The Rise of Right-Wing Wokeism: A Review of ‘The Case for Christian Nationalism’ by Stephen Wolfe

These are good questions. I share Wolfe’s bewilderment over the Christian leaders who seem to prefer a society hostile to Christianity. I’ve seen pastors in my own denomination look wistfully at Christians losing power and becoming a minority in the country, as if Constantine ruined everything and our influence would be so much greater if we only we could lose power and become more marginalized.

That is how I have felt about this subject except I would say posters on SI rather than pastors in my denomination. Yet as I read about Wolfe’s positions I am alarmed. His racism and desire for a “Christian prince” make me feel that wolf if a fitting name. We also need to warn about those who call for violence. Proverbs 16:29 warns, “A man of violence entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good.”

DeYoung’s review was long, but well worth the read. If Wolfe’s version of Christian Nationalism is how the subject becomes defined (the definition is still being refined) then the choice to reject it is obvious. I think part of the problem is that “Christian Nationalism” is still a fairly new term and people are using it in different ways.

I want to clearly state the I reject Wolfe’s way of using the term (ie his version of Christian Nationalism) and I chose a long time ago not to promote any Christian nationalism because of the questions about how it was used. I did not however reject every person who used the term since some used it with different intents than Wolfe had. Books like this are helping to define the term whether others agree with the definition or not and should cause us to proceed with intense caution and ask clear questions when we hear the term come up.

Is Christian Nationalism, really a new term? Or is it just a repackaging of previous terminology? This is just a repackaging of the Moral Majority that germinated in the mid-1970’s. Before that point in time there was no concept of Christian Nationalism. It was taught that the church should stay out of politics. The more the church focuses on this, the more the devil is given strength as the church turns its eyes away from the gospel and instead focuses on legislating morality and establishing a distorted theocracy. The nation of Israel wanted her king. And the American Church wants her nation.

…as if Constantine ruined everything and our influence would be so much greater if we only we could lose power and become more marginalized.

I think this has the appearance of a false dilemma, and it risks ignoring history completely. Did Constantine “ruin everything”? Of course not, but over 1,000 years of church-state oppression of dissent and heresy isn’t something to ignore. Some folks seem to act as though Christian sacralism has only failed because it wasn’t implemented properly. They’re no better than the wannabe communists they decry.

I get the distinct sense that any effort to oppose the removal of Judeo-Christian influence in a certain country would be considered “Christian nationalism.”

• Support laws against abortion? You’re a “Christian nationalist”
• Oppose “gender-affirming care”? You’re a “Christian nationalist”
• Support the free exercise of religion by a citizen in the public square as guaranteed by the first amendment? You’re a “Christian nationalist”
• Support parents who stand against the sexualization of young children in schools? You’re a “Christian nationalist”

Serious questions:

• Can a believer who is an elected official propose and/or support legislation that espouses a Christian worldview without being labeled a “Christian nationalist”?
• If so, how does one do that?
• Should a believer even consider entering the political arena?
• When a Democrat politician quotes from the Bible in support of a “woman’s right to choose” or “marriage equality” or some other liberal cause, is this also “Christian nationalism”?
• If not, why not?

I distinctly recall several posters here a few years ago stipulating that Jack Phillips and others like him had no business exercising their faith by taking a public stand against wickedness. The current hype about “Christian nationalism” is part and parcel the same mindset.