#7 America Is NOT a "Christian Nation"

I'd like to make a proposal. I think we should all agree to remove the phrase "Christian nation" from our vocabulary. First of all, not everyone in the United States identifies as a Christian. It's insulting to them to call the U.S. a Christian nation. I'd certainly like everyone everywhere to belong to Jesus Christ, but I don't think using somewhat insulting terms like "Christian nation" is going to help that cause.

Second, the whole idea that the U.S. was founded on Christian principles is, to put it charitably, much less historically supported than we might like to believe. We spent a whole day of church history in seminary poking holes in this claim. For one thing, the constitution mentions religion exactly once, and there it says that religion cannot be used to stop someone from running for office. (We had about nine other points, but this isn't my main topic in this post. If you'd like to hear more, let me know in the comments, and I'll dig out my church history notes.)

Third--and I'd like to think most importantly--I think our whole concept of a "Christian nation" just doesn't really make sense. If you want to say Christianity equals the church, well, the church, the people of God, isn't national or even international; the church is transnational. If you want to change terms slightly and say Christianity equals the kingdom of God, well, Jesus says that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36); sure, the kingdom exists here and now, but it's about more than just the earth. Paul says that God's purpose is "to bring to unity all things in heaven and on earth under Christ" (Ephesians 1:9-10). God's people extend far beyond the U.S. American laws aren't the same as God's laws. And besides, nations are rightly designed to act for their own self-interests. But our Lord Christ emptied Himself to serve others, and He calls His people to do the same. Christianity doesn't put up borders, but nations really must have some kind of border, even if it's really easy to cross. Christian and nation don't fully go together.

In fact, I'd say that the new and shocking inclusiveness of the people of God in the new age of Christ is one of the more prominent themes of the New Testament. Jesus teaches Samaritans (John 4) and praises the faith of a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15) and a Roman centurion (Luke 7). Christ says that He has sheep from outside of the sheep pen of Israel (John 10), tells His church to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28), and prophesies that His church will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1). The book of Acts makes a big deal of how God's Spirit shows that Samaritans (Acts 8) and Gentiles (Acts 10, 11, 15) are now part of God's chosen people. Paul's writings are clear that salvation is for all people (Romans 1:16), that Jews and non-Jews are part of the one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and that the distinctions between nations are unimportant in Christ (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11). In fact, Paul says that creating one new humanity of both Jews and Gentiles was central to God's purposes in Christ (Ephesians 2). Finally, John envisions the people of God as "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language" (Revelation 7:9). I'm afraid that if we focus too much on the U.S. as a "Christian nation" we might start to think that Christians in other nations, especially those without a Christian majority, don't really count or aren't really the same as us. We might become blinded by our own U.S.-centric biases and start believing an "American gospel" instead of the gospel.

Additionally, I don't want us to get too worried about the current state or apparent future of the U.S. For one thing, the Bible is clear that, no matter what, Jesus Christ is King of all (for example, Colossians 1, Ephesians 1, Philippians 2, 1 Corinthians 15). No matter what our government looks like or how secure we feel, Jesus is in control. And even if the U.S. should become 0% Christian or sink into the sea, God's mission would continue. The people of God is the church, not any nation. God's mission and the mission of His people doesn't stand or fall based on how Christian the U.S. is. For another thing, the U.S. (or any other nation) isn't our true home. Paul says our citizenship is heaven (Philippians 3:20). Both Peter and the author of Hebrews say that we are foreigners here on earth (1 Peter 1:17, 2:12; Hebrews 11:13). Now, until Christ comes again, we live here on earth, and we might even have the privileges of citizenship in some earthly nation. We should use our rights wisely and carry out our responsibilities dutifully. We should submit to our governments (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2), pray for those in authority over us (1 Timothy 2), and pay taxes as required (Matthew 22). But when we give our governments their due, we must remember that God deserves everything we have, including our votes. Let's think about how we can honor God with our votes. And no matter the outcome, let's remember that Christ still reigns.

Finally, we need to realize, as the early Christians and their contemporaries in the Roman empire did, that saying "Jesus is Lord" means there can be no other. Caesar isn't lord. The president isn't lord. America isn't lord. Those of us who live in the heart of America, the modern-day empire of Babylon or Rome, need to be especially careful that we don't compromise for the sake of comfort. We need to watch out so that America doesn't become an idol for us, that we don't equate worshiping God with serving America or even hold up the U.S. as an alternative to God. Jesus Christ is Lord. He calls us to deny ourselves and our self-interests and follow Him, joining His body, the church, which transcends all national borders. Let's remember that our ultimate allegiance is to God: if ever there is conflict, we must obey God rather than human beings (Acts 5:29). So let's drop the whole "Christian nation" thing and get our priorities straight. We belong to God first and thus also to His people. Our true kingdom will one day put an end to all others (Daniel 2, Revelation 19-20), and then, when God is all in all, we will have our true and never-ending Christian nation, our Christian empire, our Christian world (Revelation 21).

Grace and peace,
BMH