UnBlurring the Lines of Christian Nationalism

UnBlurring the Lines of Christian Nationalism

by Shari Dovale

Recently, I was ask to watch a video from a group professing to be good, solid conservative Christians. Are they Christian? Yes, I believe they probably are. I could be wrong, but it isn’t really my call, is it? But I don’t know that they are everything else they would like us to believe. I would call them “operators.”

The video is titled: Christian Nationalism Isn’t Christian

Make no mistake, This is NOT a “religious” educational video. This is purely political. It is posted on a church’s website, sponsored by a private church, but it is essentially a political narrative.

The statements in the video are full of Democrat ideology, circular reasoning, innuendo, and falsehoods. The video is over 2 hours long, so I won’t ask you to watch it, yet I will try to give you some synopsis of what I found.

To be clear, this is my personal opinion and should not be taken any other way.

Definitions

A Christian is a person who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and adheres to Christianity.

A Nationalist is a person that is of the belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals.

No where in this definition does it discuss racial disparities.

I am a Christian and I love my country. It is okay to be Christian and to love your country!

The Elephant in the Room

There is a group making headlines around the country that call themselves Christian Nationalists, and use that as a stepping stone to spout hateful, antisemitic drivel.

They’ve deceitfully attempted to align themselves with CPAC and America First, but have been squarely denounced by the Christian Right, by local, state and National GOP groups, and by President Trump.

A good friend of mine said that he only calls them “Nick’s America First” to distinguish them from the most Pro-Israel president of our lifetime, President Trump.

We also denounce this shameful group.

To be clear, anyone that uses this group to label Christians are hyping propaganda to gain their own agenda, usually something spearheaded by Satan and the Progressive Left. It is a biased and bigoted ploy to compare this group with any true conservative or true Christian.

That is where they want to blur the lines. They want you to believe that when anyone uses the term “Christian Nationalist” you will see this hateful group and automatically connect it to President Trump.

It is time to correct their fuzzy and foggy connection and clear the air. Spread a little sunshine on this and see the truth.

There are 3 presenters. I met each of these men a few years ago. At the time that I met them, each told me they were new to the area. The brothers told me they had been raised in North Idaho as children but had been away for most of their adult lives. The third man told me he was just moving into the area with his family.

They were all focused on the local politics. That seemed to be the only topic they were concerned with. They did tell me they were Christian, but did not tell me if they attended any particular church.

They have since put together a Political Action group called “Politically Active Christians” (PAC). They are actually known by many names, including:

• Idaho True Conservatives
• Politically Active Christians
• West Bonner Votes

And a few names not quite commonly known, including:

• Huguenot Bay
• Forward Idaho

A couple of unofficial names include:

• Fight Club
• PAC PAC

They have built their group in such a way that there are many candidates that would like the group’s endorsement, though the PAC has very different standards it uses. The main rule is that you must be a proven Christian, however, it must be the Right Kind of Christian. I do not have all of the specifics but I know that Roman Catholics do not qualify. Neither do Mormons.

I have learned that they attend the Berean Christian Fellowship. This church also sponsored the video that I am summarizing and reviewing.

The video is set out like a college lecture, in three parts. The first part is presented by “Eza” and begins with Leftist talking points, explaining that the term “Christian Nationalism” is on the rise. The source materials include:

• Google, without explaining who is searching the term, but showing a graph of dates where the term spikes. It could very well be left-wing extremists searching the term, looking for any place they can attribute it to, or any group they can brand with a negative label.
• God & Country Movie Trailer, described as looking at the implications of Christian Nationalism and how it distorts not only our constitutional republic but Christianity itself. This is a movie produced by activist atheist Rob Reiner, in just another attack on Christians, of which he makes clear he is not.
  • A side note: During my research on this movie I learned that the “VeggieTales” co-creator Paul Vischer teams up to assist this atheist to Demonize Christians.
  • For those that are unfamiliar with “VeggieTales”, it launched in 1993 and is meant to help guide children with life lessons from a biblical perspective.
• Wikipedia, created by left-wing volunteers. Though it is a popular reference site, it isn’t a credible resource because anyone is allowed to be a contributor, and it shows an incredible amount of bias against conservatives. Most education institution do not allow it to be used for sourcing.

To be sure, Eza explains that the Left defines “Christian Nationalism” yet he is taking their biased definition and running with it. He is doing just what he blames them for doing.

Eza spends quite a lot of time talking about what I will continue to call “Nick’s America First” and tries to vilify the idea of Christian Nationalism, because of his comparison to this extremist hate-filled group.

Again, it is okay to be Christian and to love your country! It is offensive to label everyone the same as this disreputable bunch.

While Eza is busy condemning everyone, he includes other talking points. These details are supposed to be indicative of how Eza defines this leftist “takeover” of our state.

Like being new to Idaho. WAIT A MINUTE! Eza himself is a recent immigrant to Idaho. Does that put Eza in the same category as he put these men? Maybe so.

How about being Roman Catholic? If we didn’t already know, this would make it clear that Eza does not like Roman Catholics.

So, at this point, it is clear that if you are Roman Catholic, and a recent immigrant to Idaho, and maybe even social media buddies with the wrong person, those are some of the criteria being used to call you a Christian Nationalist. Why? What is their agenda?

History

The next parts of the video are presented by the brothers Zach and Sam. Zach really goes on a stretch to make the connection between Christian Nationalism and White Nationalism. By bringing a racial component to the discussion, Zach makes it clear that racial issues must be included when talking about Christian Nationalists.

This sounds an awful lot like Social Justice Warriors.

So, after Zach brings up White Nationalism, he then takes it all the way back to Moses and tries to say that White Nationalism, and therefore Christian Nationalism, was rampant in Old Testament times.

Zach is totally off base by this analogy, and is coming off as a race-baiter, in my opinion. He claims that Aaron and Miriam were upset that Moses married “a black lady.” (See: Numbers 12)

I challenge Zach to show me the scripture that says “a black lady”.

The bible does not say that their concern was the color of her skin. Miriam and Aaron were concerned with their own status, as they saw themselves as fellow prophets.

God did not forbid racial intermarriage. What he forbade was marriage with unbelievers.

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Attempting to use the Bible, and misinterpreting it intentionally, is another Leftist tactic. Cherry-picking Scripture to shame Christian voters certainly shows us another side of the political spectrum, doesn’t it?

Zach then moves quickly to the scare tactics.

He is calling out these supposed Nationalists for threatening you with the force of arms! Where did that come from? No where does the selected passage even suggest that response.

These are the tactics that Zach and his fellow Operators are using to gain their agenda. But, again, what is this agenda?

Moving on, Sam takes us through more modern history, mostly beginning in the 1600s. He quickly zeroes in on James I of England and the Puritans.

Sam tells the story as is popularly known about the Puritans. Well, most of the story. The Puritans had issues with the National Church and felt it too closely resembled Catholicism. They felt they had a more direct connection to God and wanted to live their lives according to their own beliefs.

Sam tries to say that the Puritans left England because of Christian Nationalism. That is so untrue that it is also offensive.

There was no such thing as Christian Nationalism in England. There was, however, a “National Church.” They fled a National Church, which is a far cry from Christian Nationalism.

This was the basis for our Establishment clause of the First Amendment, “Separation of Church and State.” The founders were not looking to stop all discussion of God in schools or anywhere else. They were looking to stop a National Church from being formed. They wanted everyone to be free to worship Christ in their own manner.

Back to our Operator Sam, who seems to be praising the Puritans, as he recognizes Thanksgiving and gives them much glory.

But here’s the thing: The Puritans wanted a theocracy. They also persecuted Quakers, and actually everyone they believed to be heretics, like Catholics, Lutherans, Anabaptists, and more. They were behind the Salem Witch Trials and burnings.

I can see why this might be appealing to groups like PAC, as they have very narrow definitions of what a Christian should be.

And here we are, ready to persecute people they think are “Christian Nationalists”.

Nationalism is not a bad thing. It’s like American Exceptionalism.

I accept American Exceptionalism. That is the belief that the United States is unique and admirable. As an American, I believe that. I also raise my children to understand respect for their nation and for those that fought and died for the principles it was founded on.

You are allowed to be Christian, and allowed to love your country.

But I do not believe that America should be run under a theocracy, or by globalists, or even through a single-party system.

I denounce ALL forms of Supremacy.

George Washington warned us, in his farewell address, about the dangers of hyper-partisanship.

According to Washington, one of the chief dangers was the development of competing political parties.

When Americans voted according to party loyalty, rather than the common interest of the nation, Washington feared it would foster a “spirit of revenge,” and enable the rise of “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” who would “usurp for themselves the reins of government;”

I think we are dealing with that now.

I think I have covered enough in this video to show the offensive nature of the entire project. These are modern-day Puritans that are on a witch hunt.

There is nothing wrong with loving your country and loving Jesus. There is also nothing wrong with wanting to get back to the founders vision of Christian values and principles.

I will leave you with this thought from Matthew, Chapter 7:

Beware of False Prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

You will know them by their fruits.

Additional Information: Patriot Radio Christian Nationalism is a good thing? | The Fifth Column Among Us…

Pastor Matt Shea