If you follow me on Twitter, then you’re probably aware of my opposition to “Christian Nationalism.” Some of my in-depth reasons for opposing this movement can be found in two of my articles for Sovereign Nations (here and here), and there will be about two more, if the Lord wills. In this short article, I want to discuss another reason why I reject Christian Nationalism — it is logically incoherent. To demonstrate this, I want to look at the statement’s definition of a nation.
I’m taking the definition from the “The Statement on Christian Nationalism & The Gospel” website. Here is what they write —
WE AFFIRM that a nation is not merely an idea, abstract principle, or ideology but tangibly defined by a particular people in a particular place.
The first thing to note here is that this statement is universal in its scope. It may not appear to be that way because the universal “every” is not used by the authors of the Statement. However, an unqualified indefinite article used in the context of definition implies universality. For example, “A dog is a creature with four legs” means that if any x is a dog, then x has four legs.
So this means that if there are any exceptions to the proffered definition of a nation, then it follows that the Statement is, as a whole, wrong. Are there any Scriptural exceptions?
Yes — 1st Peter 2:9.
Peter states —
“...you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people...”
Scripture is referring to all Christians in every place at all times until the return of Christ as a distinct nation (Gr. “ethnos”). This means that a nation is not defined by or constrained by a particular place, time period, or language.
As a unique nation, Christians share some things which are intangible/immaterial — e.g. doctrine, the internal testimony of the Spirit that we are God's children, etc. We also share tangible/material things — e.g. baptism, the Lord's Supper, etc. This means that besides the fact that we are humans made in God's image, there is nothing genealogical or geographical that is definitive of our being a nation/ethnos.
What unites us is faith in the Gospel — which is a set of propositions regarding the person and work of Christ. Thus, we are, in other words, a living demonstration of the fact that nationhood is explicitly tied to propositional content that is not related to genealogy or geography. To deny this is to imply that Scripture is wrong. Ergo, the Statement is wrong.
Now we may grant that geography and genealogy can be tied to nationhood. However, from the beginning of Scripture God shows us that the root of any community is covenant/contract, not genealogy or geography. Adam and Eve did not form a community by simply existing. They formed one by entering into the marriage covenant. Similarly, Abraham was made into a nation by virtue of believing God's propositional content (cf. Gen 12:1-9).
So while genetic ties are significant, it is the case that one can lose his very title to sonship given his ideological (i.e moral and theological) beliefs, as expressed by his behavior. The prodigal son is a very clear instance of this, as are the Pharisees (cf. Jn 8:37-47).
The Statement on Christian Nationalism & The Gospel is neither logically nor Scripturally sound. It must, therefore, be rejected as false.
—h.