"All or Nothing" and Christian Nationalism
The fact that someone is skeptical of Christian Nationalism does not mean that person opposes Christian values reflected in public policy.
I have been involved in the anti-abortion movement for 30 years. I have picketed at the local abortion mill (which thankfully does not kill babies any more) and have lobbied local government not to give grants to Planned Parenthood every year since 1999. I have advocated for Christian values in government on many occasions. Yet I have been skeptical of Christian Nationalism. Why?
As I have said countless times on countless issues, it is not "all or nothing." The fact that someone is skeptical of Christian Nationalism does not mean that person opposes Christian values reflected in public policy. We need to be careful before we accuse critics of Christian Nationalism of wanting to surrender the culture and public policy to the advance of cultural Marxism.
(Do not expect this nuance to be recognized by the Left, which will label any Christian conservative as a "Christian Nationalist," even of that person has been saying the same thing for decades before "Christian Nationalism" became a topic of national conversation the last decade.)
My primary concern regarding Christian Nationalism is the pursuit of political power for its own sake. When political power becomes the primary goal, this will inevitably lead to compromise. Christians who advocate for morality in public policy have understood for decades that this nation is falling away from the historic Christian faith of our nation's founding, and because of that there will be times when we will lose. Yet we have faith in God's sovereignty and we pray that He will change hearts and minds to move our nation's policy objectives in a Christian direction.
When honoring God becomes secondary to gaining political power, compromise starts seeping in. This is why some self-proclaimed Christian Nationalists were arguing that Republicans need to weaken their opposition to abortion in order to "win." But when core principles are sacrificed to get our candidates elected, did we really "win" anything? No, that is not a victory. That is a defeat.
There are also charlatans who are not Christians, but claim to be. As I said before, if someone is defending character assassination or vicious personal cruelty because he "knows what time it is," that person is probably not a Christian at all. He worships political power, not the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to have discernment to realize who the fakes are, and not immediately rush to support someone just because he claims to be a "christian." Remember, even Jesus warns in Matthew 7:21-23 that some will proclaim how much they did for the Kingdom of God despite having never been known by Jesus.
In many ways, Christian Nationalists and traditional Christian conservatives are on the same side, but Christian Nationalists should not ignore the warnings of traditional Christian conservatives. Above all else, we must remember that the Lord's kingdom is not of this world, and political power must always be secondary to honoring God in the public square. We should trust that God is sovereign over all things.