He that loves Christianity better than truth will soon love
his own sect or party better than Christianity. -Coleridge
As with many hundreds of political parties internationally, it has been a commonplace across American history for our politicians and political movements to use God’s Name to promote their party. These men label their politics “Christian.” Presently in America, it’s nationalists who are doing so.
President Trump’s electoral victories are built on the cry, “Make America Great Again.” Nationalists are riding that wave. Labelling their party “Christian Nationalism” is savvy marketing which has helped them grow their numbers, particularly within the sanctuaries and fellowship of Christ’s Church. But what justifies nationalists’ claim their politics are “Christian?”
Some might condemn this question:
That’s not fair. Why question their use of this label “Christian?” Why not take them at their word? They’ve received Trinitarian baptism. Their explicitly stated goal is to elect other Christians with whom they are in sacramental union—men who have received Trinitarian baptism and regularly partake of the Lord’s Supper. They claim nationalism is what the Bible teaches—that their party platform is simply to codify and enforce God’s Word and Law.
Note that the movement has two claims: “nationalism” and “Christian.” We may easily grant that they are nationalists; that part of their politics has been proven to everyone’s satisfaction.
But “Christian?” They’re not talking “Christian Fellowship,” “Christian Scriptures,” “Christian Gospel,” or “Christian Church” here, but “Christian” politics; and specifically, “Christian Nationalism.”
We can easily condemn their nationalism. Just surveying history, nationalism has often been used in motivation and justification of many different horrors. But what about this clothing of their nationalism in the Name of our Lord?
It is habitual for God’s Name to be taken in vain in promotion of every vain thing, with pursuit of political power being one of the most common abuses. It’s right up there beside the pursuit of money.
Speaking of politics, Presbyterians long defended the Christian credentials of American slavery. Lutherans defended the Christian credentials of Third Reich nationalism. Today’s England is claimed to be Christian. Political parties around the world name their socialism “Christian Socialism,” and not long ago the reformed churches of South Africa declared the Christian credentials of their apartheid. Men today defend the Christian credentials of their Kinism and Antisemitism.
Similarly, abusing “Christian” in order to make money is a very old habit, and pastors protecting God’s flock have long exposed and opposed this ploy. We warn our sheep not to allow “Christian” to cloud their eyes and silence their judgment.
For instance, back a number of years, our pastors and elders warned one of our elders, “Don’t choose him as your general contractor just because he tells you he’s a Christian.”
Not heeding the warnings, a year or so later our pastors and elders were deep in the work of extricating this elder and his family from the fraud this self-proclaimed “Christian” was perpetrating against them. Spending their checks on other homes he was building, he left the subs he’d hired to build our elder’s home unpaid, so they stopped working on his house.
It was a mess, but it was made worse by the fact that one of the elder’s unpaid subs was a deacon in our congregation.
We warned our elder against the abuse of the name “Christian,” but he didn’t listen. So then, in time, this elder deposited on his pastors and elders the very difficult work of peacemaking within our congregation. The charlatan marketed himself as “Christian,” then stole from those he had abused our Lord’s Name to lull to sleep.
Another lesson was learned when the son of our senior pastor conned his father’s parishioners into giving him their nest eggs to invest in South African mineral rights.
They all lost their nest eggs.
Men and women claim to be “Christian” and abuse church fellowship in order to sell all sorts of things, such as insurance, multi-level marketing enterprises, schools, cosmetics, bitcoin, books, charity organizations, and mission support.
Men and women also abuse church in order to sell politics. Think of the Black church. And now, think of the White church.
There is never a lack of men in the church manipulating gullible sheep into giving them support and money by trading on the name of “Christ.”
Christian Nationalists might defend their labelling their nationalism “Christian” by saying “Christian” is not an attempt to make inroads into the church, but merely to specify the nature of their nationalism.
Let us grant their sincerity in this response, but let us also go on to point out to them that their clothing their political movement in this name “Christian” is supremely effective in growing their political base.
Let us also warn them that those who love the Name of Christ are jealous for that Name’s honor. Here is the Third Commandment:
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. -Exodus 20:7
The nationalists in America today working hard to sell their political commitments as “Christian”are in lockstep with hundreds of political parties around the world also clothing themselves in the Name of Christ. Identification with Christ has long been one of the most popular methods of branding political movements. We have “Christian Socialists,” “Christian Democrats,” “Christian Labor,” the “Christian Heritage Party of Canada,” the “Christian Liberation Movement” of Cuba, the “Jesus Lives” party of the Netherlands, the “Christ Democratic Party of Bulgaria,” and the list goes on.
Surveying political parties’ identities leads to the observation that “Christian Nationalists” stand with a high proportion of political movements in claiming to be “Christian.” Politicians have never been shy to claim to be “Christian,” then to sell the their political programme as “Christian,” also.
So now, men today are selling their nationalism by calling it “Christian.” But men today also market their climate change as “Christian” earthkeeping and stewardship. Innumerable men have clothed their socialism with the name “Christian.” Evolutionists claiming to be “Christian” promote their “theistic evolution.” Wheaton College’s motto is “For Christ and His Kingdom.” In the midst of its degradation, the Church of England continues to claim to be “Christian.” The Mormon church claims it is “Christian.”
What is needed is for Christian nationalists to stop marketing their politics as “Christian Nationalism.” Let them market their nationalism honestly, and stop trading on the Name of Christ.
Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.”
For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. (Jeremiah 7:3-8)
