The Case for Christian Nationalism

2. Redeemed Nations | III. Dominion and the Divine Image and IV. Conclusion

Previously:

The Case for Christian Nationalism

Wolfe finishes his chapter on redeemed nations by using his claim of a “restored divine image” to build a case for special, supernaturally ordained civil dominion among Christians. Quoting the 17th century, Puritan minister, Samuel Willard, he rightly states that the Christian should not “usurp the possession of his ungodly neighbor” simply for being “pagans, idolaters, or strangers to the gospel covenant”, though only as long as they “keep within the bounds of civil righteousness”.¹ This begs the question, what constitutes exiting the bounds of civil righteousness? For instance, in rural regions of Afghanistan, it is not uncommon for well-aged men to marry prepubescent girls. Would that constitute a violation of civil righteousness that gives Christians leave to conquer that nation? What of religious persecution? Do Christian nations have supernatural dominion over communist nations that persecute the true faith? What of our own nation, where multiple states have legalized infanticide, through laws that give unfettered access to abortion at any phase of gestation, including fully viable fetuses? What of states that allow children to receive sterilizing, cross-sex hormones from government funded organizations, without notifying their parents? Do these violations of civil righteousness give Christians the same dominion over America that Joshua had over Canaan?

Wolfe avoids these questions, for now, and even alludes to an answer in the negative, quoting Calvin on the difference between the reprobate’s use of good things versus the redeemed’s right to them.² But chapter 8 will be wholly dedicated to affirming such a revolution. Again, one wonders how Wolfe believes a Christian revolution to be remotely viable in the modern West, where the majority would outright reject its premise. When we reach that chapter, I will make the case that Wolfe likely knows a revolution would require a coalition force, and that one of the potential, unstated purposes for a Christian Prince would be to either, like Francisco Franco, slowly marginalize his potential coalition rivals³ or, that failing, outright purge them, as Lenin did with the Mensheviks.

Finally, Christian nations should regard themselves as nations of true dignity, being a people of the true God on earth. This status should give them confidence and even boldness in their national and international affairs.⁴

Let us contrast this with how Paul and Peter instructed Christians to engage others, both inside and outside the body of Christ:

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (Colossians 3:12)

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5b)

There is a difference between boasting in the cross of Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:14), and being bold about the superiority of your nation to others, because it is formed of a sense of special dominion. It is with this type of dominion-oriented “boldness” that President George W. Bush made the incredibly reductionist statement that Islamists “hate our freedoms”⁵, kicking of a War on Terror that lasted twenty years and took nearly a million lives.⁶ If there ever is to be another Christian nation in the West, it should learn from history and collectively seek to be a humble emissary of Christ.

Grace does not destroy what is natural but restores it. Grace also perfects nature, and thus nations can be Christian nations and commonwealths can be Christian commonwealths.⁷

As shown above, Wolfe is mistaken about the level to which fallen man’s nature is corrupted and needs to be restored by grace. As has been shown, there is no natural principle that passed through the fall unscathed by man’s total depravity and which is clearly visible to men who do not have the Gospel. The Christian nation is certainly one of repaired nature, but the knowledge of that grace should cause the nation to act as a corporate Christian, and seek to order its policies by the same “kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” as the individual believer. Let the boldness be saved for declaring Christ’s work to the world.

The Case for Christian Nationalism

1. Stephen Wolfe, The Case for Christian Nationalism (Moscow, Idaho: Canon Press, 2022), 113-114.

2. Ibid., 114-115.

3. Paul Preston, Franco: A Biography (New York, NY: BasicBooks, a division of HarperCollins, 1994), 295–96.

Giorgia Priorelli, Italian Fascism and Spanish Falangism in Comparison: Constructing the Nation, Palgrave Studies in Political History (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 185, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46056-3

4. Ibid., 115.

5. “Text: President Bush Addresses the Nation,” The Washington Post, September 20, 2001, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html.

6. “Costs of the 20-Year War on Terror: $8 Trillion and 900,000 Deaths,” Brown University, September 1, 2021, https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-09-01/costsofwar.

7. Ibid., 116.