Christian Nationalists

 For a long time, I was of the persuasion--as were so many others who consider themselves politically conservative--that the differences between the political right and the political left were ultimately minor. After all, we all want what's best for the country and best for each other, right? Sure, there were differences in how we wanted to go about reaching the end goal: those on the left were for higher taxes and welfare programs while those on the right were for lowering taxes and teaching people to support themselves, but the end goal of both was for the individual to become successful. Both sides wanted to see a furtherance of the beliefs of our founding fathers:
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

In recent years, though, I've come to realize that the right and the left don't have the same end goal in mind.

Nothing makes that more evident in recent times than someone who is supposed to be an unbiased journalist making this claim: The conservative right is full of extremists who "believe that our rights as Americans, as all human beings, don't come from any earthly authority. They don't come from Congress, they don't come from the Supreme Court, they come from God." (Heidi Przybyla, Politico reporter)

Extremists? It makes you an extremist to believe the very thing laid out in the Declaration of Independence? The journalist went on to point out how Christians seem to believe Christian things... how unbelievable is that? Well, given the state of the world today I suppose it is a pretty unbelievable thing to many people. However, the truth hasn't changed. The things God laid out in Scripture as being right and just and true haven't changed because the times have changed. His plan for men and women and marriage and families and morality is still just the same. It doesn't make someone an extremist to believe the things that Christians have believed for 2,000 years... and that the Abrahamic faiths believed for thousands of years before that.

The idea that Christians should keep their faith out of politics is idiotic. It is never possible for any of us to make decisions apart from our personal system of belief, and no one except Christians are being told to do so in the United States today. And actually, that's not even always the case. When it comes to social justice, people don't have a problem evoking the name of Christ to support whatever point of view is best supported by the current "right side of history."

The thing is, there is only one right side. I'm not talking about specific political parties or specific politicians. We shouldn't care about being on the "right side of history" because that changes based on who is in power at the time. The only truly right side you can be on is if you are standing behind God. That means standing firm on His ideals, even when they go against the popular or the mainstream.

~It means believing men and women were created as distinct groups for a reason and that we each have a specific role to fill. That role doesn't change just because I think I know better. It means that I am called to submit to my husband even though my own stubborn pride tells me not to. It means that my role as a wife and a mother has to come before my career. It means that we should protect our daughters from having to compete physically with our sons because there are natural, inherent differences between the sexes.

~It means believing that God's plan for marriage has always been one man and one woman united for life. People get hung up on the twisted versions of relationships that are portrayed in the Bible, claiming that makes them "biblical" and therefore acceptable before God. They somehow ignore that the Bible tells about murder, deceit, adultery, and a whole host of other things that people don't try to claim are "biblical" just because they appear in the Bible. The Scriptures are full of broken, imperfect people who messed up. That's what makes it so powerful for the broken, imperfect people (like me) who can see themselves in the stories they read. God's plan isn't to keep people from "living their best life," or whatever else people argue. Instead, His plan is because He knows what gives us the best chance at living a meaningful, purpose-filled life. He knows that nothing compares to the experience of being a parent. He knows that men and women balance each other in ways we can barely even realize, even when we see that played out in marriage. He knows the pain and heartbreak that comes from trying to live outside of His plan.

~It means believing that every human was created by God, knit together by Him in their mother's womb, with a specific God-given purpose for being here on the planet. It means that we are all the same, despite surface differences in appearances, and should treat one another with dignity and respect. We should stop playing "identity politics" and instead focus on teaching our young men and young women how to develop character. We should, "Teach a child how to follow the right way; even when he is old, he will stay on course." (Proverbs 22:6)

~It means believing that Jesus meant it when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) And since we believe that He was telling the truth, it means wanting everyone else to find their path in Him. It means wanting to tell the whole world that we've found the only way out of the mess and that we want nothing more than to see them walking the same path. Yes, it means wanting the whole world to come to a saving faith in "Yeshua Hamashiach" (Jesus the Messiah) because that was His final instruction to us:  "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19 & 20a)

This fall, the citizens of the United States of America face an election with unprecedented consequences. Political parties and politicians can't save us. No matter who is (or who isn't) elected this November, that is not where we find our hope.

"When trouble surrounded me, I cried out to the Eternal;
    He answered me and brought me to a wide, open space.
The Eternal is with me,
    so I will not be afraid of anything.
    If God is on my side, how can anyone hurt me?
The Eternal is on my side, a champion for my cause;
    so when I look at those who hate me, victory will be in sight.
It is better to put your faith in the Eternal for your security
    than to trust in people.
It is better to put your faith in Him for your security
    than to trust in princes."
(Psalm 118:5-9)

We are in a time where the battle is between good and evil, a spiritual battle that has spilled over into the natural world. We have to decide which side we are going to stand on--the "right side of history" or God's side.

And no matter what happens in November (and in the months that follow), we have to keep standing. We have to commit to speaking the truth in love so that we can reach a broken world desperate for hope. We have to stand in the public square and use the wisdom and knowledge that comes from God to argue logic with those who use only illogical arguments. We have to point to science as the study of God's creation, something that reveals Him throughout, just like Scriptures tell us. We have to follow Jesus's command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48). We have to commit ourselves to following Christ, no matter what that may mean for us.