The practice of Christian faith in my community carries with it certain “embedded theologies” of nationalism. This embedded theology is the belief that America is a Christian nation, and that certain policies and parties are necessarily Christian, such as Republicans, militarism, border security, death penalty, free markets, gun rights, and more. Inherent in the sanction of these policies is an embedded theology that creates enemies such as liberals, abortionists, Islamists, refugees, “illegal” immigrants, Democrats, Communists, Marxists, and more. This embedded theology is not grounded in knowledge of the Scriptures and the Way of Jesus but is baptized in the idolatry of empirical power. In order to produce a change in theology, one more in line with following Jesus, and at odds with the embedded theology of Christian nationalism, the practice of doing “deliberative theology” in this community must occur.
“Embedded theology is the implicit theology that Christians live out in their daily lives”[1]. When a person is baptized into a faith community, they necessarily begin to learn the practice of that faith in the context of that specific community. This is a naturally occurring process in all communities and is not necessarily problematic in and of itself. In my community a primary embedded theology is Christian nationalism, centered around the idea that America is a Christian nation, and that Christians are to rule in its halls of power. In a nutshell “Christian nationalism is a cultural framework—a collection of myths, traditions, symbols, narratives, and value systems—that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civic life.”[2] The process for evaluating this embedded theology and the specific beliefs born out of it occurs through the practice of deliberative theology.
“Deliberative theology is the understanding of faith that emerges from a process of carefully reflecting upon embedded theological convictions.”[3] A good example of this kind of evaluation outside of theology would be the scientific discovery of heliocentrism. Heliocentrism is the model of the solar system that depicts the Sun at the center with the planets revolving around it. Prior to the discovery of heliocentrism, it was believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system. That was an embedded belief, and the deliberative process was the discovery of heliocentrism and the ensuing change or modification of the previously held assumption about the construct of the solar system. Using this same deliberative process, we can assess a series of defining factors in the embedded theology of Christian nationalism, looking afresh at those assumptions, and coming to different conclusions.
The first and most important belief in Christian nationalism is that America is a Christian nation. At the root of this belief is that it is good to hold power, and part of our Christian duty to uphold and defend it. In order to divest ourselves of this myth we must examine the role of power in the life of Jesus, and by extension his followers, both then and now. In the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus proclaimed “…God’s good news, saying, ‘Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!” (Mark 1:15)[4] This is significant because it was subversive to the present order, the kingdom of Caesar.[5] What is the kingdom of Caesar? It is one of the many nations, before its time and since, that is ruled by the devil. Jesus confirms as much in his temptation in the wilderness, “Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. He said, ‘I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me.’ Jesus responded, ‘Go away, Satan, because it’s written,you will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” (Matt 4:8-10) Notice that Jesus does not correct the devil when he makes the claim that nations (kingdoms of the world) are his to give. Jesus affirms the authority of the devil in this area and yet denies himself the chance to seize power in that way. In like manner Jesus proclaims in the Gospel of John that his kingdom does not originate from this world, otherwise his guards would fight (John18:36). He is not saying that he came “from heaven” (a mistaken reading that I will explain later) in an other-worldly ethereal sense, but that his kingdom that he brought does not operate on the rules of the kingdoms of the world. If we believe this about the kingdom of God, and we claim to be baptized into that kingdom, then we cannot claim any nation, including America, as Christian. America operates under the rules of the kingdoms of the world: power over others through violence and coercion. Taking this into account we can divest ourselves of any notion that this was, is, or will be a Christian nation.
Flowing from the embedded theology that America is a Christian nation is the assumption that military service can be a Christian vocation. Under this umbrella is a veneration of our nation’s military and an approval of its wars and justification for violence. In order to evaluate this assumption, let us look at the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus never uses violence against another to defend himself, nor does he advocate its use by his followers. Starting with his declaration of the kingdom of God, which I elaborated on earlier, he expounds on what that kingdom looks like in the account of the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew,
“You have heard that it was said,‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. When they force you to go one mile, go with them two. Give to those who ask, and do not refuse those who wish to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘you must love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete.” (Matt 5:38-48)
In the kingdom of God that Jesus announces, inaugurates, and invites us into, we must love our enemies and turn the other cheek. It is not optional. This is why in the early church (pre-Constantine) the Apostolic Tradition “forbade a catechumen or baptized believer from entering the legions (military), but permitted him, if attracted to the faith while in the legions, to stay there on one condition: ‘Let him not kill.’”[6] Commitment to the non-violent way of Jesus was universally taught in the early church because it was the explicit message of Jesus in his teachings and in his life. He remained committed to his kingdom way of life all the way to a cross. This is difficult to comprehend in a community baptized in the way of violence against enemies and power over others, and it was difficult for me. I am a veteran of the Marine Corps, where I served over ten years, training to deliver bombs and bullets to the enemies of America. This realization about the kingdom of God was not easy for me to confront. I do not regret being in the military, as I did it with the limited understanding that I had at the time, and for what are still honorable reasons. But I also know all too well the toll it takes on an individual to bear the burden of being trained to kill. I can see now that myself and those with whom I served, carried and still do carry, great damage to our humanity and our ability to follow Jesus, as a result of our military service. When we consider the life and teachings of Jesus, our embedded theology of militarism and violence must change.
Up to this point I have shown that no nation, not even America, is Christian. The kingdom of God is not tied to a kingdom of this world, with its power over others, or its militarism and violence. But what about the free-market capitalist economy? Can we call that Christian? For my community this would universally be a resounding “yes”. Let us look at the economy of Jesus and see if there is some deliberative theology to be had. “Happy are you who are poor, because God’s kingdom is yours. Happy are you who hunger now, because you will be satisfied…But how terrible for you who are rich, because you have already received your comfort. How terrible for you who have plenty now, because you will be hungry.” (Luke 6:20-21, 24-25) This is a segment from Jesus’ sermon on the plain in Luke’s Gospel. Notice that the poor are inheritors of God’s kingdom and that it is not good news to the wealthy. In the economy of Jesus the poor need to see their needs met and their stomachs filled. The rich need to divest of their wealth for that purpose. This has severe implications in his kingdom, as evidenced by his parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus states that those who feed the hungry, provide drink for the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger (immigrants and refugees!), care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned, are those who will have done his will and be welcomed into His kingdom, both now and in the age to come. (Matt 25:31-46)
Fast forward to the early accounts of the church in the book of Acts and the picture is one of a community in which each person divests herself of wealth and possession for the good of the other, sharing all things. (Acts 2:44-46) In the embedded theology of the American Christian all of this is sifted through the lens of individualism, capitalism, and charity. Peel away that layer and we find that the economy of Jesus is not capitalism. Notice I am not saying it is socialism or any other such economy either. But if the economic system of capitalism produces wealth inequality and promotes the line “I make my own way and keep what is mine” can we baptize it as Christian? No, we cannot. As I am writing this the DOW surpassed 30,000 points, a supposed indicator of capitalist economic health, while food lines across the country expand at an incredible rate, and a virus wreaks havoc on a disjointed health care system. Until our economic system begins to prioritize more equitable distribution, I do not even see a point in arguing whether it is better or worse than any other system. Economic systems are systems of the kingdoms of this world. We should support those systems that are in line with the economy of Jesus and prophetically critique those that are in violation.
Inherent in the embedded theology of Christian nationalism is the idea that this “Christian nation” has a right, responsibility, duty, and justification to place walls on its borders and restrict the passage of outsiders. This is deemed acceptable on the basis of safety and security. I have already addressed specific texts that lend evidence to how we should orient ourselves to the immigrant and refugee as followers of Jesus. As such, I will point to some deliberative theology on safety and security. Stated simply: The teachings and life of Jesus do not offer us safety and security. It is a life of divesting power, even to a cross. The kingdom of God uplifts those who are downtrodden (hint: not us!). Christian nationalism has limited our acts of charity to sending out missionaries to “them” but not letting “them” come here. Mujerista liberation theologian Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, in her essay Solidarity: Love of Neighbor in the 21st Century, points us beyond charity into solidarity with the oppressed. She points out that I cannot be in solidarity with those who I cannot see, regardless of whether they are behind a wall or an immigration system.[7] I need to be in fellowship with them at my table (better yet, their table!) to move beyond charity and into solidarity (love of neighbor).
Following Jesus in his kingdom does not necessarily translate to good policy to run a kingdom of this world. But Jesus did not call us into a kingdom of this world, he called us into his upside-down kingdom. Where the kingdoms of the world align themselves with the ways of the kingdom of God we should cheer and support it (recognizing that this may not lead to safety or prosperity). But where they fail, we should resist and critique it! Imagine the impact for the kingdom of God if even half of the citizens in America, who claim to be Christian, had a political imagination that exemplified the life and teachings of Jesus! We might be overrun by a foreign power, or become a different political or economic system, but they would know we are followers of Jesus, instead of a voting bloc to be exploited. And if the early church is any indication, then the kingdom of God would expand exponentially. We already see this in other countries, where followers of Jesus do not have the ability to leverage the halls of power for their own interests (which, as I am arguing, is not the Way of Jesus anyway).[8]
Up to this point I would guess that the question the reader in our community might be asking is “Why does this matter if I am just supposed to be saving souls to go to heaven with me when I die?”. Even that question carries an embedded theology in need of some deliberative processing! In the beginning pages of the scriptures we find a cosmos composed of God’s space (heavens) and our space (earth, or land) fully united. Unfortunately, the humans found themselves sent out of this space into the wilderness, where now God’s space and our space were separated. God reveals himself to Abraham and forms a covenant with the Jewish people to begin the process of restoring his creation, the signpost for which is the Temple. The Temple is a picture of Eden, the place where God’s space and our space overlap! It can also be thought of as a “hotspot” of the intersection of heaven and earth. When we get to Jesus in the scriptures, he is now referring to himself in ways that call to mind the Temple, and then tells his followers that they are Temples now! Which means we are now “hotspots” of heaven, places where heaven and earth overlap.[9] This is part of what Jesus meant when he said, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!” (Mark 1:15) We are now advancing the kingdom of God, like yeast in dough. (Luke 13:20-21) This is in the broadest sense the re-union of heaven and earth, and it broke into history with Jesus, and expands through us to this day. While this certainly involves our individual salvation, it is but a part of the whole.
New Testament scholar NT Wright summarizes this well in Surprised By Hope,
“When we reintegrate what should never have been separated—the kingdom-inaugurating public work of Jesus and his redemptive death and resurrection—we find that the gospels tell a different story. It isn’t just a story of some splendid and exciting social work with an unhappy conclusion. Nor is it just a story of an atoning death with an extended introduction. It is something much bigger than the sum of those two diminished perspectives. It is the story of God’s kingdom being launched on earth as in heaven, generating a new state of affairs in which the power of evil has been decisively defeated, the new creation has been decisively launched, and Jesus’s followers have been commissioned and equipped to put that victory and that inaugurated new world into practice. Atonement, redemption, and salvation are what happen on the way because engaging in this work demands that people themselves be rescued from the powers that enslave the world in order that they can in turn be rescuers. To put it another way, if you want to help inaugurate God’s kingdom, you must follow in the way of the cross, and if you want to benefit from Jesus’s saving death, you must become part of His kingdom project.”[10]
Amen! If you are with me thus far on this journey, then what do we do now?
In the book of 1 Peter the author writes to the churches spread across the diaspora, that they should live as immigrants, strangers, and exiles in Babylon. America is our Babylon, and we are its exiles, expanding the kingdom of God. As such, I propose that what needs to occur is that as we expand God’s kingdom, we baptize people out of Christian nationalism and into the kingdom of God. We start to proclaim explicitly that in trusting Jesus we are repenting of our trust in America. This frees us to be politically creative in our civic duties and to be a prophetic witness to the systems that do not produce a kingdom ethic. When America goes to war, we weep. We are not passive, but stand fast as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, to not participate, to death if necessary. We place our vote on the line (it is not in the scope of this paper to address the arguments for not voting at all), not for the benefit of our security and safety, but for the sake of others. We disobey our governing authorities by advertising our churches as sanctuaries of safety for immigrants and refugees, regardless of their legal status. We read, speak, and form relationships with people and communities that do not look like us, sound like us, or behave like us. We purposefully place ourselves in situations that force a deliberative process onto an embedded belief or practice. We begin to see all “those people” such as liberals, abortionists, Islamists, refugees, “illegal” immigrants, Democrats, Communists, Marxists, and more, not into enemies, but into fellow image bearers of God, that have a voice and a perspective that we want to see and value and join them in advancing the upside-down kingdom of God.
After I had a conversation about this with my wife she sent me her thoughts, and I leave them with you here as a beautiful summary of where we are and where we need to go,
“An inability, fear of, and refusal to do the hard work of deliberative theology across a wide spectrum of issues within evangelical communities has fueled the fires of Christian nationalism and led to an inability to see and love people, accept the lived realities of others, and trust God without fear for the future. If we have any hope for change and a brighter tomorrow, we must guide Christians through the process of deliberative theology. It can most effectively be done in community and through loving discipleship and prophetic teaching.”
[1] Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke, How to Think Theologically, 3rd Edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013), 15.
[2] Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2020), 10.
[3] Stone and Duke, How to Think Theologically, 18.
[4] Unless otherwise noted, all scripture passages referenced are from the Common English Bible (Common English Bible, 2014).
[5] Justo L. González, Essential Theological Terms, 3/16/05 edition (Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005), 93.
[6] Alan Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016), 118.
[7] Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, “Solidarity” in Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside, ed. Susan B. Thistlethwaite, Rev Exp Su Edition (Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis Books, 1998), 30–39.
[8] “Evangelical Growth | Operation World,” accessed November 25, 2020, https://www.operationworld.org/hidden/evangelical-growth.
[9] “When Heaven Meets Earth.,” BibleProject, accessed November 24, 2020, https://bibleproject.com/explore/heaven-earth/.
[10] N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Reprint edition (New York: HarperOne, 2018), 204–5.
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