By State Representative Chuck Owen
The modern American Left, which has gone far off the deep end of Cultural Marxism, Critical Theory, and public order arson, has created a term in recent years that merits some discussion. The demonization of American institutions is the order of the day for the modern Democrat party and its Nomenklatura in the media. They all seem to be working together to proliferate a phrase. I normally try to ignore their efforts in misinformation, but I’m not letting this one go. The creation and now proliferation of the term “Christian Nationalism” is another insipid attempt by America haters to impugn those who love America and who happen to be people of faith. Most of us would prefer to ignore the Left’s efforts, but for the sake of defining the environment, the stupid terms they have created need to be addressed.
A review of web articles reveals all sorts of examples of countries around the world tying their faith to their nations. Hungary’s Orban is offered up as someone who has done this, as have several other movements in the past few centuries. I’m not going to drill down on the history of Western civilization and how various religions, including Christianity, have been distorted in multiple evil moments in time. Again, the Left loves to do this: pick out loosely related historical incidents and say, “See, they’re doing it again.”
What is “nationalism”?
We’re not in the Crusades, this isn’t Hungary, this isn’t Korea; this isn’t anything but the United States of America. This is here, and this is now why we need to speak to Christian Nationalism and how the cultural Marxists are trying to wrap that phrase around the neck of those of faith who differ from them in terms of what the philosophical and religious foundations of the United States should be.
Let’s start with nationalism: This is a word that has been forever sullied because of Adolf Hitler and his ilk. The Nazis (ideological cousins to Marxism) spoke of nationalism (and racial hierarchies) as mechanisms to propel hatred and border expansionism. Nothing good came from Hitler. He’s burning in hell, as he should. But the Left has permanently seized any use of the word in the same way the Left loves to permanently excoriate the use of “State’s Rights” in the context that Democrats like George Wallace and Bull Conner used it.
People who believe in American sovereignty as a framework have nothing in common with Hitler nor with imperialism and expansion via military force or other violence. We believe OUR country should be the driving force behind all OUR decisions, domestic and international. We believe in being good neighbors with the rest of the world, but our country is our first priority. The misuse of “nationalism” by Marxists and other hard Leftists with roots in Marxian thought is a nefarious trick called “dialectics”—changing the meaning of a word with a definition that may be similar but completely NOT tied to the truth.
Defining “Christian”
“Christian” is defined in countless ways. A Christian is ideally a member of the faith that follows Jesus of Nazareth. Most of the modern Left detests Christianity in its true form. Christianity is about following a risen Savior and trusting in Him to provide a guidepost for living, but most importantly, as the only path to eternal life. Many, many nefarious people over time have claimed Christianity.
Churches and evil leaders of the churches have gone so far as forcing conversion via the business end of a sword or rifle. People operating “in the name” of God have stolen, robbed, raped, exterminated, and done every evil known to man. Their misdeeds do much more harm to the faith than can be described. Hitler claimed Christianity (Catholic) but is also known to have been emersed in the occult. The Apostle Paul, before his conversion, imprisoned and oversaw the murder of “Christians.” We all know about Jim Jones and other Pied Piper types who have misled and done unspeakable evil.
The Christian religion is based on the Word of God as set forth by the perfect and sinless Jesus Christ and should never be confused with the flawed and imperfect people who practice Christianity. The Christian faith is about spreading the news that the only path to Heaven is through the Son of God. It’s about loving your neighbor as yourself. It’s about doing good, striving continuously for moral excellence, and upholding standards set forth through the Word of God while acknowledging our imperfect natures and the struggles of life in meeting Biblical standards.
Christianity is a threat to the Left’s purposes.
We Christians believe only one person has done that; the rest of mankind has sinned. While we believe Jesus is the route to Heaven, we believe everyone has free will, which is the power to choose or not to choose God’s straight but narrow path. We love you the same, regardless of your choice, and we hope for the best in your life.
In the minds of the petrified and misguided secular Left, Christians in America who happen to be conservative and want OUR country to be OUR top priority are the threat. For the life of me, I can’t figure this out. At its root, Christianity is about converting souls via free will. It’s about choosing to follow who we believe is the risen Son of God. I don’t know anyone in this country who has ever been forced to accept Christ where it really took. Many people follow their parents, some go through confirmation processes, etc, but if something isn’t true, free people won’t hang on to it. I know many people who have abandoned the faith of their families. Plenty don’t even believe in God at all. I love them the same and hope they find the Truth. We’re free to choose.
This country was founded on the premise that we would have religious liberty. We were founded on the notion that the government SHALL MAKE NO LAW establishing a religion. For the uninformed, we have this foundational principle partially because “Christians” burned/executed witches in the 1600s. Yes, people professing to follow the Son of God burned people who they said were witches. Pick up a book on it if you have the stomach to read something really awful.
The government can’t impede religion.
Benjamin Franklin, who was NOT a Christian (but who was deeply influenced by Christianity) was well aware of this fact and he even knew some of the folks involved in the trials. The horror of the witch burnings was emblazoned on the psyche of many in our founding times, and they were hell-bent (no pun intended) to NOT go there again. The government does not establish a religion here.
At the same time, the government can’t prevent the free practice thereof. Though the former Governor of Louisiana and other tyrants tried to shut faith down during COVID, many people of faith would not be denied their innate desire to, nor RIGHT to, worship without government interference. A pastor the State had locked up 37 times for refusing to shutter his church is a case in point for the precarious moment where we all find ourselves. The pastor had his day in court, and the State Supreme Court clearly ruled that the government had violated HIS rights. The story of that pastor and the encroachment of tyranny merits telling, but that’s a topic for another day.
Back to the point: Christian Nationalism is a phrase created by the Left that doesn’t mean anything or describe anything real. There are Americans who love America and who are also Christians. There are also Americans who love this country who are Jew, Muslim, B ’Hai, Wiccan, deists, and rock worshippers. And we’re all Americans and must be treated the same.
There is no such THING as Christian Nationalism. There is no legitimate movement to establish Christianity as a state religion in this country. The phrase Christian Nationalism is an effort by the Left to distract and slander.
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Would like you to address the Ten Commandments as American history.