In the Interest of Fairness

Back in October, I wrote a blog in which I was somewhat critical of evangelical Christians. I quoted an opinion piece in Rolling Stone magazine about Lance Wallnau, an evangelical Christian who is also known as a Christian Nationalist.

The article said that Wallnau “is a leading figure in the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR, whose followers believe that we are living in an age of new apostles and prophets, who receive direct revelations from God. NAR believers hold that the second coming of Jesus is fast approaching, and that it is the destiny of Christians to accelerate the End Times by exerting ‘dominion’ over the world.”

I then went on to write that Wallnau is among evangelicals, and other believers – including some in my own Catholic faith – who believe Christians should impose their beliefs on the rest of society, and even promote a “Christian” state, and that this idea has been a continual thorn in the side of Christianity, and indeed, of religion in general, for centuries.

A Fringe Element?

But recently, I read an online article from Newsweek magazine reporting on a group of evangelical Christian leaders who disagree with their above-mentioned co-religionists. The group’s statement says such groups are “a fringe element that espouses a dangerous and unhealthy form of ‘Christian nationalism.’”

According to Newsweek, however, this group does not include the big guns of evangelical Christianity. The group has 64 signatures so far but does not include the evangelical leaders who have huge numbers of followers on social media.

·     Because we believe that God made one human race expressed through different ethnicities and races, all of which deserve dignity and respect as    His image bearers, we reject all ideologies and movements claiming ethnic or racial superiority.

·         We denounce calls to violent, armed resistance in the name of Christian nationalism or as an alleged means of advancing the cause of the gospel.

·         We reject the triumphalist, top-down, take-over of society as part of a so-called “dominion mandate,” also noting that we do not know of any major Christian movement that espouses such a top-down, take-over mentality.

·         We reject the merging of Christian identity and national identity, as if the Kingdom of God and our particular nation were one and the same.

Similar Statements

Pope Francis has issued similar statements. An article in the National Catholic Reporter reports on the pope’s 2021 visit to Slovakia.

“The salt of the faith acts not by reacting in worldly terms, by engaging in culture wars, but by quietly and humbly sowing the seeds of God’s kingdom, especially by the witness of charity,” he said. “The church is not a fortress, a stronghold, a lofty castle, self-sufficient and looking out upon the world below.”

Instead, he told the historically traditionalist Catholic community to embrace humility and a readiness to engage the world around it, especially its young people and those on the margins.

“This will help us to escape from our self-absorption, for the center of the church is not the church. We have to leave behind undue concern for ourselves, for our structures, for what society thinks about us.”