Bad theology makes bad politics, and bad politics makes worse theology. This truth is easy to pinpoint when we see it on T-shirts, car stickers, and spilling from the mouths of elected officials. The slogan is “Heaven has a strict immigration policy. Hell has open borders.” This is an example of one’s political position informing one’s theology.
Nationalist Theology
Christian nationalism purports to be an ideology influenced by Christian teaching. At best, it distorts Christian teaching and cannot usually be recognized as Christian. Here is the reason: Christian Nationalism relies solely on nationalist mythology. Consider the points of the myth.
- The founders of the United States were Christian.
- Freedom is the sole product of divinely ordained military effort.
- Biblical teaching has only one aim – to enhance the life of the nation-state.
- Patriotism is Christian. Christianity is patriotic.
- The basic unit of society is the nuclear family.
- The State determines rights.
What is the basis of these claims? It is certainly not the Bible. It is the American national mythology that poses as a historical fact. The beliefs of the leaders of the American Revolution are immaterial. The philosophical roots of the Enlightenment are never discussed. Uniquely American philosophies, such as transcendentalism or pragmatism, remain unknown. They do not fit the narrative.
Christian Theology
I maintain that Christian thought is often political. It is not necessarily partisan, but political in what determines how we live, work, and worship as Christians. We consider the greater contexts we live in as we discern how to respond to them. When asked about the above slogan, I replied that Jesus describes Hell as having gates (Matthew 16:18). Having gates implies having walls. These measures are both defensive and designed to keep residents inside.
Whatever conclusions we draw from biblical passages, we should argue that the first and second greatest commandments determine our response to our neighbors. Loving God and loving our neighbors are the roots of who we are to become. As followers of Jesus, we learn how to accept and practice grace and mercy toward others.
Heavenly Being
Heaven does not have strict immigration rules. Heaven has a straightforward path to citizenship. We are not required to have marketable skills. There is no requirement for sponsorship. Citizens of the kingdom of Heaven have no language requirement. We do not have to fit into a quota of people who share our ethnicity or national origins.
It can be argued that we must pass a citizenship test. Do we give those in need food, water, shelter, clothing, and fellowship? (See Matthew 25 for clarification.) I wonder if Christian Nationalists understand the lesson enough to pass the test. But, thankfully, it is an open-book exam.
Acting in these ways does not make people heavenly beings. It is, though, the way to being heavenly in this world.
Theology and Language of Ashdod
Christian nationalism finds a lot of teaching on exclusion in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Purging all foreign people from the Chosen people is part of the goals of nationalist ideologies. One reason Nehemiah gives for forcing divorces is that the children speak the language of Ashdod and not that of Judah (Nehemiah 13:24). The Bible provides more information about these situations. The story of Ruth, “the Moabite,” an ancestor of Judah’s Kings, factors into the discussion. The condemnation of divorce in Malachi comes from the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah.
I argue that allowing nationalist ideology to dictate how a person reads and chooses Scripture texts to uphold is speaking “the language of Ashdod.” Nationalism is a product of modern nation-states, something foreign to the context of scripture. Any modern political ideology is a product of the modern nation-state. Some, however, seek to transcend it. In doing this, we see possible connections to the Kingdom of God. And yet, we do not want to make the same error by allowing politics to pose as theology.
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