This episode tackles the issue of politics in evangelism. Since politics is mostly a secondary issue, Christians themselves disagreeing, it should be avoided, for it detracts from core issues of salvation. The U.S. is presently very polarized, and the likelihood that unbelievers associate evangelicals with the Republican party and/or Christian nationalism is high, often contributing to a hostile and defensive posture among unbelievers with respect to evangelists. The evangelist therefore needs to engage, if possible, on essential Biblical truths instead of wading into secondary points upon which the Bible is either silent or unclear. The maxim popularized by John Wesley (Rupertus Meldenius is the original source) is an excellent guide putting politics in perspective: "in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty; in all things, charity." Politics falls under "non-essentials," therefore "liberty" (of conscience) and mutual respect should prevail. The character of the evangelist is often placed on trial as unbelievers keenly observe HOW we handle disagreement. Are we dogmatic and argumentative over minor issues or do we invite honest disagreement where all are free to disagree without souring the relationship because we prioritize unconditional love for ALL? Unfortunately many evangelicals have failed the test, making non-essentials essentials and love dependent on partisan affiliation. The evangelist, Christ's ambassador to unbelievers, must pass the test. "By this everyone will know that your are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
Christian Nationalism, a Demonic Stronghold
This final episode is largely framed by a passage in the Screwtape Letters, where demons attempt to supplant one's true Christian identity with a political one. Since the objective of Christian nationalists is by definition political, these worldly ends naturally corrupt pure devotion to Christ. And demons have a field day, for it provides ample leverage to turn the indiscriminate love of Christ poured out in every believer's heart into a partisan stronghold, where victory in the culture war is the objective, not evangelism or personal sanctification. Sadly, the mission field is strewn with casualties who obstinately reject Christ, partly because they only see the co-opted Christ of Christian nationalists. The episode also highlights the left's attempt to co-opt Jesus, turning Him into a social justice warrior primarily bent on destroying racism and oppression. Either way, the demonic modus operandi is the same: make political identity supreme at the expense of the Christian one. Evangelicals have substantially increased in political power since the 1980's, but this power has come at the expense of pure devotion to Christ, where "prayers, sacraments, and charity" mean less than political crusades. The unbelieving world has noticed this shift in which the operative identity of many evangelicals is defined by politics, partisanship and power. Is it any wonder that the steady rise of Christian nationalism roughly charts with decline in the Church's credibility? The Christian witness has been sacrificed for power. Is this not Satan's plan all along? He has seduced Christian nationalists with "the kingdoms of the world and their glory," but now few will receive their witness.
The Problem of Power and Christian Nationalism
This episode places the question regarding Christian nationalism in the greater context of the problem of power, the major concern informing republican ideology of the Founders. While none of them were 5 point Calvinists, they nevertheless imbibed heavily from republican ideology, which was substantially informed by a pessimistic, almost Calvinist view of human nature. Human nature is corrupt, and power magnifies and makes manifest the evil of men. Consequently the maxim of republican ideology: "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The Constitution consequently limits power exercised by any one man or branch in government, fragmenting power on numerous levels to limit potential abuse. This realistic solution to the problem of power led to the Constitutional "separation of powers." When Christian nationalism is evaluated through the lens of the problem of power, arguably THE issue of republican ideology, the answer is clear: the Church should be separate from the State. The Establishment Clause of the Constitution is arguably the natural application of Federalist #10 to the potential mixing of Church and State.
Sloth, Ignorance, and Persecution: the Legacy of Christian Nationalism
Established churches, according to Madison, lead to "pride and indolence in the clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, and in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution." This episode unpacks this statement, emphasizing that state churches lead to a confounding of kingdoms. A natural bi-product of Christian nationalism, where Christianity blends with the State is conflation of natural and spiritual identities. The latter Christian identity requires repentance and faith in Christ, followed by regeneration and entrance into the kingdom of God. (John 3:3) The former natural identity requires...NOTHING. Most Anglicans in Virginia likely presumed that natural and spiritual identities were fused together since Virginia was a Christian state. As long as Virginians attended the state Anglican church and partook of the sacraments, they were by definition Christians. The clergy as a consequence need do very little: disciples aren't made through the preaching of the gospel, for their infant baptism makes them Christians. The laity in turn is ignorant of the requirements for Kingdom entrance, presumptuously resting on natural citizenship of "Christian" Virginia. Worse, both clergy and laity persecute Baptists for preaching "you must be born again." Baptists correctly spelled out the entrance requirements for the Kingdom of God, dismissing its association with the "kingdom" of Virginia. They consequently spear-headed the separation of church and state, maintaining that Christ's otherworldly Kingdom is distinct and separate from the kingdoms of this world.
Christian Nationalism: An American Stumbling Block
This episode chronicles the advance of Christianity in the U.S. after disestablishment, contrasting it with its declining influence where the Church is linked to the State. The Constitution forbade an established national church, and within 40 years, states with established churches disestablished. Lyman Beecher, a prominent preacher in the Second Great Awakening, remarked that disestablishment in Connecticut (1818) was "the best thing that ever happened to the State of Connecticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on state support." Lay ministry and evangelism exploded after disestablishment, ushering in a prolonged revival that many believed would usher in the millennium. (post-millennialism was definitely in vogue) The French historian Alexis de Tocqueville noted how Christianity prospered in America under a Church cut loose from the State, while Christianity in France died a slow death after the French Revolution, because of its association with the State. Voltaire remarked that "liberty will not triumph until the last king is strangled by the entrails of the last priest." Most French have since drowned the Christian baby in the revolutionary bathwater. Unfortunately the same dynamic is now operative in the United States, the Church suffering a credibility crisis. Many reject Christianity because of Christian nationalist's support of the Republican Party and Donald Trump, a would-be autocrat who traffics in demagoguery and demonization. Liberals understandably reject the gospel if it is bathed with the raw sewage of politics and partiality. They cover their noses and throw both out, while the Church wonders why any would reject the sweet aroma of the gospel. Christian nationalism is a stumbling block and, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!" (Luke 17:1)
Christian Nationalism: a Debate over Means
This episode acknowledges agreement on some core beliefs among evangelicals who nevertheless disagree on Christian nationalism. Evangelicals typically agree that Christ is the only way of salvation, and they earnestly desire that all come into relationship with Him. Evangelicals in the United States are nevertheless divided over the Church's relationship to the State: Christian nationalists want to "Christianize" the State ostensibly to bring people to Christ and/or make society more "Christlike," while "separatists" see a Church-state mixture as an obstacle to Christ's Kingdom because it corrupts the Church. Importantly, well-meaning believers want the same thing, but disagree over means. The program cites passages in Memorial and Remonstrance in which Madison (a quasi-Christian deist?) articulates the same core evangelical beliefs, that Christ is the only way to God and those "in darkness" need to come to Christ. Importantly, Madison maintains that 15 centuries of Christian establishments prove that state churches are averse to the goals of Christianity, leading to "pride and indolence in the clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both superstition, bigotry and persecution." The episode finally details the disestablishment position of the Baptist preacher John Leland, who observed that established churches "have done more harms than persecutions ever did."
Christian Nationalism: ‘A Contradiction to the Christian Religion Itself’–James Madison
This episode presents James Madison's argument against an established church. American opinion on the mixing of church and state was divided on the eve of the American Revolution. Congregationalists (Puritans) and Anglicans supported it, Baptists and Presbyterians were against. Christian nationalists like David Barton commonly cite from the former, but ignore or misrepresent the other side. Yet this historical cherry-picking" is neither here nor there, since the former ended up on the "losing" side, at least with regards to the Constitution. Madison, the author of the founding document, vehemently opposed the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the new republic, noting that it would open a Pandora's box of fighting among Christian sects, all seeking to impose their vision and interpretation of Christianity on society as a whole. Worse, the civil magistrate would attempt to coopt and "employ religion as an engine of civil policy." State churches have mixed agendas, as politicians manipulate the church for worldly gain, leading to an "unhallow perversion of the means of salvation." The coup de grace of Madison's argument is an appeal to the Scriptures--"every page disavows dependence [of Christianity] on the powers of this world." Reliance on the state is therefore "a contradiction to the Christian religion itself." Madison essentially concludes that Christian nationalists contradict "every page" of Scripture when they rely on the State. While Madison's embrace of Christianity is debatable, his grasp of Christ's autonomous Kingdom is likely more Biblical than the vision of many Christian nationalists.
The ‘Wall of Separation’–It’s NOT what you Think
This episode traces the decline of the Puritan "city on a hill," juxtaposed with the rise of separatists, Baptists and Presbyterians (who opposed a blending of church and state). Puritanism declined rapidly after the first generation of Puritans, so much so that a "halfway covenant" was instituted to baptize the children of unconverted parents. While established churches among Puritans and Anglicans languished, some eventually embracing Deism, independent Baptist and Presbyterian congregations thrived, WITHOUT state support. Rejecting a church-state synthesis, these traditions ultimately relied on early Luther, whose "priesthood of all believers" renders one's "religious" identity a matter of individual conscience, NOT subject to compulsion by an established church. Roger Williams argued for a "wall of separation between church and state" to protect the "garden of the church" from the corrupting effects of the "wilderness of the world." Modern day Christians and secularists commonly misrepresent the founders' insistence on a separation of church and state, often projecting their "culture war" narrative onto the founders. BOTH are guilty of historical eisegesis--reading into historical documents their own agenda. The episode details Madison's rage against "the diabolical persecution" perpetrated by Anglicans against Baptists in Virginia, informing his pluralist solution enshrined in the establishment clause of the Constitution.
Christian Nationalism and the Problem of Dissent
This episode highlights the problem of dissent in any church-state mixture. Henry VIII separated England from the Roman Catholic Church and made himself head of the new Anglican Church. He was both head of the church and the state, and subsequent monarchs assumed these roles. Henry's daughter Mary eventually came to the throne, and her fervent Catholicism led to the martyrdom of many Protestants, some whose stories are recorded in Fox's Book of Martyrs. While her successor Elizabeth managed to quell religious violence, the problem of dissent remained: as long as the crown (the state) is tied to the church, purely "theological" disputes are necessarily "political." Disagreement in the "religious" sphere becomes rebellion against the ESTABLISHED church, i.e., the STATE church. The Puritan "city on a hill" escaped persecution in England, but not the problem of dissent. For barely starting anew in Massachusetts, the Puritans exiled Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams, the latter objecting to the church-state blending of the Puritans. Williams insisted on the separation of church and state, a "wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world." Williams therefore embodies both the problem and solution to the problem of dissent. Up to this point the response to dissent among "Christian nationalists" was either persecution or exile. The episode finally cites Madison's condemnation of church-state mixing, leading to "inquisitions" among dissenters, second-class citizens.
Christian Nationalism: where a Political Calculus Drives Both Church and State
This episode continues the history of Christian Nationalism, highlighting Martin Luther's theological protest against the Catholic church. Since church and state were substantially interwoven, the upstart monk's "religious" protest was tantamount to rebellion against the state. Consequently, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, presides over Luther's trial, the state having a vested interest in protecting the sacred-secular marriage. The episode also details the English Reformation, which initially had nothing to do with religion. The "father" of the English "reformation" was Henry VIII, who created the Anglican Church after the pope refused to grant him an annulment with Catherine of Aragon, based purely on political considerations. (Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, the secular protector of the papacy, which was beholden to secular power). So when the State interferes with religion based on a political calculus and the Church renders "religious" decisions based on the same, corruption of both is evident. James Madison alluded to the former, noting that state intrusion in religion amounted to an "unhallowed perversion of the means of salvation."