I was Advised to take Notes...
So I did.
Preface
The following is a post concerning a disagreement I had with a family member. The names and relationship of said family member will remain anonimous for the sake of privacy.
Introduction
A family member and I got into a back and forth on facebook a few weeks ago after I commented on a post they made regarding reproductive rights and healthcare. I was deemed a Christian Nationalist told to not “piss” this person off. Eventually, my family member issued an apology which I graciously accepted…in my head and then I got busy and forgot to respond. Two nights ago, this family member messaged me the following video of a liberal, seminary student, would-be pastor warning, what I assume are a group of Christians, about the dangers of ‘Christian Nationalism’.
You can view the video here.
The only remark from my family member was, “Take Notes!”
Challenge accepted.
My Initial Response
First let me apologize for not responding to your first message. I had every intention of responding and then got busy with other things. Thank you for your apology for calling me or insinuating that I am a Christian nationalist. I do not know what you mean by, “[my] kind of Christianity...” The kind of Christianity that I subscribe to is nothing more than historical, orthodox Christianity. That said, I do understand how it makes you want to run the other way; I used to respond the same way...I wanted nothing to do with it. But that’s how all unbelievers, pagans, heathens, atheists’, etc. react to the God of the Bible, Jesus, or Christianity. They want nothing to do with it because God’s word is the standard by which everyone is held accountable. Unbelievers, as everyone who is a Christian once was, hate this; they don’t want to be held accountable, they want to live by their own rules. Anybody who is espousing another version of Christianity is not preaching what the bible says. If a Muslim, Hindu, atheist, religious Jew could sit in a “Christian” church listening to a “Christian” sermon and not be offended, then the sermon wasn’t Christian. That’s what is so unfortunate about American Christianity today...it’s a message of “nice”, inclusion, and self-autonomy with no focus on true repentance and turning from sin. The bible is clear that because of sin, the wrath of God is coming upon the world (Romans 1).
With regard to your accusation of me “trolling” you, let me just say, that was not my intention. My intention is always to have a civic discussion. I know you say, you have no interest in debating me, which, of course, is fine. That said, we do live in a world where the public square is just as much online as it is offline. So, I don’t see how anyone, yourself included, can post something for the world to see and then get offended when someone else posts a response communicating a stark disagreement. We should be able to have disagreements and discussions without getting offended or emotional.
You say, I am, “about one thing and one thing only”. You never define what that one thing is, but if you mean proclaiming the gospel of Christ, then I say, “Yes and amen!” Other than that, I’d only be guessing as to what you’re referring to.
As far as the video that you sent goes, you advised me to take notes, so I obliged.
My Notes
1. The first thing I noted was that this young man says his faith is more important to him than anything, then says he’s hesitant to share his faith basically because he doesn’t want to be confused with a Christian nationalist. This is just a passive aggressive way of saying he’s scared; with all due respect this is just an example of it’s ‘cowardice’. One might even say he’s selfish. The fact that he would potentially let what other people think of him get in the way of proclaiming his faith, when he knows, he’s been commanded to fulfill the great commission (Matt. 28). Now, I don’t want to state that too harshly because every Christian who is vocal in sharing their faith, more than likely at some point has delt with similar conflict. That said, for someone in seminary, training to be a pastor, I would expect a little more confidence, but more than that, I would expect more faithful preaching of the text of scripture rather than the pandering and gas lighting the “seminary student”, as he will henceforth be referred to, is participating in.
2. The seminary student’s commentary on Christian nationalism is a “strawman”. I will grant that there are those extremists out there who would call themselves “Christian Nationalists” and would use “Christianity” for a political gain or power grab. That said, this group is not the majority of true Christians who want to see their country repent, turn to Christ, live and worship the true God. The seminary student (I wish I knew his name) is, like I said, making a strawman argument; he’s taking the fringe element and the extremists and acting like they’re the majority report.
3. He’s says, “Jesus includes, CN excludes...” The inclusivity of Jesus was a cultural inclusivity – meaning, the love of God was no longer only available to the Jews, it was available to all nations, which is what was promised to Jesus in the OT (Ps. 2:8, Gen. 2:18). Also, the gospel call is avaialble to all peopel; that sais, Christianity is not inclusive in the sense that one can come to Jesus and continue to live as they please. Christianity is actually a very exclusive faith. We see this when we read verses like, “No man can come to me unless the Father draws him” (Jn. 6:44) and “I am the way the truth and the life, no one can come to the father but by me” (Jn. 14:6).
4. “They’ve turned this humble rabbi into a gun-toting, gay bashing, science denying, money loving, fear mongering, fascist.” I would like some context to these remarks. Does the seminary student have evidence for the argument he’s making? What science is being denied exactly? One cannot even be scientific without Jesus. The bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of knowledge” (Prv. 9:10-12) and “...in whom [Jesus] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3) As far as “gun-toting” and “gay-bashing”. Again, we need context, what does the seminary student mean? Is he saying Jesus was a passivist who approved of homosexuality? If so, the seminary student is 100 percent wrong. There are various places in scripture where Jesus is said to conquer his enemies (Rev. 1:5-6, Rev. 6:2, Rev. 9:13, 16, Rev. 17:14, Is. 9:6-7, Eph. 1:20-21). There is also a place in the gospel of Luke, where Jesus says to his disciples, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one” (Lk. 22:36). The seminary student says that Jesus didn’t have an opinion on homosexuality or gay marriage, but He 100% did. First of all, every word of scripture is the word of God, so we can quote Paul when he says things like,
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.[1]Or in Revelation, Jesus says, “12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (1 Cor. 9:6-11). 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.[2]” (Rev. 22:12-15)
But then, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus affirms the Father’s design for marriage when he quotes the OT saying,
“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”[3] (Matt.19:4-6)
5. “The early church was a revolutionary movement built on radical love.” This statement is very true, but the seminary student’s entire talk implies a “radical love” that is merely a faux version because there is no message of repentance of sin. Rather it’s a message of inclusivity of human autonomy that is devoid of the gospel and utterly anti-Christian.
6. “The first Christians were persecuted for turning the world upside down” It’s true they turned the world upside down through a message of repentance and belief in the gospel. It is true that they were persecuted, but the reason they were persecuted is not because of their belief in Jesus, it was because they refused to say, “Caesar is Lord.” The Romans didn’t care who people worshipped. In fact, they built a pantheon devoted to all sorts of god’s. All Rome wanted is for everyone to say that “Caesar is Lord or sovereign. The early Christians refused this command because biblical Christianity is exclusive in this way. Thus, they were killed or persecuted.
7. Constantine did not make Christianity the official religion of Rome, as the seminary student said. He simply legalized it. Christianity was made the official religion of Rome by the emperor Theodosius in A.D. 380. The seminary student says, “Constantine was the first Christian Nationalist...”, which was funny to hear actually. We wouldn’t even have western civilization without God using Constantine for His good purpose.
8. Basically, what he’s saying is that Christianity has been lost or hijacked since Constantine. Hilarious! The seminary student clearly does not trust in the sovereignty of God. This begs the question, “Why is the seminary student even in seminary if he believes the last 1,700 years of Church history were a farse.
9. More gas-lighting: “Christian nationalist’s obsess over people’s private parts while the planet burns.” So, if you’re more concerned with the image of God being mutilated beyond repair for the sake of personal freedom than you are with the myth of global warming, then you’re an evil Christian Nationalist? Says who? The seminary student with a faulty view of church history?
10. “The bible doesn’t mention abortion or gay marriage.” FALSE CLAIM. Child sacrifice happened a lot in the ancient world and to God it was an abomination. “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Molek is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him. I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people; for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death, I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek” (Lev. 20:2-5). “And because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind[4]” (Jer. 19:5, ESV).
Again, in Matthew 19, Jesus affirms the Father’s design from marriage, thus refuting this guy’s claim that the bible has nothing to say about gay marriage.
11. The seminary student implies that the nation’s Christian heritage is “historically inaccurate” and “theologically blasphemous”. Wrong again. The first colonies were founded by the Pilgrims, Puritans and Huguenots who were overwhelmingly Christian. Our first supreme court Justice John Jay, when writing what would become our case laws, took his entire inspiration from the word of God.
12. “If America was truly a Christian nation, we would forgive student debt....and guarantee healthcare to every single person.” More gas-lighting and a misrepresentation of what it means to be a Christian nation. A Christian nation is one that obeys the word of God. Forgiving debt is definitely in there, but not the way he means it. Who’s going to bring down the student debt? Answer: The tax payer. This would violate the biblical command to, “Love thy neighbor...”. Where is healthcare mentioned in the bible and where is it guaranteed to everyone and again, who’s going to pay for it? “If this was truly a Christian nation, we would love our LGBTQ neighbors...we would make sure that every child is fed, clothed, educated and insured.” He implies that Christians hate gay people which is just not true. Christians hate, as does God, all forms of sexual sin and perversion as the bible describes them. This does not mean that we hate those individuals who practice such wickedness. On the contrary it is because the Christian loves these individuals, as the image bearers of God that they are, that he or she tells them the truth. As far as the statement regarding the children’s education goes, I would ask, “What kind of education is he referring to? Public school system? Give me a break. I don’t think it’s any secret that the public school system sucks and is nothing more than an indoctrination camp for liberal and anti-Christian propaganda.
13. This line of reason is also a slippery slope for him. He just got through saying that “A Christian nation is theologically blasphemous.” Then he says that a “truly Christian nation would forgive student debt.” So, is he saying that if the nation decided to forgive student debt, he’d be in favor of a ‘Christian Nation’? I thought that notion was blasphemous. What he’s really saying is that the nation is truly Christian when he gets to define what it means.
14. “If this was truly a Christian nation, we would never make it a Christian nation because we know that the table of fellowship is open to everyone including our Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and atheist neighbors.” The first part of this statement absolutely non-sensical and self-defeating. The second part is downright blasphemous, if the table he’s referring to is the Lord’s table. This is another one of those exclusive points of the Christian faith. The Lord’s table is only open to covenant family members; those who God would call his sons and daughters; those who Jesus would call his brothers and sisters. To be welcomed to the Lord’s table, one can no longer worship the god of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. If you take the bread and drink the wine, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death for the remission of your sins. So, this seminary student’s claim is, to use his own words, “theologically blasphemous.”
15. “Jesus could have started a Christian theocracy, but love would never do that...the closest thing we have to the kingdom of Heaven is a multi-cultural, multi-racial democracy where power is shared among all people.” Again, the seminary student is way off. Jesus actually did start a ‘Christian theocracy’; it’s called the Kingdom of God and though not yet fully realized even after 2,024 years; it still grows exponentially; like the stone that becomes a mountain the fills the earth (Dan. 2:35); like the mustard seed that becomes the tree that all the birds nest in (Matt 13:31); like the tiny lump of leaven that ruins the entire loaf (Matt. 13:33). Furthermore, I don’t know where the seminary student gets this idea of power being shared by all the people. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.[5]” (Matt. 28:18-20, ESV)
Well, I did as you asked and took some pretty detailed notes and offered my responses. I don’t know if it was a serious request or proverbial jab or “gotcha” post. Nonetheless, in the hope of having a civil discourse, here are my notes. I hope you’ll do me the honor of reading them and responding in kind. I do hope your know that I love you very much and I only create ripples because I care. My family prays for you regularly.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (1 Co 6:9–11). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Re 22:12–15). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 19:4–6). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Je 19:4–5). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mt 28:18–20). (2016). Crossway Bibles.