Scott Tibbs
Christian Nationalism and obeying the the Great Commission
By Scott Tibbs, March 20, 2024
Unless I am missing something, I do not see a huge difference between "Christian nationalism" that is today's boogeyman and traditional Christian conservatism promoted by the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition in the 1980's and 1990's, respectively. Jesus Christ told His disciples in the Great Commission that He has all authority in heaven and on earth, which is why we are to make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey everything He commanded us. Romans 13 tells us that "the powers that be are ordained of God" and that the civil magistrate is "the minister of God to thee for good."
Is it bad, as
David French argues, that Christians want our faith to have primary in politics and law? Every President has claimed to be a Christian, and every President's supporters have used Christian principles to argue for their policies. Bill Clinton quoted 1 Corinthians 2:9 (poorly) and Barack Obama's health care reform was touted as caring for "the least of these." Joe Biden has
invoked his "faith" and has
spoken at the National Prayer Breakfast. Are Clinton, Biden and Obama dangerous Christian Nationalists who seek to force their faith on an unwilling public?
Despite what French argues, rooting public life "in Christianity and its moral vision" would
not "relegate non-Christians to second-class status." What would rooting our law in Christianity look like? It would involve protecting innocent life from fertilization to natural death, something French claims he supports. It would involve defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, which is something Barack Obama supported when he was elected President in 2008.
A true Christian vision would
shrink government overall, because the state has gobbled up authority that once belonged to the home and the church. It is no coincidence that as we have become a post-Christian society, the size and power of the federal, state and local governments has expanded and increasingly regulates and micro-manages our lives. If Jesus Christ is Lord, that means the government is not.
Are there extreme Christian nationalists? Yes. There certainly are people who have placed their faith in politics, while the Bible tells us in Psalm 146 that we should not place our trust in princes, and Psalm 20:7 tells us we should trust God rather than horses and chariots. (Or, today, that we should trust God instead of tanks and drones and nuclear bombs.) There are Christians who view politics through a lens of fear, not faith. The church should warn against that mentality, which borders on idolatry.
As I have said before, I do not use the label Christian nationalist to describe myself. I think it has been poisoned, and the term "Christian conservative" is a better fit. Some of the debate over Christian nationalism goes in weird directions, when it would be better to keep things simple: We should want to honor God and love our neighbor. If that is our goal, of course we should want our laws to reflect God's will and His righteousness.
Opinion Archives
E-mail Scott
Scott's Links
About the Author
ConservaTibbs.com