There Are No Christian Nationalists!
Larry Hart, D.Min.
Without Subtlety of Speech
Let me as blunt as a rock, as straight forward as 1 + 1, as literal and direct as a manual on how to use a hammer. There are no Christian nationalists! The expression is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. It is like saying someone is falsely true, violently peaceful, or cowardly courageous. I know people like Margorie Taylor Green claim to be Christian Nationalists, she has even proposed renaming the Republican Party the Republican Nationalists. And I see the term used frequently in the media. But for the earliest Christians one was not a Christian among and along with many other things; neither did they attach numerous adjectives to that appellation. One was not a Christian nurse, or husband, or politician, or Catholic, or Protestant. You were simply either a Christian or you weren’t. If you were, that determined everything else.
In The Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke tells his readers without any drama that the disciples, meaning those who accepted the teachings of Jesus and were attempting to spread Christ’s message as taught by the Apostle’s, were called “Christians” for the very first time by the people of Antioch Syria (Acts 11:26). Before that they were known as the people of “the Way” –– meaning, not a doctrine or philosophy, but simply that they were seriously attempting to pattern their manner of life after that of Jesus.
The English word “Christian” is a transliteration rather than translation of the Greek word Χριστιανός (Christianos), meaning “follower of Christ,” which comes from Χριστός (Christos), with the added ending (iana) Placing this ending, which was borrowed from Latin, at the end of a name, identified someone as a loyal follower, a devoted adherent, or as belonging to something or someone, including, in the sense of a servant or slave. This profound commitment could be, as already suggested, to a philosophical school of thought, a religion, what we would think of as a denomination within a religion, a group sharing the same political interests like the Herodians or Zealots of the New Testament. It was frequently used of those whose primary loyalty was to a general or military commander under whom they served.
Ultimate Concern and Pseudo-gods
My argument that there are no Christian nationalists is a simple one. If being Christian means by definition following Christ–– adhering to the teachings of Jesus and having the same mind and Spirit within ourselves that was in Christ Jesus –– then it is impossible to also be a nationalist as historically understood or as currently advocated by many politicians and religious leaders. Consider the following line of Jesus’s thought and teaching:
Jesus said, “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and money both” (Matthew 6:24 MSG). It is a simple question of what holds the place of ultimacy in our hearts and minds, what the expatriate German theologian Paul Tillich referred to as our “ultimate concern.” For good or ill it is our ultimate concern, what is more important to us than anything else (whether it is truly ultimate or not) that determines the texture of our lives. “Don’t you know,” asked Paul rhetorically, “that when you offer yourselves to someone in obedience, you become the servant of the one you obey” (Romans 6:16)? In his Dynamics of Faith, Tillich noted we human beings are concerned about many things, but faith is the state of being concerned about what is Ultimate. He wrote:
Faith, for the people of the Old Testament, meant a total surrender to the subject of ultimate concern. God is the ultimate concern of every pious Jew and Christian, and therefore in God’s name the great commandment is given: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22: 37-38).
My first reason, then, for arguing that there is no such thing as a Christian nationalist, is that to add “nationalist” to or to place it equally alongside “Christian” is idolatrous. It is the worship of a pseudo-god –– of what is less than Ultimate.
But Republican Congresswoman Margorie Taylor Green, conspiracy theorists and proponent of nationalism, belligerently argues to the contrary:
We should be Christian nationalists.” Nationalism is not a bad word. It’s actually a good thing. There’s nothing wrong with leading with your faith. . . If we do not live our lives and vote like we are nationalists—caring about our country, and putting our country first and wanting that to be the focus of our federal government—if we do not lead that way, then we will not be able to fix it.
Notice how Margie seems to begin with Christian faith, but ends with the state, not Christ at the center. If you go back and listen to what was being said by nearly all Christians in Germany as Hitler rose to and consolidated his power and control, the similarity with so-called Christian nationalism today is, although it should not be, astonishing.
Under his Nazification process, Hitler attempted to create a unified Protestant Reich Church, and a totally synchronized German culture. “Deutschland über alles!” (“Germany Above All”) was the watch cry, which, of course, really meant Der Führer über alles. Either way the slogan is, to Jews and Christians, blasphemous. The German greeting or salute, “Heil Hitler,” was, in fact, a symbol of absolute obedience to Hitler. However, the man who said in the 2016 election: “If Jesus Christ came down from heaven and told me something different than what Trump said, I would still believe Trump,” was no less idolatrous. If someone chooses to be a pagan that is certainly their right, and far be it from me to interfere with their practice. One can be, theologically or philosophically, whatever one chooses unless two choices are mutually exclusive. So I am simply arguing that one cannot be both a pagan and a Christian, a nationalist and Christian, at the same time, any more than one can be anxiously relaxed.
With Hitler’s help Nazi sympathizers in the German Church known as the “German Christians” gained control of the protestant church in Germany. Bishops and pastors who did not support the government were dismissed and, if they did not go quietly were jailed. Many dissenting clergy were tortured or disappeared by the Gestapo. Among the so called “reforms” instituted by these German nationalists was the removal of the Old Testament, which they saw as an exclusively Jewish book, from the Bible. They rewrote the great confessions as well as the New Testament to reflect a more aggressive and militant Jesus –– a figure more in line with Nietzsche who saw Jesus’s kindness, compassion, and humility as weakness. The Ten Commandments were substituted with twelve new ones, which now began with, “Honor your Fuhrer.” All German pastors were ordered to swear a loyalty oat to Hitler on his 49nth birthday. Martin Niemöller, Karl Bath, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer were perhaps the best known among the scholars and pastors, both in Germany and internationally, to urge Christians to keep the faith, to be courageous, and to peacefully resist, but the absolutely overwhelming majority of Christians in Germany, both Protestant and Catholic, acquiesced to Hitlers demands. My argument is that in doing so they ceased to be Christian –– became the followers of Hitler and demonic forces rather than Jesus of Nazareth. Became Nazis rather than Christians. There were a few, very few, known as the “Confessing Church “who told Hitler “NO!” Some even said it to Hitler’s face. Among them was Martin Niemöller, who was held in prison by the Gestapo for eight years until liberated by the Allies; Karl Barth escaped with his life to Switzerland, and Bonhoeffer was hanged. But in this their fate was no different than others of the Confessing Church who adopted Acts 5:29 as their motto: “We must obey God rather than men.”
The Mark of a Christian
My second reason for rejecting nationalism, is rooted in some of Jesus’s final words spoken that last night just before he was betrayed, brutally beaten, and crucified. With the end fast approaching and little time left to remind his disciples of his most significant and essential instructions Jesus said: “A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). How can we know someone is a follower of Jesus? By their practice of love. How can we know someone has learned and internalized the lessons Jesus taught? By their acts of love. How are we to determine someone is Christian? By the love in them, and through them, and around them. By their loving in the same way Jesus loved; which is to say, that they love as God loves. This is the essential mark signifying one is Christian.
But what does it mean for one person to love another –– or to love God? The two main Hebrew Words for love are “ahab” and “hesed.” The first means a very strong feeling, including things like affection, sexual desire and intense parental concern. It is an inner force which leads to positive action, or even self-sacrifice in order to obtain the happiness of a loved one. It’s what compels a mother to rush back into a burning house to save her child. “Hesed,” depending on the context, can mean devotion, mercy, kindness, compassion, or unswerving commitment. Used as love for God “ahab” and “hesed” mean we have aligned ourselves with the purposes, values, goals, will, and dreams of God for all humanity. The English word “love” in the Greek New Testament, as most people who have listened or slept through very many sermons know, is a translation of “agapē. “The Latin is “caritas” from which our word “charity” is derived. The Greeks actually had four words for love, each with a different emphasis where we must make do with just the one. The simplest and most concise way I can think to define “agapē,” is to say: Agapē, is acting without preconditions or for personal benefit in the legitimate best interest of another where, and in whatever way, we have the ability to do so. But the following quotation from M. Scott Peck is accurate and perhaps more helpful, and, I think, applies equally well to both love of God and others:
Love is as love does. Love is action. It is conscious striving for the beloved. It is willful thoughtfulness properly planned and executed. Love is what is expressed in acts of love. It is volitional, not emotional. He or she who loves is engaged in works of love. When you love somebody, ask yourself, “What acts of love have I done for them?” When somebody tells you they love you, try to see beyond the words: are there any acts in the foreground – or even in the background? Love is not a feeling that sits; it is a force that acts. Words of love, feelings of love, and fallings in love are not necessarily bad or empty, provided they are followed by relevant action.
We can say then that to be a follower of Christ is to follow the path of caritas in the same way as Jesus –– it is to love as Christ loved. The world cannot judge whether we are Christian by the correctness of our doctrine, theology, or the way we worship. But the watching world has every right to determine the reality of our faith by our practice of love.
Contrasts
Now pretty much everyone, maybe other than Frederick Nietzsche or a true nihilist here and there, claims to be loving. Nationalists even claim to, “own the compassion thing.” It is more than a little difficult to define just what love is, but maybe contrasting the teachings of Jesus with recent assertions of nationalism will help to clarify, not only the meaning of love, but some of the real differences between following Christ and following Republican Nationalism. With this in mind, then, consider the following:
Jesus said: “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).
Nationalism says: “Smash them in the mouth, carry them out on a stretcher.” Hang them! Shoot them! Lock them up! Pray for the President’s death.”
Jesus said: “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matthew 5: 38-39).
Nationalism says: “We’ve turned the other cheek, and I understand, sort of, the biblical reference — I understand the mentality — but it’s gotten us nothing.” Apparently, what is right is whatever gets you what you want.
Jesus taught: The Way is the way of nonviolence, there are things worth dying for but not killing for: “Put your sword back in its place for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:52-53) “I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:17-118). “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it'” Matthew 16:24-26)?
Nationalism says: “Jesus’s problem was that he didn’t have enough AR15s to defend himself” (Eric Trump). “Water boarding is great, but we don’t go far enough” (Donald Trump).
Jesus said: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5: 42). Jesus taught, citing Leviticus 19:18, that the second great precept to be followed is love of Neighbor, and that the question which follows that precept is not who is our neighbor. but whose neighbor can we be. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19; 22:39; 22:34-40; Mark 12:31;12: 28-31; Luke 10:27;25-37; John 13:34-35).
Nationalism says: “The poor are scammers, thieves, takers, free loaders living high on whatever type of assistance they may receive. The poor are poor because they are lazy. You can’t help children in poverty because parents will then just waste more money on drugs. It is just too difficult to do anything about poverty –– there will always be poor people because they won’t help themselves. Assistance to the poor is stealing from people who have worked hard, and that’s not fair. The poor ought to pay taxes before getting help. When and how much I give to charity should be my personal decision.” As Romney rather infamously said:
All right, there are 47 percent who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it — that that’s their entitlement. And the government should give it to them. These are people who pay no income tax. . . . My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
Jesus said: Predatory lenders and economic vultures: “Love . . . preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions. . . And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. . . But they’ll pay for it in the end” (Luke 20:47-47 MSG).
Republican Nationalists say: “Eliminate restrictions and regulations on how Wall Street does business.” Cut taxes for the wealthy. Deny sustainable wages and health care.
Christianity says: “Love does not insist on getting its own way –– is willing to forgoe its rights to secure the rights of others”(1 Corinthians 13:5).
Nationalists say: “This is a free country. I don’t have to wear a mask or get a Covid vaccination for the common good. I will kill in defense of that right.”
Jesus said: “If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—‘I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’—you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this” (Matthew:6b-7MSG). He taught that the wise and good person knowns when and under what circumstances to apply the letter of the law, and when and where mercy must triumph over the law (James 2:13; Mark 3:4; Matthew 12:2; Matthew 12:2b-8).
Nationalism says: There can be no exception to the law regardless the circumstances. If the life of the mother is in danger –– too bad! No abortion. If a ten-year-old has been impregnated by rape she must bear the child. If the baby is dead inside the mother’s womb and there are complications the answer is still: “No!” There are, of course, exceptions that can be made in certain cases; that is, in cases involving the nationalist him or herself. Forgiveness of student loans is unfair, unjust, unethical, immoral, and bad for the economy, but if you want to forgive my multimillion dollar “business loan” it is fair, ethical, moral, and sound financial practice. I am referring, obviously to people like Curt Shilling, who said of Biden’s student loan forgiveness, “This isn’t loan forgiveness. It’s a generation of lazy unaccountable uneducated children being covered by hard working debt paying Americans.” It turns out Shilling once defaulted on a $75,000,000 loan from the state of Rhode Island.
Jesus says: “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit (Matthew 5:33). Purity of heart, the desire to be a good person, humility, courage, common moral decency, honesty, mercy, and integrity all matter –– character matters (Matthew 5:2-48; 7:15-20; 12:33-37).
Nationalists say: “A leader’s character does not matter. What is important is that he or she follows certain policies.” When Clinton had sex with a young emotionally needy girl, a lowly intern, they thought character did matter. When Clinton cruelly bombed Iraq to distract from his destructive sexual misconduct, they though character mattered. And they were right. Clinton would have been a far better president were he not a sex addict. But in justifying rape, predatory sexuality, congenital lying, fraud, violence, and the cruelty of Trump as matters of indifference they are wrong!
Jesus said: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). In the Bible the “stranger” (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:34) is a refugee, an exile, immigrant, or foreigner. The word has no reference to legal or illegal status since the idea of countries with borders to keep people out is only of fairly recent origin. In ancient Israel, and with Jesus, the stranger is to be shown hospitality and has the same legal rights as everyone else.
Nationalism says: When immigrants show up at the border take away their babies, give their children away, crowd them in hellish quarters, starve them, give them no water to drink, make them sleep standing up. Make them suffer so much they will quit coming. How many people should be allowed into the country is a matter of legitimate debate, how they should be treated when they come to the door begging to be let in is not.
Conclusion
Well that should be sufficient to make the point. If I go any further I might as well quote all four Gospels in full. In concluding I will simply reiterate: There is no such thing as Christian Nationalism –– there is certainly a Republican Nationalism, but no Christian Nationalism. As a Christian I am obviously opposed to nationalism; however, my argument here has not been to show that it is wrong, but that it is un-Christian –– anti-Christian. But maybe nationalism is the very thing you want and desire. It’s just that if you have consecrated your heart to the Jesus Way you should make no mistake about it, nationalism is merely a crude attempt to hijack a religion centered in the love and grace of God, in concern for one’s neighbors, in compassion for the neediest and most vulnerable among us, and then to use it as a means of imposing am ugly political ideology that is both irrational and heartless. But as I say, the choice is certainly yours to make.