I had a dear friend named Bud. We worked together at Hillcrest United Methodist Church in South Nashville. He was a volunteer staff member, working as hard as anyone else on staff doing pastoral care. He was also deeply involved in the conference lay servant ministry.
We became close friends over the years we served together on staff. Close enough to wrestle with our understandings of how God and country fit together. I had been taking deeper dives into what it meant to have an American flag in the church as I studied church history in my seminary courses. Bud had served as a marine in Vietnam and understood his call to be a marine was in service to God first and then to country. At the time, we were both building friendships in the diverse community around the church, in our neighborhoods.
Bud and I ended up meeting regularly over coffee having a series of conversations. Some days these were difficult conversations where things we each thought were foundational to our faith experience were challenged by the other. We were able to have these conversations because of our deep love for one another, our love for God, and our commitment to follow the call to love our neighbors as ourselves. Some of our conversations explored what scripture really says compared to some of our beliefs about what being a Christian means. We found there was a difference between patriotism and nationalism and that difference affected how a person saw themselves living out the gospel. I didn’t realize it at the time, but what we were doing was challenging the ideas of Christian Nationalism as we saw the harm that it was causing our neighbors, our next door neighbors.
There is a lot of talk right now about Christian Nationalism. There are people who identify themselves as devout Christians proudly claiming it, those working hard to expose its principles and combat it. And when it comes down to it, many struggle to name what it is. It is important that we define Christian nationalism. It is deeply embedded in our culture and has been for a very long time. Christian Nationalism is an ideology that presents itself as both patriotic and Christian, but in reality, it is neither of those things. Patriotism and nationalism may sound similar and have some overlap, “love and devotion to one’s country. But the definition of nationalism also includes “exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests[1].” And while one could look back at the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, and cite the actions of Israel taking the Promise Land as evidence to support nationalism in our scriptures, we must also look to the themes running all the way through our scripture and are counter to nationalistic ideals. Throughout scripture, the people of God are called to “welcome the stranger.” The people of Israel were blessed, so that they could be a blessing. The Psalmist in Psalm 86 writes, “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” This implies that God is present and at work in all the nations. Helping us see that God’s plan for humanity comes not under the authority of one specific nation, but through God’s presence with all of humanity.
Christian Nationalism aims to fuse Christianity and civil life. This doesn’t sound too terrible, right? John Wesley himself encouraged folks to vote. Our United Methodist Social Principles encourage us to get involved in advocacy and justice work on local and federal levels. There are some important distinctions to make here. Our commitment to grace and the work of the Holy Spirit calls us to allow others freedom to come to faith by accepting the invitation of the Spirit. It is one thing to use your voice and vote to bring about justice and abundance for all of our neighbors. It is quite another to forcefully impose religious beliefs upon all who reside within a country’s borders.
Christian Nationalism tells a story that is a re-telling of our history. Beginning with the story that this nation was founded as a Christian Nation. While the founders of our nation included Christians, they were also deists and rationalists. Their diversity of belief is likely one reason we became a nation where people had the liberty to practice the religion they chose, not a nation centered around one religion.
The re-telling of history continues as it ignores and reframes the way that indigenous folks were treated, ignoring the injustice, the sins of murder and theft that occurred in order to take claim of this “great nation.” Their story even outrightly attempts to stop the telling of the enslavement and discrimination of black folks in our history and in our present reality. Overlooking those same sins. This re-telling, overlooking the deep hurts, the very real racial disparity, and the ongoing racism will continue to haunt this nation until there is a genuine reckoning with the truth that includes confession and acts of repentance.
This entire heavily inaccurate narrative is in alignment with a white Christian nationalistic identity. In looking at this in light of scripture, we recall the words of our psalmist, crying out to the Creator of all nations, of all people created in God’s own image, for whom God’s plan is blessing. Blessing and not subjugation or discrimination.
This narrative has gotten a foothold in local and federal politics, in school boards, in our churches, and in our homes. We have been led to believe that this story is a Christian story, even when there is little to do with Christ’s teachings. We can look at a very familiar story Christ taught, when he was challenged by a religious expert, who had answered that to gain eternal life one must, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” To challenge Jesus further he asked, “Who is my neighbor? “And Jesus began to tell a story about a man traveling on a dangerous road where he encountered thieves, they took everything and left him for dead. He needed help. A priest came by, what a relief! A person who has dedicated their life to God and faith. But they could not be bothered with the inconvenience, they chose to look away and crossed to the other side. Next came a levite, another who spent their life in service of God’s work, surely they will offer help. They also crossed over to the other side. Next a Samaritan came, someone despite and discriminated against, and was moved by compassion upon seeing the injured man. The Samaritan bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, the Samaritan took two full days’ worth of his own wages and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ This is the end of Jesus’ story, after which he turns back over to the religious expert and asks, “Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?” He answered, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.” Jesus’ answer to him was to “Go and do likewise.[2]”
In this one teaching of Jesus, one that those of us who have grown up in church have likely heard many many times, Jesus challenges the principles of Christian Nationalism that seek to narrow the definition of neighbor. A definition that allows for the discrimination and deportation of our neighbors. A practices that demands control through religious doctrines that are not in line with the teachings of Christ or the way of the Spirit.
When we find ourselves asking questions about who our neighbors are, when we find ourselves in dialogue or in voting booths having been encouraged to exclude others, we are making decisions about who our neighbors are and how we will treat them. Christian Nationalism seeks to maintain and control the neighborhoods of our nation with this one narrow definition. How will we respond? Will we hear the call to be a neighbor? We will go and do likewise?
These were the kinds of questions my friend Bud and I asked one another. Am I being the neighbor Jesus has called me to be? Those conversations transformed me. I grew in my understanding of the gospel and in my ability to have slow hard conversations, to disagree with compassion, and to be in a grace filled space where there was enough room to make the journey of becoming like the Samaritan, who was a neighbor at a cost, motivated by compassion. In that space of grace filled compassion to change our minds and our hearts and our ways.. It was sanctifying grace in action. Bud passed away a few years ago and I miss him dearly. I carry our conversations with me. We were being the church together in those conversations. It is a part of our holy work in God’s kin-dom. Challenging each other to grow in grace and love that we would be ready to go and do likewise. Christian Nationalism is causing harm to our neighbors. Are we ready to be a neighbor that will go and do likewise?
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