For these reasons, I have thought proper to recommend…that Thursday, the 25th day of April next, be observed, throughout the United States of America, as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting and prayer—That the citizens..devote the time to the sacred duties of religion, in public and in private: That they call to mind our numerous offences against the most High GOD, confess them before him with the sincerest penitence, implore his pardoning mercy, through the great Mediator and Redeemer…we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to his righteous requisitions in time to come..That he would make us deeply sensible that “righteousness exalteth a nation, but that sin is the reproach of any people”: . . .
John Adams, President of the United States,
“Fast Day Proclamation,” 6 March 1799
Christian nationalism has been variously defined by Christians as well as leftists, making a definitive definition difficult. Nevertheless, the term appears to have been originally deployed around 2006 during the second George W. Bush Administration by progressive anti-Christians committed to removing politically active and policy energized evangelical Christianity from influencing the public square.
By using a caricature and an intentional distortion of the character and nature of true Christianity, critics aggressively promoted Christian Nationalism as a viable threat to American democracy.
Like “Lawfare,” the term “Christian Nationalism” is being heard, posed as a threat to democracy. What is it, and is it a threat?
Teach the Children:
- Neutrality is a myth. No separation exists between the so-called sacred and secular spheres of life, as all of life comes under the authority of God’s word; God has ordained and commanded the application of truth to the whole of life, and Biblical truths have influenced all aspects of American life, beginning with its colonial founding.
- Guard against journalistic rhetoric and polemics while practicing sound scholarship and sound argumentation. An insurgency of Christian nationalism does not exist; rather, proclamations of its ascendancy are for purposes of fear mongering.
- Citizenship requires the stewardship of God’s goodness and providence in American and US History, as well as allegiance to one’s nation. Patriotism is not synonymous with Nationalism.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Proverbs 14:34 ESV