemous claim that America is the righteous chosen nation–a belief, as General Lee said, that makes a bad government—aggressive at home and abroad.
___
The other evening, I somehow persuaded myself to watch the annual Country Music Awards for the first time in years. I shut down in less than an hour, having given up any hope of ever hearing any “country music.” The show was a gaudy Hollywood spectacle driven at a frantic New York pace. There was not a thing about that was “country” or had any relationship to what was once known as country music. One of the more authentic recent country songs is rightly titled “Murder on Music Row.”
Of course, the term “country music” was a sales gimmick to avoid having to call it Southern music even as it swept the world with its talent and humanity. If you really want to know about this aspect of our Southern culture, take a look at Joseph Stromberg’s recent book from Shotwell Publishing, Southern Story and Song.
Originally published at Reckonin.com
The views expressed at AbbevilleInstitute.org are not necessarily the views of the Abbeville Institute.
Thank you for the article, Mr. Wilson.
“‘Christian nationalism” is merely an ideology. And like most ideologies is a theory about something that doesn’t exist.” I think that is true.
“American Christians should be patriots who love their land and people, not nationalists who love their government…”
I agree. Christian’s need not love their government, but they need to recognize the need for it and that its biblical and scriptural. It was the 4th institution God established by Genesis chapter 10. It was for the protection of the first three institutions God established: Volition, Marriage, and the family.
“…Lord created different varieties of humans, all in His image, who needed to keep to their own given boundaries.”
The Lord made Adam in His image, but after Adam’s fall, man took on the appearance of his fallen father: Genesis 5:3 “And Adam…begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:”
As far as who is within a boundary is one matter, but it is the boundaries which are biblically important, and they are, or they’re supposed to be, nations:
Acts 17:26-27 “…hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”
And for what reason?
“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”
I suspect ‘Christian Nationalism’ is another instance of projection by the left. My theory is that whichever group on the left that sets up these narratives recalls the old days when the Puritans believed in Christ – in their own way – and they were the ones who insisted these United States become a nation, ONE nation, whether anyone else agreed or not, with themselves in charge of everyone and everything. We conservatives still believe in Christ, especially we Southerners. Dimly, viscerally recalling their own messianic impulses to crush, destroy and control everyone else, using God/Christ as their justifier [Battle Hymn of The Republic] and establish “One Nation, under God…” they conclude we want to do the same thing to the lefties now, what with our belief in Jesus and fundamental disagreement with their central control etc. Just my theory. They can’t believe we would be most happy to just let them go and have their own states. Control freaks, aka: Yankees, can’t grasp that herding cats is a waste of time and that conservatives/normal people prefer to expend energy on constructive, psychologically healthy activities instead of overseeing psychos, criminals, miscreants, flim-flam men and various other weirdo misfits.
“Christian nationalism”:
“And they brought it. And he saith unto them, ‘Whose is this image and superscription?’ And they said unto him, ‘Caesar’s.'”
THEREFORE:
Paul would say it’s more about what he wrote in Romans 13 and Titus 3 than what was going on in Mark 12. Israel under Gentiles rule back then was punishment from God which began with the Babylonian captivity. Israel was not supposed to be under any Gentiles nation.
Those “times of the Gentiles” were soon to end back then, but then the Lord paused that and began something unprophesied and new with Paul. You have a great name because the apostle Paul is the Christian’s man. The Christian ought to know that, anyway. But relatively few do, and it’s sad. The former Confederate soldier Scofield had a decent understanding of the importance of what Paul is about.
Scofield was born a yankee, deserted the Confederate army, moved to St Louis where he became a flimflam man, deserted his family, then topped that off by becoming a leading religious heretic with his particular version of Premillennial Dispensationalism. Hardly anyone a Southerner would want to trust.
Job 38:2 “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?”
It appears that verse can be applied to you.
Yes, yes, I’ve read of “Southerner’s”accusations against Scofield. And the accusations against Longstreet. The South was ok taking on that Yankee born General Breckenridge, but I guess you wish they didn’t do that, right?
The issue is not Scofield. The issue is whether or not he helped recover extremely important Bible truth. And the answer is a resounding, “Yes,” he did. Did he get everything right, no, not many men do. But Scofield hit the bullseye where he said, speaking of the apostle Paul: “In his writings alone, we find the position, walk, and destiny of the church.”
Paul is God’s spokesman in this dispensation of God’s grace, because God made Paul that, but I suppose you’d reject Paul too, wouldn’t you? Paul, the blasphemer, haling men, and women, to prison. And, giving consent to their deaths. Nevertheless, God used him, mightily. Don’t forget, the Lord Jesus Christ died for you too.
“Christian Nationalism” is, to my understanding, the idea of returning America (that is, the Constitutional Union of our forefathers) to it’s Christian roots in culture and law. We could all hope for this I would think. And there does seem to be a…lean towards that with not only the well intended Make America Great Again population that elected President Trump but with the twisted evil of the Left that opposes it (seriously, these people are almost if not completely insane if not demonic in their reactions and beliefs.). However, the Puritan Yankee nationalism is definitely a part of the whole “Christian Nationalism” as it is in what passes for American conservatism as a whole these days. I don’t blame President Trump or a lot of these people that promote it, they are a product of their time and culture and are merely repeating what the victors wrote 160+ years ago with things like “wanting every child to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school” (written by Yankee socialist Francis Bellamy). I do wish some of these people would quit listening to cartoon “historians” like Victor Davis Hanson, Dinish, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and David Barton for Christian understanding of American History. I’m actually old enough to remember back in the 1990s when mainstream conservatives appreciated the South and it’s Confederate tradition as something positive to the character of America. For instance, about the time VMI was forced to admit women, Michael Medved, conservative radio host guest sitting for Rush one day sitting in a radio station in Blacksburg, VA dedicated a whole hour to defending the South and it’s proud Confederate tradition of VMI and beyond. He described the early attacks on the South as “Stalinizing memory” and erasing memory of our side of the costliest war in American history. He even went on to explain to a Yankee caller the North’s history of racial bigotry.)
Well said, young man.
As King Of The North for the Free & Accepted Masons – I disagree that the USA has a “Christian” traditional background in law and culture. It was a blend of Christians, deistic Freemasons, Jews, and many others, who fought together for a government that defended each other’s unalienable natural rights.
Unfortunately, Christians today have forgotten to protect my unalienable 1st Amendment protected legal right to freely practice the traditional American Creed of pursuing happiness through the free exercise of personal liberty unless I violate anyone’s legal rights. Christians have voted to kidnap me and engage in human trafficking (unlawful imprisonment) without any evidence I violated anyone’s legal rights. They voted to ignore my 6th Amendment right to cross-examination of the evidence establishing the element of jurisdiction – that their unlawful legal opinions create a legally enforceable obligation upon me in obvious contention with my unalienable natural rights. These are federal felonies (18 U.S. Code 241/242), which are not enforced because both Christians and Progressives are committing them daily together.
Whether you are Christian and believe your rights are endowed by our Creator, or you are a classical deist like me who created their own soul from nothing by using quantum mechanics and temporal causality to make yourself an immortal god like myself – We shouldn’t violate those rights and lie that it’s OK because Jesus loves perpetrators more than victims.
Restoring American values requires accountability, and the first step is stopping the lie that groups of people have legitimate authority to deprive us of due process rights and the right to peacefully practice any religion or creed. I stand eye to eye with whatever god people believe in as an immortal god myself, but I’m not going to play “God of the monkeys” and make anyone kneel before my concept of “The Grand Architect” God, or threaten them with unlawful force and violence to exert my will over others’. What’s the golden rule, again?
Please treat others the same as deists do, because Jesus can’t forgive you of crimes committed against immortal gods like me who have a legally and morally valid cause of action for redress of grievances, and there may be a tredecillion more of us in this universe for all I know.
Cheers!
I am disappointed by this straw man attack on CN. The concept is well defended in a book by Steven Wolfe and you should do the reading before attacking a concept you don’t understand,
Regarding “Christian nationalism, much has been said by many but Mr. Wilson’s take on “Christian nationalism” is direct and to the point. And also, strikingly accurate. Thank you, sir.
“Take me back to the time
When the end of the world was the county line…”
Sons of Bill
“Nation” is a relatively recent term, hence any attempt to root “nationalism” is the bible is bootless, and silly.
Mr. Holowchak, you have to know the word nation is in the Bible. The word nation(s) occurs in 438 verses. How can it be said it’s “relatively recent term?” The only way one can say that is if the person is not at all a Bible believer.
Genesis 10:5 “By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.”
That’s the first occurrence of the word in the Bible. Webster’s 1828 defines the word: “A body of people inhabiting the same country, or united under the same sovereign or government…the word nation usually denotes a body of people speaking the same language…”
It’s the fourth institution God established. It’s design is to protect the first three institutions: Volition, marriage, and the family. The division of the people with borders had a benefit in mind: “Acts 17:26-27 “…hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:”
Nationalism is another matter, but nations were established by God. It’s what the Bible puts forth, it’s not a religious belief.
It’s hard to believe what was said about the word nation, that it’s “a relatively recent term.” It would seem there was an ulterior motive for saying that.
Yup. An -ism is relative and derives drop the -ization.
That is, how one -izes something is his -ism.
And thus we see that isms cam be almost meaningless.
Nation as a concept did nor exist in Biblical times. In 1611 when the KJV was translated thr word nation was still evolving i to its modern usage.
The word was part of the English language many words have chaned keaning or fammen out of usage since 1611 ( for example quick meant alive not fast.. And He shall come again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead.). Nation meant more along the lines of birth order, descendants family group of closely related people more like a tribe. Not so much the political enty and government of an area of similar tribes..
The assertion you make is way off. I will easily side with the late 16th and early 17th century translators who have had no equal since, with a handful of exceptions such as Robert Dick Wilson.
Even the modern versions of the Bible, like the ESV and the NIV, which are not based on the same Hebrew and Greek manuscripts as the KJB, overwhelmingly translate the Hebrew and Greek words into the the English word “nation(s).”
And, biblically, the creation and whole point of Israel was to show the other nations of the world what it is like for a nation, a people, to have God as their God, since all the nation’s decided to go go their own way by Genesis chapter 12.