The United States is a Christian Nation. There is a divide in the minds of many protestants between the practice of good Christianity and the practice of what is called call civic virtues. Civic virtues are construed in academia as the sacrifice of the self in favor of the common good, but this definition lacks a certain neutrality, because the idea of communal good is a flexible term which can be manipulated.

Instead, civic virtues as they have been historically intended can be described as such: qualities of a person or persons (virtues) that are positively instrumental in developing a healthy, net positive society. While there is still some flexibility to this definition, the health of a society is far more tangible a concept than simply ‘common good’. Stalin committed atrocities for the ‘common good,’ but even his own people would have agreed that that their society was rotten to the core.

Most progressive, protestant Christians tend to shy away from nationalism for fear of passion. These Christians believe that their mission is to minister to the oppressed, the minorities, the downtrodden. Their image of Jesus is based on their worldview and progressive interpretation of scripture.

Hard leaning leftists take this idea one step further, painting the image of Jesus as a revolutionary, politicizing his legacy and corrupting his message. To them, Jesus might as well be an anarchist.

Jesus was a person of color. He was killed by the police. Jesus was lynched. That is a hard pill to swallow, but the truth always is.  To speak up when we see something that is not right. And to practice civil disobedience when given an unjust order. That is what I expect from every citizen in my country, and the police are not exceptions. Civil disobedience is not an obligation of protestors only! That is one major lesson that we can take away from the arrest, detainment, and execution of Jesus. Following orders, blindly without conscience, or hiding behind the shield with a false and illegal notion of immunity, always leads to blatant acts of injustice and even outright crimes against humanity, including the targeted assassination of the world’s most influential nonviolent spiritual leader.

https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/cw/important-reads/20439-jesus-was-a-person-of-color-and-he-was-killed-by-the-police-does-that-matter

This interpretation is heresy. Mark 12:13-17 is clear about observation of government.

Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it permissible to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” And they brought one. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

Mark 12:13-17 NKJV

So long as these people were the beneficiaries of the Roman governance, used Roman currency, and could benefit from Roman citizenship, they owed loyalty to Rome. Jesus was essentially asked if they were Roman subjects or subjects of God, and Jesus answered yes to both.

Moreover, Jesus was not singularly dedicated to the causes of the minorities or the downtrodden, but also to the causes of the tax collectors and centurions. In Matthew, Jesus is amazed by the faith of a centurion and commends him.

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Matthew 8:5-13 NKJV

This illustrates something important, while the modern leftist revolutionary would not hesitate to torch the house and belongings of a centurion or tax collector, Jesus saw people as creation; the sentiments expressed by left leaning Christians see people as political ideas.

Lastly, using the death of Christ as justification for civil unrest is incorrect; because the entire Christocentric metanarrative of scripture depends on the willing sacrifice of Christ. Jesus was not a person of color; he was the author of reality. Jesus was not killed by police, he was killed by the sinfulness of all mankind. He willingly gave himself as a sacrifice for all mankind, not just the minorities, but the oppressors too.

Jesus was and is a monarch. He is a king, and his authority is beyond dispute. Calling for civil disobedience as a reaction to authority in Jesus’ name is pathetic, and detracts from what Jesus died for. Clearly, Jesus was not concerned with the politics of Israel, Rome, and the Gentiles. His reason for becoming a man was far grander and more important. It transcends politics entirely.

This show us that the job of Christians is not to always take the side of the downtrodden and oppressed, but to act as Christ would act. Christians must embody the love of Christ, which would certainly minister to the downtrodden and oppressed, but not out of social justice, but because the Kingdom of God rejoices when his ministry grows. Christians should not operate out of social justice, but out of reverence and love for their king, who first loved them far beyond anything they deserved. Christians should love the oppressed and oppressor alike.

How does this relate to the relation of nationalism to Christianity? Simply put, Christians, as citizens of their nation, owe it fealty. So long as Christians enjoy the privileges of American citizenship, they should render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. If there is a reason to separate themselves from the United States, such as legislation that prevents them from being the body of Christ, then they should do so.

As refrain, the United States is not the Kingdom of God. The United States, like every other nation of men, is fallible and will ultimately fall. This is precisely why Christian Nationalism is necessary. The idea of civic virtues, as I introduced them, are intended to keep a nation from falling into disrepair and corruption.

Rallying against a leader like Donald Trump because he “is not a good Christian” defies logic. He was not elected to lead a Church. He was elected to guide the most powerful nation on Earth, a nation who’s benefits are enjoyed by all who live in it, regardless of their political desires. Moreover, Augustus Caesar was not a “good Christian man,” and yet Christ said that he should receive what he is owed. He created stability and prosperity for his subjects.

Nehemiah was given aid from Artaxerxes I of Persia to rebuild Jerusalem. Artaxerxes was nowhere near a Christian man, and yet through him, God worked many good things. Moreover, the rebuilding of Jerusalem was made possible by a man who would be seen as repugnant today. Christians should know that there are no truly ‘good’ men. Every person is corrupted, and it is up to us to either act in corruption or to act in accordance to the laws of God.

In the case of President Trump, his past life has been that of a billionaire playboy. He has led a life that is certainly not evocative of a legalistic Christian. This is completely irrelevant if his works benefit the kingdom of God. During his four years, President Trump repaired the American economy, fought for American freedoms, frequently observed that America is indebted to our creator, fought against abortion and further pursued absolute truth. The past life of the man who was president was not beautiful, but king David murdered Uriah to commit adultery with his wife, and yet was called a man after God’s own heart. For such a thing to make sense, it must be true that there is some other criteria than the merit of our actions by which God may use us, as no man is without sin. Indeed, the accolade of David was merited not by a sinless life, but by his willingness to obey God, to continually orient his heart towards the pursuit of God, and to truly repent and reorder himself in order to continually better serve God.

Like Artaxerxes, President Trump was an asset to the Kingdom of God. He lived a life of sin, to be sure, but his willingness to serve and the capacity in which he served is indicative of how God may use anyone he chooses to grow his Church or tend his people. Moreover, there are plenty of nominally Christian politicians in our times who do far less for the Kingdom of God. Nancy Pelosi calls herself Catholic despite being excommunicated for her vile political affiliations and records. Joe Biden calls himself Christian even after espousing and fighting for such degenerate policies as Abortion.

Service to God is not quantified in nominal affiliations, it is found in the fruit that one bears.

Service to God is also separate from service to nation, but the two may coincide. In the case of the United States, the alternatives show us that it is advantageous to preserve the Christian foundations of this country. While Christians are cast from the pinnacles of buildings in Saudi Arabia, or rounded up and put into camps in China, or executed with Machetes in The Congo, or crucified in the manner of their savior in South Africa, Christians in the United States enjoy a degree of freedom that is unheard of in modern times. Even in Europe, the divide between Protestantism and Catholicism has been bloody. Here, many peoples of many faiths may exist without violence. None of this could be without a civic devotion to the country, especially as other countries begin to encroach on our freedoms.

Nationalism is the devotion to the nation as a higher value than alternatives such as globalism and foreign powers. Remembrance of the American foundation is paramount for the continuation of American prosperity. Christians should be proud Americans. They are allowed to practice Christianity freely and without restraint, without fear of being arrested or fed to wild animals. America has been the center of the Christian world for two hundred years, and it continues today, even in spite of the rapidly changing social systems and the dangers of leftism.

Patriotism is the love of the country as it is now, but nationalism is the devotion to the country as it should be.

There have been nations in the past, such as Germany, who have misused nationalism. This does not make nationalism evil. Nationalism is a direction of attitude. It is the pointing out of something as an appropriate goal for which a nation will strive. The actual object of this focus is what may cause good or bad outcomes. The German people were told that their nation should strive to be ethnically homogenous and pure. The object of their national focus put man on a pedestal, and saw Aryan man as the highest good that may be achieved.

Surely Americans should be patriots, but they must also remember and fight for the true spirit of this country, which was in its Christian foundations. The framers described a separation of Church and state, but this meant that the Church itself would have no legislative powers. They knew that the virtues which Christians seek to embody were essential to counteracting the corruption of government. The founding fathers were almost all Christians themselves. Using the idea of governmental/religious separations to defend an agnostic government is a false assertion and dangerous.

Christians settled this nation. Christians founded this nation. Christians fought, bled and died for this nation; for the securing of freedoms which our documents attribute to the Christian God, for the emancipation of slavery, believing correctly that all men are made in the image of God. Christians fought for the right to practice Christianity as the scriptures so prescribe without accordance to the whims of British royalty.

Christian nationalism, then is the devotion to the same truths that were used to found this nation, the preservation thereof, and the advocacy for a strong, proud, virtuous and moral legacy for the United States. Christians must cease being weak, they must become a vocal majority, who completely and unapologetically proclaims the truths of the gospel and of Christian morality. This means opposing LGBT legislation and agendas, not out of hatred, but because these are incompatible with a virtuous nation. This means counteracting post-modern influence in culture, which is not beautiful and which seeks to erase what is good and absolute. This means decrying the erosion of our national identity in favor of globalism, because the global world seeks to replace Christianity with a cold atheism that places man on a vain and undeserved pedestal.

Christians must be patriots, because they must fight for their country now, but they must be nationalists because the America of the twenty-first century is sick and dying. She is no longer the bastion of Christian society which she was, and she must be returned if she is to survive in the coming decades.

Christian nationalism is not racism, bigotry, prejudice or any other slander that a leftist might concoct, but the preservation of Christian fire in the tempest of modern degeneracy and corruption. By remembering who we were, we make it possible to become who we must be. Christians serve the Kingdom of God first, and America second, but they must fight to preserve the soul of America.

This article deals heavily in the notion of Christian morality. For more about this, try reading “How to be a Good and Moral People“