Pondering

World Stuff [For those interested in understanding current events from a biblical worldview.]

The increasing political involvement of evangelical Christians over that past few decades has given rise to the concept of Christian Nationalism—at least an amplified use of the term both constructively and pejoratively. Yet what is “Christian Nationalism”?

As with many words and phrases in our postmodern world, the definition of “Christian Nationalism” vary. Here are a few to consider:

“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.” (Christians Against Christian Nationalism)

“Christian nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. Popularly, Christian nationalists assert that America is and must remain a ‘Christian nation’—not merely as an observation about American history, but as a prescriptive program for what America must continue to be in the future. Scholars like Samuel Huntington have made a similar argument: that America is defined by its ‘Anglo-Protestant’ past and that we will lose our identity and our freedom if we do not preserve our cultural inheritance.” (Christianity Today)

Christian nationalism is an ideology that seeks to create or maintain a legal fusion of Christian religion with a nation’s character. Advocates of Christian nationalism consider their view of Christianity to be an integral part of their country’s identity and want the government to promote—or even enforce—the religion’s position within it.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)

The common thread here, and the focus of this blog post, is the premise that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, not merely founded upon Christian principles, and as such its legal and political system should operate from a biblical worldview—this either supported or rejected.

Let’s first look at whether the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation.

There are plenty of books, blogs, sermons, and ministries promoting the view that America was founded as a Christian nation. I’ve read much of this information, have been in attendance several times when the most notable proponent of Christian Nationalism, David Barton of WallBuilders Ministries, has spoken, and I’ve also taught on the subject for many years.

Superficially, the argument for America being founded as a Christian nation not only sounds plausible but true. There are so many quotes and actions taken by our Founding Fathers and others instrumental to our country’s establishment that strongly suggest a biblical worldview. Yet any argument can be made to sound persuasive through cherry-picking and creatively synchronizing facts. This, in my opinion, is what David Barton and others do very well. However, if the United States was intended to be established as a Christian nation, why is this not unambiguously articulated in our founding and guiding documents? Instead, we see a pluralistic perspective on religion.

Even a cursory review reveals two major issues with this notion of being founded as a Christian nation:

• The First Amendment to the Constitution clearly states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This makes sense, since one of the primary reasons we fought the Revolutionary War was to extricate ourselves from being told to what religion we must adhere. We have the freedom to be religious, non-religious, and in this regard to associate as we choose.

• Even more specifically, the Treaty of Tripoli of 1796, ratified by the U.S. Senate and signed by President John Adams in 1797, explicitly states in Article 11:

“As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion…”

The phrase “not in any sense” would not have been ratified by the Senate and signed by the President if it in any way contradicted our identity as a nation. While the Treaty of Tripoli was indeed intended to appease the Muslim nations associated with the agreement, any refutation of our founding principles would have been a non-starter.

These two facts alone place any initial references to “God,” our “Creator,” or the “Bible,” in proper context. Whether some of our Founding Fathers and others influential in the establishment of our nation were biblical Christians or Deists is moot. Although there is evidence of a value placed on Christianity in general, the Constitution and the Treaty of Tripoli dismiss our being exclusively a Christian nation.

Yet clearly, we were founded upon Judeo-Christian values, which stems largely from the fact that many of the Founding Fathers and those who established the colonies in North America were religiously affiliated with Christianity as opposed to atheist or other religious affiliations. The most well-known example of this comes from our Constitution:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

In context, the term Creator refers to the God of the Bible, and created reflects the belief that God intentionally created us in accordance with Genesis 1:27. In the very least, this establishes a foundational acceptance of Judeo-Christian principles, seen elsewhere in our establishment as a nation:

• Belief in and reliance upon the providence of God. The Declaration of Independence uses phrases such as, “…appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…” and, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.”
• The ways of God described in the Bible form the bases for proper human laws. John Adams wrote, “Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God. What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.” (February 22, 1756)
• The equality of all humans is central to a great society. Just as Scripture tells us that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34,),the Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” The U.S. Constitution states, “No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States” (Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 8)
• The separation of Church and State. In the spirit of Jesus’ words, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s.” (Luke 20:25), the First Amendment to the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

This last example reinforces that while we were founded upon Christian values, we were not founded as a Christian nation. Thus, the concept of “returning” to being a Christian nation cannot in any form mean a theocracy (government ruled by a commitment a deity and corresponding religious tenets), or theonomy (laws derived from and enforced by religious tenets).

However, it’s equally inaccurate to assert that we were not established with Judeo-Christian values in mind. Moreover, this philosophical trajectory was not intended to be temporary, but ongoingly informative of our ethos as a nation. The problem comes when people conflate an “American” identity with a “kingdom of God” identity. They are not one in the same. As Jesus explained, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). There is not, nor will there ever be in this age, a nation that exclusively represents the kingdom of God. I believe what defines and drives most who identify as Christian Nationalists is a desire to “return” to a society in which objective moral truths exist and prevail; where there are objective and consistent concepts of “right” and “wrong” that result in consequences, where the rights and freedoms of people are not infringed upon in the name of secular progressivism.

In summary, Christian Nationalism as a theocracy or theonomy was not the intent of the Founding Fathers, while Christian Nationalism as a belief that America was founded upon Judeo-Christian values is reasonable. Could we benefit from adhering to the biblical values of love, mercy, justice, fairness, service, and grace? Of course. Could following the biblical the admonition to “…act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8) engender a more peaceful society. Yes.

But we live in a wholly secular society…yes, even in America. Rather than Christian “Nationalists,” it seems more prudent to simply be biblical Christians—lights in the midst of darkness, messengers of the Gospel, ambassadors of Christ.

Topics for Future Blogs?

Email Me: richardaallenjr@pondering.blog

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