Paula White and Christian Nationalism
Like squirting a hornets’ nest with a garden hose, President Donald Trump has provoked venemous buzzing among progressive Christians and cynics who have bought stock in the anti-Christian nationalism market. “Heretic,” a long effete word, can be heard once again. After all, Paula White and Christian Nationalism belong together. Right?
The Rev. Paula White of Paula White Ministries has been tapped to head the White House Faith Office. The president substituted “White House Faith Office” for “White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives” or “White House OFBCI.” One responsbility of the new office will be to combat “anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and additional forms of anti-religious bias,”
What will be Paula White’s duties? To serve as personal pastor to the president, of course. What else? To direct a task force to deal with discrimmination against Christians. “The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI, terrible, and other agencies,” Trump is quoted to have said. “In addition, the task force will work to fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.”
White Heresy in the White House?
Evangelicals — 80% of whom voted for Trump –, curiously enough, think of Paula White as a heretic. Why? Because White preaches the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel, at least according to the New York Times, is based on the idea “that God blesses people he deems to be of strong faith with wealth, good health and other gifts.” The Times added that many other Christians consider the “prosperity gospel” to be “heresy.” After all, Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21).
For this reason, Emily Singer’s article in the Daily Kos could be headlined, “Trump taps televangelist kook to run new White House ‘faith’ office.” Singer alerted her readers: “Christian nationalism is in full swing.” Whether Paula White is a heretic or kook, we need to be on our guard against Christian nationalism. Paula White and Christian Nationalism!? Call in the Magisterium troops! Unholster your guns and get ready to fire!
Persecution of Christians, especially Lutherans
The most obvious group of Christians undergoing discrimmination if not persecution is the Lutheran community. Why? What did the Lutherans do? The Lutherans have dedicated their compassion and resources to house and feed and defend the sojourner–that is, the immigrants. For details see, “Washington’s Attack on Lutherans.” Will Paula White on her white horse bring the cavalry to rescue the Lutherans from govenment persecution? Will our liberal and progressive Christian friends shoot at the Lutherans or at Paula White?
For a list of recent attacks against Christians coming from the new administration in Washington, see the memo from Interfaith Alliance’s CEO Paul Brandeis Rauschenbush.. Christians need protection from Washington, not from liberals or progressives. Did I get that right?
Paula White and Christian Nationalism once again
During the recent election cycle, I have been quite critical of my liberal and progressive colleagues. Liberal and progressive Christians have siphoned off valuable spiritual and social energy by shooting at the wrong target. Even though an evil cloud of MAGA Republicanism led by a simulacrum of the Anti-Christ has been challenging global stability with apocalyptic threats, my Christian colleagues have aimed their rhetorical weapons at an obscure scare crow. Instead of aiming at the real threat, they have chosen to waste their moral ammunition on Christian nationalism. I’ve tried to make the case that anti-Christian nationalists were actually disguising their anti-Evangelical prejudice under a trumped up and puffed up self-rightous defense of religious liberty against a dreamed up monster.
Here’s a contemporary example. Look at this now old PRRI data. “In 2024, three in ten Americans qualified as Christian nationalism Adherents (10%) or Sympathizers (20%), compared with two-thirds who qualified as Skeptics (37%) or Rejecters (29%).” Based on this pre-inauguration data, Robert P. Jones declares, “it can feel like a wave of white Christian nationalism has crashed over the entire nation.” Now watch Jones’ conflation of evangelicals and President Trump with Christian nationalism. “White Christian nationalism—exploited by an authoritarian madman, trumpeted by bigoted white evangelical accomplices, and amplified by the quirks of the electoral college—has indeed come into remarkable power.”
Here is Ted’s Timely Take. Blaming Christian nationalism for Trumpism is like blaming the barking dog next door for the boom of the fireworks. When the 2024 election counting had been concluded, it was clear that the influence of Christian nationalism was neglibible. Nil. Nichts. Nada.
Both the Republican National Convention and Donald Trump’s platform supported Religious Liberty, not Christian nationalism. One group now welcoming the White House task force on anti-Christian bias, International Christian Concern, does so not in the name of Christian nationalism but rather in the name of religious liberty. This evidence should sober the viciousness of the anti-Christian nationalist growling.
But because the habit of shooting at Christian nationalists has become so deeply ingrained, Rev. Paula White looks to anti-Christian nationalists like a bright shiney White target in the White House. Again I say to my anti-Christian nationalist friends (actually disguised anti-evangelicals): stop it!
Christian Nationalism, Anti-Christian Nationalism, and Anti-Anti-Christian Nationalism
Here is the thesis I have been trying to develop on the trifecta: Christian Nationalism, Anti-Christian Nationalism, and Anti-Anti-Christian Nationalism.
Several Ex-Evangelicals along with Progressive Protestants are displacing their anger at Donald Trump’s MAGA party onto evangelicals by painting evangelicals with the colors of Christian nationalism. That is, anti-Christian nationalists blame white evangelicals for Christian nationalism. This is a waste of healthy political energy that should be directed against MAGA Republicans.
What I fear is that the appointment of Paula White to the White House will seem to give our anti-Christian nationalist friends an excuse to spout venum aimed at evangelicals but labeled with anti-Christian nationalist wrappers. I do not want to see the digital cloud filled with invectives where one Christian party excoriates another Christian party with asservations of heresy, kookiness, or apostacy.
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16).
Could the worldwide Christian community show supportive love to Pastor Paula White?
Conclusion
What is the connection between Paula White and Christian Nationalism? None.
Yet, how sweet it must feel to the pompous among us to shout “heretic” or “kook” at Rev. Paula White and, by inference only, at her boss, Donald Trump. But, I ask, where does this get us? It only ranks us among those whom the president thinks is persecuting Christians.
Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will make wisdom prevail among Christians as we face the enormous politcal threat to civility, compassion, and justice.
Patheos PT 3255. Paula White and Christian Nationalism
PT 3246 Project 2025 on Christian Nationalism
PT 3247 Anti-Anti-Christian Nationalism, Part 1
PT 3248 Anti-Anti-Christian Nationalism, Part 2
PT 3249 Anti-Anti-Christian Nationalism, Part 3
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For Patheos, Ted Peters posts articles and notices in the field of Public Theology. He is a Lutheran pastor and emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union. His single volume systematic theology, God—The World’s Future, is now in the 3rd edition. He has also authored God as Trinity plus Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society as well as Sin Boldly: Justifying Faith for Fragile and Broken Souls. He recently published. The Voice of Public Theology, with ATF Press. See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com and Patheos blog site on Public Theology.
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