America is a fundamentally Christian nation and should remain so.
Are those who believe this to be true labeled “Christian nationalists,” a term used pejoratively and usually linked to accusations of “white supremacy”?
One group called Salt & Light Resistance, which believes that “faithfulness to the gospel of Christ requires hopeful resistance to false gospels of empire, nation, and partisan political ideology,” says they oppose “Christian nationalism.”
In an open letter signed by more than 1,000 people, the group argues that the so-called Christian nationalism movement “confuses the gospel with a political agenda and makes us susceptible to the death-dealing designs of corrupting leaders.”
(via The Christian Chronicle)
The letter accuses churches of turning “a blind eye to the clear evidence of great evil,” including what the signers describe as “the deliberate and ongoing persecution of people of color in our country.” The signers also argue that deporting illegal aliens “without due process of the law” is unjust and that “hard-won civil rights and even basic respect for African Americans and other people of color, including our fellow Christians” are being undermined.
Salt & Light Resistance claims that “confused or self-deluding white Christians blithely throw away the good news of Jesus Christ in favor of the bad news of Empire.”
Donald Eason, a pastor and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, has a different view.
He wrote in a statement that those behind the letter likely had good intentions but were wrong to oppose Christian leadership in politics.
“The idea that a leader guided by Christian principles is ‘susceptible to the death-dealing designs of corrupting leaders’ is concerning,” Eason wrote. He argued that government was established by God and referenced Romans 13 as evidence that political leaders have responsibilities and duties “given to them by God the Father.”
Christian leadership does not mean forcing Christianity on others, Eason said. Instead, Christian leaders should govern with “love, mercy, and justice” toward all people, “regardless of political party, race, or ethnicity.”
Eason accused the letter’s authors of advancing their own political agenda while claiming to reject politics.
“By mentioning the current administration, they are in fact displaying their political bias,” Eason wrote. “The attack on our white brothers, again showing their own bias and racism. They present themselves or those whom they represent as victims and our white brothers as oppressors. Again, a political agenda presented in pious words, disguising their political intent.”
That is not to say that Christians can’t correct other believers, Eason added. The Bible calls us to correct and restore one another.
“God’s Kingdom is not about race or political party,” he wrote. “His Kingdom is about love and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord!”
