Counteracting Christian Nationalism
By: The Rev. Brenda Sol
Come, Holy Spirit. Take our lips and speak through them; take our minds and think with them; take our hearts and set them on fire, in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.
Two weeks ago, as I was getting ready to fly out for a church conference, I heard a voice from the past in my head that made me laugh. It was the voice of a guy I worked for years ago. He was skeptical about any work being done that he couldn’t observe directly. So, when I asked for approval to attend an out-of-town conference, he scoffed, “Well, we’ll pay for you to go. But let’s be honest…after the opening session, you’re just going shopping!”
And, all I could think of was, “Have you met me?” First of all, I’m a rule-follower, so, I would never skip out on something the company has paid for. Secondly, I love learning. I thrive on being exposed to new information and new ways of thinking. And that has not changed for me over the years.
Most recently, I participated in the annual Episcopal Parish Network conference, held in Kansas City. We all benefited from leaders in our church who thoughtfully shared their expertise. This year, the presentation that stood out most for me was on Christian Nationalism. The panel included a couple of academics and two bishops, all of whom had served on a committee commissioned by the House of Bishops to study Christian Nationalism.
The focus of their presentation was how that movement is seen as a threat to, not only our country, but to the Episcopal Church. Maybe you’re already familiar with Christian Nationalism. But if you’re like me, and you’ve only heard the term, but never researched what it means, exactly, I think it’s worth exploring the ideology a bit—not only to heighten our awareness, but to also delve into what we might do about it.
The committee published a book called: The Crisis of Christian Nationalism, which the panel commended for use in study groups, but commented that it’s a small book, and that there are plenty of other, more comprehensive books out there. What I found really interesting is they described how, early in their committee work, they tried to define each of the words separately.
They asked what does it mean to be Christian, and what do people who identify with Nationalism understand that to mean? But the more they studied the ideology, the more they realized the words should not be separated, because, in fact, the movement is neither Christian, nor patriotic. Instead, this movement is the politicizing of Christian beliefs and the co-opting of Christian terminology and symbols, to promote what is essentially White supremacy.
Christian nationalism is about the same type of power struggle that we encounter in this morning’s Gospel reading from Luke. Jesus, himself, is being tested by the evil powers of the world. Evil forces always want us to believe that they have more power than we do, or that them obtaining more power, will benefit the rest of us. But when we study the ways Jesus resists the evil forces, we find he doesn’t defend, enter into combat, or try to win over Satan. Rather, Jesus simply states the truth of God’s kin-dom.
Jesus resists worldly power, guiding us to turn toward Divine power. Divine power is loving and compassionate, generous, abundant, always insisting there's more than enough for all of us. One of my seminary professors, Kate Sonderegger, a scholar and theologian in every sense of those words, was part of the committee. She explained that, as far back as we can go in our sacred writings, God consistently calls us to lives of holiness and obedience.
I’m guessing some of you will worry that talking about Christian Nationalism is bordering on becoming too political. But Jesus was political. Just as he did with the evil powers in Luke, Jesus was a resister. His teachings—the message of the Gospel—is that we are all called to participate in what one of the bishops called, “a bottom-up approach of societal transformation.”
Christian Nationalism, on the other hand, promotes a top-down, power-over ideology that proclaims the United States is the new Jerusalem—the promised land—that belongs only to those who were rightly born into citizenship. Christian Nationalism would have us believe that God’s love is exclusive.
But a theology where there’s no room for people of color, people who are trans, non-binary, etc., that theology is a perversion of our Christian beliefs. It’s the antithesis of what we just read in Romans. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…that the same Lord is the Lord of all and is generous to all.”
In a few minutes, we’ll have a baptism. During the Baptismal Covenant, we’ll be asked: “Will you persevere in resisting evil?” In response, we’ll answer: “I will, with God's help.” Part of our Christian duty is, as Dr. Sonderegger suggested, to “build a conscience of resistance”.
We’ll then be asked: “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” Again, our answer is simply stated in our Roman’s reading. We know God to be inclusive. So, we are called to resist those who will try to convince us of an ideology more powerful than God. At the very least, we have to be willing to talk about this movement, so that we don't become apathetic in our frustration.
Dr. Sonderegger also pointed back to scripture to describe how, since the beginning of time, people of differing tribes and lands partnered with each other to move forward through challenging times. Today’s reading from Deuteronomy, demonstrates that with mention of Arameans, Egyptians, Levites, etc.
She also explained that, although the Hebrew Scriptures refer to Israel as God's chosen people, it’s not a promise exclusive of other lands or peoples. Additionally, in Jesus’s resistance to the evil power, he chooses selflessness over self-profit. Our ancient traditions, which are, in fact, built on Jewish tenets, call us into our “responsibility” over and above our “rights”.
After the conference, I listened to another lecture on Christian Nationalism, which you can find on YouTube. In it, Rob Wright, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, instructs us on how to counteract, what he names as the “unholy Trinity of fear, lust for power, and falsehood.” He says we do this with “purer worship, braver prayers, deeper and bolder study,” and pair that with “a new capacity for speaking and listening with and for compassion and courage.”
So, as we consider how to “build a conscience of resistance”, let’s review the final question of our baptismal covenant: “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”. Which takes us right back to our passage from Romans, where Paul argues “there is no longer a distinction between Jew and Greek.” Words from a man who, before his conversion to Christianity, was a Greek legalist, who persecuted Christians. Someone doesn’t have to be born in the United States to be patriotic.
Bishop Wright also encourages us that we can be a part of the needed social transformation by “telling courageous truth, by educating ourselves and each other, and by living in a place of hope.” In another presentation, during the EPN conference, an Episcopal priest who serves in Palestine was asked where he and his colleagues are finding hope. He answered: “One doesn't go looking for hope. Hope is something we enact and practice, and our enacting and practicing hope is done in partnership with God.”
Building a conscience of resistance and leaning into hope is a communal endeavor, and I suppose comes with a love of learning. That learning includes reminders that we are all God's beloved. We all belong to God. So, our resistance to the evil powers of this world arises from our own witness to who we are and to whom we belong. Bishop Wright explains, we are “more than citizens of any one nation.” Rather we strive to be “citizens with the Saints in the light…weaving gentleness and boldness together, in service to truth, never confusing strength with aggression.”
It's not in our readings today, but I’ll wrap-up with one of my favorite Bible verses, which succinctly sums up all of this. Micah 6:8 reads: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.” May we all live into that this week, doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly with our God, while loving learning, of course!
-AMEN
