From the Montgomery County Republican Chairman: What is Christian Nationalism and why should I care?
I found it almost impossible to write this article without first devoting the entire first paragraph as a disclaimer. For starters, I am a conservative, orthodox Christian. I graduated from a Bible College and spent several years serving as a youth minister. I believe in the God-breathed scripture that says “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalms 33:12). I am acutely aware of the dangers that the woke culture presents to society—especially our posterity. Sadly, there is an erosion of morality happening all around us and this decay has ramification to our Constitutional Republic form of government which I’ve written about before. In fact, John Adams famously said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other”. I will always advocate for the preservation of our Judaeo-Christian values—full stop.
No conversation about Christian Nationalism can be had without first acknowledging that the colonists fled the theocratic rule of England but at the same time embraced the virtues of Christianity. In fact, the Declaration of Independence was most certainly influenced by John Locke who wrote:
“The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”
Having dealt with the tyranny of England, the First Amendment was designed to be a defense against state imposed religion. Thomas Jefferson would later write to the Danbury Baptist church how this was designed to be a “wall of separation between Church & State”. Sadly, the left has tortured and abused this statement to mean something never intended by Jefferson. In a separate work, Jefferson lamented how the Virginia colony had returned to a form of state sanction abuses similar to what they had fled.
“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” (Query XVII)
In demanding the that clergy, photographers, bakers and others participate in same-sex marriage, the alphabet mafia violates the very thing they decry! For this reason, men and women of faith are justified in pushing back with legislation that preserves religious freedom. This is one element of Christian Nationalism.
However, there is another, more sinister form of Christian Nationalism. It looks and sounds authentic. Just as the religious motions of the devout man of faith and the Pharisee outwardly look the same, it’s the heart that betrays the Pharisee. Advocates for this form of Christian Nationalism would seek to legislate their religious views on others extending beyond the scope of acts “injurious to others”.
There are many examples I could draw from but I recently witnessed the fear mongering that ensued when the prospect of casino gaming was introduced during this 88th legislative session. While some argued against it on the basis of facts and figures, others took a moral stance against it. But herein lies the problem. As a scholar of the Scriptures I find no prohibition against gambling. While my wallet may find itself a little lighter, it neither picks my neighbors pocket or breaks their leg if I play the slots or roll the dice. My neighbor has no right to dictate their religious views on me or anyone else. We saw the perils of this during Prohibition and we should be wary of anything similar.
As the legislative session wraps up and the summer passes, Primary season will be upon us. We should be diligent to evaluate our candidates and pay close attention to those who will preserve our religious freedoms. Just as Jesus warned against wolves camouflaged with the sheep, there is a sect of Christian Nationalism that is equally dangerous–even if ignorantly.
