My thoughts on Christian Nationalism expanded a bit.
While political salvation is a dangerous myth, stewardship of relational government—politics is necessary and Biblical. Jesus is Lord. That is a political statement that found many early faithful martyred. Rome could stand other religions, but not the Lordship of any God. God uses means, especially His body, the church. The church is both His ends and His means.
First, Christian Nationalism appears a tag to disparage people of faith active in restoring our country through action. In the beginning Christian was such a negative epithet. Yet, faithful action guided by Biblical principle is exactly what is needed. We ought not to let the antis determine the message. But we need wisdom to form a sounder one.
Absolutes are for God. Bible faith works on principles based in God’s eternal Law—the spiritual and moral reality behind all things. Real life is always messy. We must find a path of faith through the noise toward principled, kingdom action. The Biblical strategy, found in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah. It is two pronged—defensive and offensive. The offensive part is building. Hence the sword and trowel of Nehemiah.
There is also the render to Caesar; render to God aspect. We submit to Caesar and lawful order, even while we work (the building part) to make Caesar an irrelevant dinosaur. Christians are not revolutionaries. According to Paul, God is ready to punish all disobedience our obedience is fulfilled.
President Trump represents the defensive. I find a parallel in the Biblical Judge Samson. Samson was far from a straitlaced character, but we find him in the Hebrews Hall of Faith. Donald Trump publicly laid out his views for decades. His bravado suggested he meant what we said. Providentially, we elected him. (I take as Providence, by way of chastening and example, our electing Jimmy Carter, the Bushes, Clinton, Obama, and Biden as well.)
There is far too much power in the Executive branch, particularly in the bureaucracy, which neither the Bible nor the Constitution allows. I have been saying this since the 80s. Yet the founders wanted a strong (though temporary) presidency to align with the power of the Biblical kings, so that political sensitivity would not paralyze ready action when needed against (demonic) foreign or domestic attacks. The founders specifically did not want a democratic European parliamentary prime minister, inherently weak, as many dissolved governments in moments of crisis can attest. They wanted a Commander.
Donald Trump has wielded as president all the legal authority to undo the corrupt deep state long created over the 20th century, starting with popular Senate elections, Income Tax and Federal Reserve amendments,
So, yes, there is much danger in as much power as Trump wields, even within the legal parameters we have set. It could go to his head. I don’t like the emotionally charged mantras—make America great again. Greatness belongs to God alone. I don’t like America First, as it sounds jingoistic. These means of rousing the rabble hold some danger. Yet even Jesus had his inside group—Peter, James, and John. We love first our closest neighbors as ourselves. Americans are our neighbors. God, family, country is an apt meme.
Many leaders have justified unlimited power to themselves for some ostensive good. But that is where we find ourselves historically, having long ago abandoned so many Constitutional limits. Long Christian inaction, waiting for the rapture and expecting rising evil, is a significant reason for our present condition. We urgently need action before all is lost. This is where the Samson parallel comes in. But also, the use of executive power—perhaps greater than the original Constitution would have allowed, but now regularly established—sets a precedent that the other side could use against us. And yet, the other side were already illegally overstepping proper limits of power, and did so with great corruption, such as Biden’s using taxpayer money to pressure Ukraine from prosecuting his kid, and then bragging about it. Or using the justice system and “novel” legal action to go after a political rival. The list of manifest and documented corruption seems endless.
So, I argue Christian nationalism, carefully defined, is legitimate. With Nehemiah’s effort, we need it. And given the Biblical prescription that when God’s people repent, he will multiply even feeble, fledgling effort to stand by faith for righteousness and justice, with blessed results. (Justice and righteousness always go together in the Hebrew and Greek wherever one or the word is so translated.) I have seen this multiplied blessing of imperfect, fledgling effort in my own educational work inspired by early America with its likewise imperfect, fledgling effort and massive blessing.
We’re in a dangerous, but necessary moment. May the Lord’s church repent and find His blessing, rather than chastening or destructive judgment.
