Note: Hey friends, I’m excited to share that I’m working on a new booklet in the Constructive Conversation series on Christian Nationalism. This week’s post is related to that, as was last week’s, and, I expect, several more over the coming months.
If you want a simple definition of Christian nationalism, think of it as a subtle form of idolatry that drapes the American flag over the cross. However, if you wish to understand it more precisely and how it differs from something like Christian patriotism, that requires a conversation where things can be unpacked.
One of the four problems with Christian nationalism I recently shared with our church family is the “central actor” problem. The author and pastor Matthew McCullough defines Christian nationalism as “an understanding of American identity and significance held by Christians wherein the nation is a central actor in the world-historical purposes of the Christian God.”[1]
Although the United States (or any nation in the Western Hemisphere for that matter) is never mentioned specifically anywhere in the Bible, many Christians still get this wrong. Probably one of the biggest reasons is the popularity and misapplication of 2 Chronicles 7:14:
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (KJV)
This verse is applied directly to America in all National Day of Prayer literature and regularly referenced by politicians who want to connect with conservative Christians.
Let’s take a quick look at the larger context of this verse:
So Solomon finished the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. Then one night the LORD appeared to Solomon and said,
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.
“As for you, if you faithfully follow me as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty. For I made this covenant with your father, David, when I said, ‘One of your descendants will always rule over Israel.’
“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’”
2 Chronicles 14:11-21, NLT
Seen in context, 2 Chron. 7:14 was a promise given to national Israel in an agricultural society in ways tied closely to the Temple, which was first completed in 957 BC. What happened in AD 70? Israel’s Temple was destroyed just like Jesus prophesied it would be (Matt. 24:1-2). In fact, all of Jerusalem was destroyed marking a major turning point in Jewish history, as well as God’s transition between covenants. It’s not too much to say that the destruction of Jerusalem (including the Temple) was the most significant, culminating judgment event related to God’s new kingdom breaking in. Indeed, Paul explains that national Israel’s rejection was part of God’s plan to facilitate “the reconciliation of the world.” (Romans 11:15) Specifically he says, “branches were broken off” so that the “gentiles” (other nations) “might be grafted in:” “… They (national Israel) were broken off because of their unbelief, but you (Gentiles) stand only through faith.” (20)
The gospels and the book of Acts also document this transition between covenants where God, who once worked primarily through one nation, now works with and through all nations. And the good news is that all who receive or welcome Christ in their hearts—whatever their ethnicity (John 1:12-13)—are now part of God’s chosen and beloved people; that is, the Church or spiritual Israel (Romans 9:6b, 11:26a, Galatians 6:16). This is the new covenant (Hebrews 12:24) and spiritual kingdom (John 18:36a; Hebrews 12:28) that Jesus inaugurated in his death.
Returning to our discussion of applying 2 Chronicles 7:14 directly to America, what all this means is that the U.S. is certainly not any kind of new Israel and it is critical that we get this right. In an excellent podcast discussion, the eminent historian Mark Noll puts it this way:
“One of the strands often in contemporary Christian nationalism is the idea that the United States is particularly chosen by God, has been particularly blessed by God, and has a particularly rich heritage that is now under really serious threat. In my way of thinking, it’s important to say two things about that supposition. First, there has been a great deal of good accomplished by Christian people in the United States and actually in the United States in the world. But secondly, the notion of a unique, singular relationship—covenant even—between God and the United States, in my view, is a heresy. After the coming of Christ, all nations are on a level as potential instruments for building the Kingdom, but never to take the place of Old Testament Israel or never to take the place of the worldwide church that enjoys the special blessing of God and has been commissioned to bring in the Kingdom. So a very specific example: If you are inclined to believe that the United States is unique because of God’s relationship to the United States, this to me is Christian nationalism, or at least liable to become Christian nationalism. And it’s an idea that believers should repudiate.”
Again, although there are general principles in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that can apply to individuals or any nation (e.g. God hears our prayers when we humble ourselves), to apply this promise directly to America is to ignore context and abuse Scripture. And to continue to do so, year after year, is the kind of conditioning that leads Americans to see themselves as central—or worse yet, superior… a topic we’ll save for another day.
[1] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christian-nationalism-patriotism/