Clarion

Stray thoughts on Christian Nationalism – C.E.W. Green

Jan 31, 2023 |

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CEW Green
1. Whatever else “Christian nationalism” is in theory, in practice, it turns out to be a way of talking about Jesus so that no one, including him, can keep us from doing the evils we think we need to do to save our way of life. So far as I can see, that means, by definition, that such a thing can’t be meaningfully Christian.
 
2. I agree, almost, with Daniélou: “Christians ought to be trying to change the shape and pattern of society so as to make possible a Christian life for the whole of mankind.” (I say I almost agree because a lot is riding on what is meant by “a Christian life for the whole of mankind.”) But we can do right by our neighbors only by doing what Jesus, the living, risen Lord, tells us to do. And he is always saying the same thing. “He has told you, O mortal, what is good…” “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” “Blessed are those who are persecuted…”
 
3. If you think about it, Christian nationalism, like Christendom proper, just cannot end well. At some point, the damage done to people in Jesus’ name fills up its allotted measure and suddenly we’re living in a world where there are more people with complaints against the church, laments God has promised to hear, than there are people who have reasons to give thanks to God because of us. And that, as they say, is that.
 
4. Christendoms or Christian —isms of whatever type are bargains made with the Devil. First, we use our powers to turn stones to bread to feed the masses. Then, for a moment, we rule over the kingdoms of the well-fed. But in the end, driven mad by the Devil, driven to test our limits, to prove our superiority, we throw ourselves down from the heights and are broken at the feet of the poor.
5. The Scriptures—the Gospels, in particular—tell us what we need to know about this. But reading Dostoyevsky and some history wouldn’t hurt. See also: the testimony of the martyrs.
 
6. Speaking of the Devil—as opposed as I am to nationalism, and especially any so-called Christian versions thereof, that’s not the greatest danger we’re facing right now.
 
7. What is the greatest danger? We cannot know what battles are truly worth fighting until we know how to fight as we should; and that requires a return to what in fact matters most for us as followers of Christ— something that can only be learned at the feet of the poor. Let the reader understand.

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