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The Messy Demise of "Christian" Nationalism

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, it was expected that the USA was to be called a “Christian” nation. Speakers and readers within were generally churchgoers, and were taught in churches, in public schools, and from other pulpits, that the so-called “American way” of the time was very much Christian, was very much essential and righteous and worthwhile for the whole world. This was the self-encouragement of a very proud nation, a nation growing massively in size and power and wealth; a nation of the sort which was very commonly called “great”. Pride was strongly encouraged, and John Phillip Sousa and many others led generations of the public proud.

But pride is not a good thing. When the nation was generally proud, it used its proud self-love to cover much sin which should never have been covered. One word for this, is nationalism.

Nationalism is not Christian. Christ the Lord does not, has never, and does not ever serve the pride of anyone or any nation of this world. When the nation of God in this world was given an army of God, in the time of Joshua, this was made openly clear. And the sins of the nationalists are lately being exposed, as the Lord has said that all shall be exposed. There shall be no return to the pride of the past. “America” shall not be made great like that ever again.

But there are many who despise much which the Lord has said. There are many who imagine that if they can pile everyone back into the ignorance and pride of the past, a state of things where unbelievers of many stripes are considered unwelcome, unwanted, suitable for persecution, and worse, that God will reward them with blessings upon their land. There are many of the churches who imagine that if they can get their city to force all of the prostitutes to leave, that God will reward them.

There is much more of the same, and has been very high in popularity in the churches. A read of Charles Sheldon’s book In His Steps reveals much if one examines subsequent history: in the seventy years after it was written, much of the evil against neighbors described within as Christian, was done, by big-smiling church-going politicians, some of whom yet live and in vain still claim to justify their actions by His book. And there remains a map of Topeka, Kansas produced by a man named George A. Root who died in 1949, describing several Indian communities closely in and around the city that now is. These communities were all, all of them, almost completely wiped away, with very nearly zero remnants of any sort besides the rare arrowhead dug up. This is how “America” behaved when it was “great” according to its “Christians”. Happily, there is profound repentance happening in many churches. But there remains a major situation on the larger scale.

The USA is a nation of this world, and as it has throughout its history, it has a large proportion of persons who openly sin. As all of the other nations do, the USA also has religion of its own self-righteousness, developed and promoted powerfully by its founders. The founders here called it Christian when talking to church-folk, and “Philosophy” when talking to each other, and thus gained much power for a while. But their religion has split into multiple parts, and each part has grown separately, and in many ways against each other.

Originally that religion of self-righteousness had great and terrible power, and exercised it, and the nation became great according to its many favorites. But now the powerful factions are divided. There is one who walks in a new pride of license, in a joy of many different things which they often know are called sin. There is another who walks in a longing for and devotion to that old pride of force and domination, where many hid themselves and pretended righteousness they had not. The Lord is exposing both and others; and whenever sin is exposed, there is anger and hatred by the sinner, unless there is repentance. Thus far, the factions have shown no signs of repentance, and the leaders of both deny all repentance on personal principle, very much against the Lord.

So the question of this day is simple. What shall we of Christ do? What should we do: we who should desire no self-righteousness, we who should desire no license to sin, we who should desire to love all of our neighbors, at distance if necessary, with closeness whenever possible, for only His glory and honor and Kingdom?

We make friends of all the Lord makes possible for us to befriend. We join no factions of the proud whom the Lord shall humiliate soon or late. We love our neighbors, we bless those that curse us, we accept the fact that He has sent all of us to join in His personal sacrifice, for His Kingdom, and we accept that there shall be much sorrow but no shame at all for all who live in His, this, way.

Jonathan Brickman
Please do email me!
jeb@christian-oneness.org