I’m a really squeamish person. I can’t watch the ending of Braveheart without wanting to hurl. While everyone else runs around the room shouting “Freedom!” in solidarity with William Wallace, I’m sitting there turning green as my mind churns over the graphic reality of what, exactly, is happening to his body as he’s drawn and quartered. It lingers with me for days after the movie ends.
So when I encountered this gruesome meme and its accompanying narrative last month, I had a similarly visceral response.
To be clear, I rolled my eyes when I read the histrionic and intensely manipulative dismissal of all Christianity. If you have the intellectual honesty of a goldfish, you know that genuine Christians do not believe in impaling unbelievers on pikes for the crime of dissenting with our dogma. Anyone who truly knows Jesus can easily identify this as a Satanic distortion of Jesus’ actual teachings. Jesus called us to win people over through our love, not our terror campaigns.
But the fact of the matter remains that, since the dawn of time, power-hungry people have always leveraged any power structure that exists to advance their selfish agendas, and religion can provide a very useful cover in these situations. Unfortunately, from the Spanish Inquisition to the practice of American slavery, history is littered with examples of wicked people doing heinous things in Christ’s name in order to lord power over others. And it does damage to peoples’ ability to even dream of trusting in the God they associate with that behavior.
In my opinion, when faithful Christians see this kind of thing happening, it is imperative that we stand up and loudly oppose it so that an unbelieving world can easily recognize the sincere faith from its disgusting imitation. We are obviously no longer living in the dark ages. As a society, we tend to settle disputes via lawsuit, not public execution.
But with the somewhat tedious (but still necessary) disclaimer that I obviously believe what’s happening on the political left is infinitely more dangerous than what’s brewing on the right, I would be remiss if I did not step up and say that I am also quite concerned about a cancer that’s been metastasizing in pockets of the Christian right for quite some time now in the form of what’s broadly known as “Christian nationalism.” I think that, left unchecked, it’s an ideology that inevitably leads to the kind of persecution depicted on the gruesome meme I encountered last month, and I think we need to approach it with both eyes wide open.
One of the reasons we never get anywhere when we talk about “Christian Nationalism” is because no one can actually agree about exactly what it is. I think there are two primary uses of the term:
1. It’s a manipulative label leftists like to use to smear all conservative Christians for any hint of patriotism or reasonable policy position on things like border control. The problem with many of the most prominent voices denouncing Christian nationalism is that they tend to bundle actual evils like white supremacy and kinism alongside objections to abortion and LGBT dogma. We’re all lumped together in one umbrella as if opposition to sterilizing children is somehow anywhere in the same ballpark as being a neo Nazi. For this reason, the label is a hot button term that makes a ton of people roll their eyes and check out of the conversation.
2. It’s an awful, actual authoritarian crusade spearheaded by people like Stephen Wolfe (as published and endorsed by Doug Wilson) and Dusty Deevers and Joel Webbon and Brian Sauve who actually champion racism, kinism, and forced religious expression under penalty of law. These are largely people who believe in using the government to force Christianity onto the public under duress. They’ll feign commitment to religious freedom while simultaneously advocating for the destruction of religious freedom of anyone outside their faith traditions. You think I’m exaggerating? Check out these asinine ramblings from Sauve and Webbon.
Blasphemy laws? The repeal of the Civil Rights Act? Multiple Christian princes? (I can only imagine who he might have in mind for the job.) What planet are these guys from, and should anyone even pay attention to them at all? Why am I bothering to give them the time of day?
Perhaps it’s because they’re foot soldiers in Doug Wilson’s army or because Tucker Carlson himself took out paid advertisements for his millions of followers to promote Wilson’s brand of Christian Nationalism. Perhaps it’s because all the fringe movements people seem to want to whitewash inevitably end up snowballing out of control. A dedicated minority can do a lot of damage. Remember when no one had ever even heard the word “transgender?” So do I. The same principle has applied in the context of the carnage wrought by Islamic extremists. It seems like no one ever pays attention until the problem is too great to contain, and I’m worried that may be the case when it comes to theonomy packaged as Christian restoration in America.
Bad things happen when the government is used to dictate beliefs to the masses.
It’s a topic that’s resurfaced this week in light of Louisiana’s recent decision to legally require all public schools to prominently display the 10 commandments in every classroom.
As a Christian, I’m supposed to celebrate this as some sort of victory for the return of morality to the public sphere. As the saying goes, “It’s not a matter of whether a religion will dominate the culture; it’s just a matter of which religion will prevail.” We currently have trans flags on display in classrooms across the country. If the god of sex is going to have such a prominent role in schools, why should the God of the Bible be outlawed?
I’m sympathetic to this, and I don’t actually think God should be kept out of schools. If students want to pray on campus, great. If they want to read their Bibles or sing hymns, awesome. They should be free to do so. The key component here is choice.
My problem with the Louisiana situation is with the state requiring any of this. I think it creates a really shady legal precedent that will inevitably bite us in the butt the minute Christians are no longer running the show. If you would object to the mandatory display of the 5 pillars of Islam in public school classrooms, then you probably shouldn’t celebrate the mandatory display of the 10 commandments. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
I’m a Christian. I love the 10 commandments. I think the world would be a better place if everyone subscribed to them. I don’t think any harm will come to children if they’re invited to reflect on inherently moral standards like “Hey, it’s not good to steal,” or “Be respectful to your parents.” But we aren’t debating the content of the rules; we’re debating the principle of the mandate that requires them.
The crux of the matter is this: Either you believe the government should be in the business of coercing people into professions linked to faith, or it shouldn’t. You have to choose.
Some may argue that America’s founding fathers were perfectly okay with Scripture being posted on government buildings and the like, and yes, there is historical precedence for this. You won’t hear me complaining about the “In God we trust” being printed on our currency. But back when the founding fathers were around, EVERYONE believed in God. They weren’t living in a land or a time when making those decisions would set into motion a series of lawsuits that would blow up in their faces. But that’s largely what this is about, and there’s a degree of political theater in play that cheapens true appreciation for God’s laws.
No sooner had the Louisiana mandate been signed into law than Gov. Jeff Landry trumpeted, “I can’t wait to be sued.”
Because he 100% will be sued. It’s one big never ending power play.
I personally subscribe to the belief that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” I want just laws that protect the innocent and uphold righteousness. But when it comes to professions of faith, I don’t think coercion is righteous. I want to live in a nation that’s Christian by choice, not by edict. There’s a marked difference between saying, “Hey we don’t tolerate murder in this country” and demanding heads on pikes for the violation of blasphemy laws. I know we aren’t there yet, but I don’t even want to get one single solitary step closer to being there. It is the goodness of the Lord that leads to repentance, not the threat of prison time for dabbling in other religions.
By all means, elect righteous people. Put Christians in places of influence. Encourage Christians to be bold about public professions of faith in all spheres of society, including schools. But tread lightly when it comes to using the force of law to require adherence to beliefs. Our forefathers risked everything to free us from that bondage, and “Christian totalitarianism” should always be an oxymoron.
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