From Joey: Why I Reject Christian Nationalism
By Joey Hakanson
I have been thinking a lot about values lately, and how they create the lens through which we see the world. Values determine which actions – and therefore which policies – we see as moral and righteous. We are quick to assume values are universal and innate. We hear words like “liberty” and “freedom” repeated so often they begin to feel like large, eternal stones that mark our idealogical landscape. But things are rarely that simple.
The values we choose and the importance we give them are products of our upbringing, our life experiences, our current economic and social situations, and our beliefs about the state of the world. In everyday life, limited resources brings these values into conflict with one another. If I choose to spend my time on self-actualization and fulfillment, I have less bandwidth to give to family and charity. If we choose to legislate simply for ultimate freedom, then the safety and welfare of those with the least power will be compromised. In secular America, the ranking and preference of these values is determined through consensus, democracy, and popular opinion. But for Christians, we have a perfect and holy God who took on flesh to model the path of righteousness for us, and many have gone astray.
If we choose to legislate simply for ultimate freedom, then the safety and welfare of those with the least power will be compromised.
As Christians, we have a duty to hold ourselves and each other to the values Jesus demonstrated throughout his teachings and his life. (1) So when I see how much of this country has fallen into the trap of Christian Nationalism, I feel it is imperative for true followers of Christ to admonish and correct our own with the love and wisdom given to us through Scripture. That is why I feel compelled to share and sign this statement condemning the ideas and values proliferated through Christian Nationalism:
Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation.
As Christians, we are bound to Christ, not by citizenship, but by faith. We believe that:
People of all faiths and none have the right and responsibility to engage constructively in the public square.
Patriotism does not require us to minimize our religious convictions.
One’s religious affiliation, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to one’s standing in the civic community.
Government should not prefer one religion over another or religion over nonreligion.
Religious instruction is best left to our houses of worship, other religious institutions and families.
America’s historic commitment to religious pluralism enables faith communities to live in civic harmony with one another without sacrificing our theological convictions.
Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous and often leads to oppression of minority and other marginalized groups as well as the spiritual impoverishment of religion.
We must stand up to and speak out against Christian nationalism, especially when it inspires acts of violence and intimidation—including vandalism, bomb threats, arson, hate crimes, and attacks on houses of worship—against religious communities at home and abroad.
Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous.
It is painful for me to see family, friends, and respected Christian leaders adopt the toxic values of Christian Nationalism that have been spreading for years, and have exploded during the Trump administration. Trump's slogan of “America First” perfectly captures the sentiment held by this value system: “Me First”. As a Christian, this pride and selfishness should be appalling. Could you imagine Jesus chanting “Israel First”? Could you imagine Jesus demonizing Gentiles or Samaritans as thugs and rapists, and fighting to keep them away? Quite the opposite, Jesus taught us to love one another; he demonstrated that on the cross:
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18)
This self-centered “Me First” value system affects more than just international policy, it also divides us within the country.
It's this same sense of entitlement that causes white people to buck against affirmative action initiatives: a valuation of merit over equity. It is the same indignation that causes people to oppose social welfare programs: a valuation of self-sufficiency over compassionate social-responsibility. It is the same stubbornness of people who refuse to wear masks: a valuation of independence over protecting the vulnerable.
The root values of this wave of Nationalism stands in direct opposition with the values of a Christ follower, which makes “Christian Nationalism” an oxymoron. These ideas damage the Christian witness because non-believers can smell the stench of hypocrisy when one claims to reflect the love of Christ and then treats immigrants, the poor, and the powerless with hate and suspicion.
"For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’” (Romans 2:24).
In light of all the suffering in the past four years: child separation at the border, numerous hate crimes born out of white supremacy, an out-of-control pandemic, and the insurrection at the Capitol, it is clear that the country as a whole has also suffered from this value system. My prayer now is that those who know the Gospel and have received the ultimate gift of salvation will stand up and say: “No, this is not who we should be. We can do better, and we must do better.”
This is not who we should be. We can do better, and we must do better.
(1) “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:12-17, emphasis mine)
From Alyssa - My recommendations for further reading on this topic:
Christians Against Christian Nationalism | The Statement (excerpted above)
Russell Moore | The Roman Road from Insurrection
If you read nothing else, read this: If you can defend this, you can defend anything. If you can wave this away with “well, what about…” or by changing the subject to a private platform removing an account inciting violence as “Orwellian,” then where, at long last, is your limit?
Esau McCaulley | Truth over power: It is past time for the church to speak plainly about the election
The rhetoric surrounding the election is not simply a matter of agreement or disagreement. It is about the creation of a national mood in which ethnic minorities and vulnerable people suffer the most. We cannot pretend bending truth to power has not led as a matter of course to racialized violence. To be on the side of truth is to be on the side of peace and the flourishing of this country, because lies can only be maintained by violence.
Tish Warren | We Worship with the Magi, Not MAGA
I have at times tried to dismiss these leaders and events as fringe, as the crazy cranks and bizarre displays we ought to ignore. I have instead focused on how, day in and day out, pastors and Christian laypeople are seeking to faithfully follow Jesus, to love their neighbor, and to serve the poor, to embody the truth we proclaim this season. But I cannot overlook the reality that millions of evangelicals are swayed by those who proclaim untruth and ugliness in the name of Jesus.
David French | Only the Church Can Truly Defeat a Christian Insurrection
(T)he enabling lies that have rocketed through the church for years share important characteristics. They not only dramatically exaggerate the stakes of our political and legal disputes, they dramatically exaggerate the perfidy of your opponents. Moreover, when the stakes are deemed to be that high, the moral limitations on your response start to fall away.
After all, when people believe our national destiny hangs in the balance, they often respond accordingly. Or, as I said in a December 4 newsletter warning about potential violence, “if you argue that the very existence of the country is at stake, don’t be surprised if people start to act as if the very existence of the country is at stake.”
Alyssa Hakanson | The Truth is a Thing We Can Know
Generally speaking, I am willing to agree to disagree on the role of government, on the best policy solutions to our problems, on who will best lead our government. These are things that lie within opinion and world view. But the idea that on most things there is a truth we can know is not a partisan one. At least, it shouldn’t be; and if it used to be, it was a generally Conservative one. Relativism and “personal” truths used to be considered one of the many “slippery slopes”. Only in the last few years has the political right given up legitimate attempts at truth, trading it instead for alternative facts. (Perhaps here it is worth nothing that, biblically, the dismissive “What is truth?” comes from Pilate as he washes his hands of Jesus in John 18:37-38.)
Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham | How White Evangelical Christians Fused With Trump Extremism
“You can’t understand what happened today without wrestling with Christian Nationalism,” Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said on Wednesday, adding that white evangelical movements have long at least tolerated far-right extremism, well before Mr. Trump. “They provided the political and theological underpinnings of this, and it has allowed anarchy to reign.”
In a Facebook video shot in Washington on Monday night, Tennessee pastor Greg Locke referred to himself as part of the “black robe regiment,” a reference to American clergy who were active in the American Revolution. At a rally the next night, Mr. Locke preached to a crowd of Trump supporters in Freedom Plaza, predicting “not just a Great Awakening, but the greatest awakening that we have ever seen.”
Katelyn Beaty | QAnon is the alternative religion that’s coming to your church
QAnon is more than a political ideology. It’s a spiritual worldview that co-opts many Christian-sounding ideas to promote verifiably false claims about actual human beings. QAnon has features akin to syncretism — the practice of blending traditional Christian beliefs with other spiritual systems, such as Santeria. Q explicitly uses Bible verses to urge adherents to stand firm against evil elites. One charismatic church based in Indiana hosts two-hour Sunday services showing how Bible prophecies confirm Q’s messages. Its leaders tell the congregation to stop watching mainstream media (even conservative media) in favor of QAnon YouTube channels and the Qmap website.
Medium | A Game Designer’s Analysis of QAnon
QAnon grows on the wild misinterpretation of random data, presented in a suggestive fashion in a milieu designed to help the users come to the intended misunderstanding… There is no reality here. No actual solution in the real world. Instead, this is a breadcrumb trail AWAY from reality. Away from actual solutions and towards a dangerous psychological rush. It works very well because when you “figure it out yourself” you own it. You experience the thrill of discovery, the excitement of the rabbit hole, the acceptance of a community that loves and respects you. Because you were convinced to “connect the dots yourself” you can see the absolute logic of it. This is the conclusion you arrived at.
Jemar Tisby | The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism
Justin Giboney, Michael Wear, and Chris Butler | Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign's Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement
