Christian Nationalism is a curse

And our nation will suffer

Evangelical church, I accuse you.

I recently heard a profound repudiation of the “Christian Nationalism” movement: Had God meant for Jesus to change the world through politics, He would have had him born as a Caesar.

Think of what that implies. If you’re still struggling, let’s look at and consider the words of Jesus Christ, founder of the faith, himself:

19 Show me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius [a day’s wage]. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “[[a]The Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” – Matthew 22:19-21 (AMP)

In this instance, Jesus was responding to the disingenuous inquiry of the Herodian leaders of the day. Their hope was to cause him to stumble. Their question, regarding if Jews should pay taxes or not, was a trap. If he answered “yes,” he betrayed the Jewish people, as well as the Mosaic law. The coins bore an image of the emperor and the word “divine,” violating the 2^nd Commandment.

If he said “no,” they would make the case for his treason against the Roman empire.

Jesus’ answer was perfect, and it came not from worldly learning, so much as it came from his perfect, divine nature.

The Herodians left befuddled and stumped. They wanted to trap him in a yes-no conundrum, but what he did was draw a distinct line, separating the Kingdom of God from a worldly kingdom.

Ask yourselves now – Does Herod live and reign today? Does God?

Where you stand on that particular question, especially if you claim yourself to be of the Christian movement, should open your eyes to all the reasons I, and others of the same position, so vehemently reject Trumpism. Further, with your eyes open, if you still voted for Trump, it should flood you with deep remorse.

Too many evangelicals jumped aboard the Trump train in the beginning and refused to get off. They clung stubbornly to the rails, white-knuckled and defiant through every scandal, every offense. He appointed the Supreme Court judges that returned the abortion issue to the states, after all. It was the same as Donald Trump, himself, waving his majestic scepter over the land and decreeing an end to the atrocities of Planned Parenthood.

I’ll go on record as saying returning the abortion issue to the states was the right move, from a Constitutional standpoint. The Tenth Amendment states clearly that any issue not enumerated within the confines of our Constitution, as written, is to be returned to the states and handled at that level. Abortion is clearly one such issue. It is the golden calf of the left, however, as they twist themselves into knots to find some kernel, some nuance within the framers’ intent that allows for the unfettered practice of infanticide.

It's not there, guys. Take the “L” and learn how to work within your local and state governments, rather than hanging on to Big Federal Daddy’s coattails for your every want.

All that being said, any half-way reliable Republican could have placed SCOTUS picks that would have done the same thing, given the right case to work with.

Then there’s the whole “America first” claptrap, that we’re now learning was just a lot of smoke and mirrors, meant to appeal to the populist faction of the GOP. As Trump and his co-president, South African billionaire Elon Musk seem to be of one mind, we find that they believe Americans to be of “lesser” abilities, when it comes to the high-paying, high tech job market. They’ll be shipping in outsiders to take those jobs.

And still, evangelicals persist in their devotion. Is it pride that shackles them to the sinking ship of Trump? Are they so caught up in their fantasy of who they want him to be – a messiah that doesn’t require faith without seeing, but who openly exhibits their worst, most flesh-centered impulses and lets them feel it’s ok?

I would counter, as I have continuously, since 2016, he is not “God’s man.” He is not our David, and politics was never meant to be our religion. If you’re voting with the expectations of a politician being the arm of your faith, then your faith was never in the Christian God.

It is we, the Church, who are called to be the hands and feet of God on this earth. I’ve said this multiple times, too often seeing it fall on deaf ears: You are not going to legislate morality. The usual argument I get is that we have laws based on morals and the Ten Commandments.

True, there are laws – or put another way – legislation – against murder, theft, rape, and a whole litany of criminal behavior, with varying degrees of punishment for violation of those laws. Thanks to SCOTUS, there is state-level legislation regarding abortion. There are sodomy laws, crimes against nature laws, pornography statutes, and on and on and on.

Now I pose this question: Is there still murder in this nation? Are the citizens bound by these morality-based laws still raping, stealing, killing? Are we still seeing child abuse, terrorism of every stripe, and report after report of man’s inhumanity to man?

Unfortunately, we are, even with all this legislation in place meant to change the world for the better. How can that be?

It is because while the laws may be in place, meant to create a moral society, laws apart from God do nothing to change the hearts of those who are committing the crimes. That kind of change only comes from the intervention of Christ, meant to be mirrored by His people in this world. Godly, loving outreach that begins in the home, bubbles up into the community, and out into the world is what builds a moral society.

Am I saying that Christians shouldn’t vote? Shouldn’t be civically involved? Not at all! Vote! Run for office, even! What I am saying is that in our voting, in our every dealing, whether in the job market, the voting booth, or our homes, we should maintain godly integrity. We should expect to see the kind of morality in our leadership that we want to see in the world. If a leader displays abusive or ignorant character, operates in lies and corruption, why would a Christian hook their witness to that wagon? It reflects back on you. It shows a dark and dying world that you are hypocrites. Why would they want to put down the burden of sin and run to a loving, saving God, if YOU are the example of that God?

Through this process and over the last 10 years, I’ve seen more professed Christians, faith leaders, and the like fall under the spell of damnable Trumpism, abandoning every reasonable measure of what it is to be a Christian. The American church has become more concerned with winning elections than winning souls for the Kingdom of God. Instead of wrapping themselves in the white robes of Christ, they’ve donned the red caps of MAGA. “Owning the libs” has become more important than the salvation of our neighbors – all for the glory of Donald Trump, rather than the glory of God.

We’re about to settle into a new era of Trump. This, for far too many American “Christians” is like the second coming of their messiah. This is as close to Heaven as many of them will see, or so they think, even if they don’t come right out and say it in those words. This will be Trump unbound. He has nothing to lose. The feckless laws and lawmakers of this nation have refused to do the most basic task of holding him accountable. His SCOTUS has given him the powers of a king. He has installed oligarchs and the ultra-rich are lining up to pay homage – not because they see him as worthy of their praise and adulation, but because they’re getting something out of it.

In 2 weeks, a national nightmare, unlike anything our nation has ever endured will begin. I’m not willing it so, but every indication is that this nation is no more a free republic. The worst among us have won, and many of those claim to be Christians.

You were warned. You can’t say you didn’t know.