Read on Twitter
To any who say CN is isolated & not widely influential, we need to look at the book of Kings.
The Scriptures are not silent on the dangers of civil religion, or what we call Christian Nationalism today. Israel went into exile for it.
The Scriptures are not silent on the dangers of civil religion, or what we call Christian Nationalism today. Israel went into exile for it.
1 Kings 12. David’s kingdom had split, north & south. The northern King Jeroboam has a problem. His citizens must travel to the rival Southern Kingdom to worship at Solomons temple. The political security of his kingdom was in jeopardy.
What did he do? He revised their religion. He made it work for his goals. Jeroboam revised Israel’s history— a new Exodus myth. He build idols in Dan & Bethel and said “These gods saved you from Egypt”. CN today revises America’s founding. A revised story is just the start...
A new story needs a different structure. He recruited non-Levite priests. He created alternative & more convenient sacrificial sites in the Northern kingdom. No more long trips to his political rivals. Kingdom secure. Story & structure.
Jeroboam used religion to consolidate his power. Christian Nationalism operates on the same principle. Idolatry that makes God’s people a puppet to power. How serious is this? The book of Kings blame this idolatrous system for Israel’s downfall & exile to Assyria.
Some want to say CN is an isolated extreme. Or an academic technicality. Do you know how the book of Kings judges each King after Jeroboam? On whether they destroyed or reinforced the civil religion he built. His system of idolatry “caused Israel to sin” (2 Kings 17:21)
Christian nationalism is straight from Jeroboam’s playbook. It has recruited false priests who tout this gospel, and tell us that American greatness is a pillar of Jesus’ Kingdom. This myth & system is a lever for political power in this country.
Sure. Not every American evangelical is full blown CN. Neither was Elijah or the remnant that did not bow to Baal. But if we do not tear down the idols & altars of our fathers, we will share their fate. And risk the clarity of the gospel for future generations.
Churches that opt for an “above politics” approach fail here too. They leave the altars of civil religion standing. They have a gospel of salvation but not of the Kingdom. So people walk out confident of eternity, but unsure what they have to live for till then.
Scripture is not silent. Many American Xians wrongly conflate America with Israel’s story. The Church, not America, is the recipient of Israel’s heritage. But American Xians need to learn from Israel’s story. God hates idolatry. And systems that perpetuate it.
Didn’t anticipate the response here! Grateful. Two things I will add: we should be hopeful, the rising Xian generation is hungry for alternatives to civil religion. Lots of these thoughts were shaped in church planting & college ministry next to @nate_farley.
Injustice thrives in idolatry. My thread didn’t deal w/ outcomes of civil religion. The OT minor prophets called it out. Today, see Christian Smith, @JemarTisby, @DrCEdmondson @SkyeJethani @kkdumez & others who show injustice thriving from varying disciplines & vantage points.
