Unraveling the Strands of Christian Nationalism - Part 9

Opening Prayer

In the silence of the morning, we are alive to the new day’s light, alert to the early stirrings of the wind and the first sounds of the creatures. In the silence of our heart, we hear the yearnings that are in us and the fears, the hopes that rise from within and the doubts that trouble our soul. In the beginnings of this day, O God, before night’s stillness is lost to the day’s busyness, open to us the treasure of our inner being that in the midst of this day’s busyness, we may draw on wisdom. Assure us again of our origins in you, assure us again that our true depths are of you.

• John Philip Newell, Sounds of the Eternal, A Celtic Psalter, p. 14.

Unraveling the Strands of Christian Nationalism

What is Christian Nationalism? When did it emerge? What interpretation of scripture regarding the End Times drives Christian Nationalism? How does systemic racism undergird it? Can you be a patriot without being a Christian Nationalist?

Interpretation of Scripture Regarding the End Times and Christian Nationalism

Definition of Terms & Notes

• Apocalyptic Literature: Derived from the Greek word meaning “uncovering” or “revelation.” This type of literature, most notably found in Daniel and Revelation, uses highly symbolic imagery.
• Eschatology: Derived from the Greek word meaning “end,” is the study of the end times.
• Various attempts have been made to explain and relate certain scripture passages concerning the millennium (“thousand years” – Revelation 20) to the course of human history. In certain ages, a particular outlook concerning the millennium has predominated.
• Premillennialism: This is the view that Christ’s second advent (coming) will occur before (“pre”) the “millennium” (Revelation 20), understood as a 1,000-year rule of Christ on earth.
• Postmillennialism: This is the view that Christ’s second advent (coming) will occur after (“post”) the “millennium” (Revelation 20), understood as a golden age on earth but not necessarily lasting 1,000 years.
• Dispensational Premillennialism: Also simply called Dispensationalism, is a specific system of theological interpretation which divides history into distinct dispensations or periods of time in which God gives a specific revelation and humans are tested with respect to their obedience of it. All dispensationalists are premillennialists, but not all premillennialists are dispensationalists. Dispensational premillennialism can be traced back to John Darby in the 19th century and the Scofield Reference Bible in the early 20 th century. This system of theological interpretation circulates broadly within modern evangelicalism.
• Rapture: This refers to the event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, when believers will be “raptured” or “caught up” in the clouds to meet Christ in the air.

Shifting Interpretation of the End Times

“After the Revolution, Northern Protestant theologians began subtly redefining the End Times story. For Cotton Mather (Puritan, 1663-1728), the Second Coming of Christ and his thousand-year reign on Earth would be preceded by a cosmic war between good and evil – the Battle of Armageddon. Because the End Times preceded Christ’s millennial return, the technical term for Mather’s interpretation is ‘premillennial apocalypticism.’ But the dominate view of the white Protestant establishment during the 19 th century was actually ‘post-millennial’: Christ would only return after the Kingdom of God had been established on Earth for a full thousand years by means of gradual social and moral reform led by the Christian churches.”

“For over two centuries, white Christian nationalism was championed by the ‘Protestant Establishment.’” By the 1970’s and 1980’s, “the torch had been passed on to conservative white evangelicals.” The conservative white evangelicals “reverted to the premillennialist version of the End Times story. The horrors of the World Wars and the invention of atomic weapons had made the fiery battle scenes of Revelation seem more real than metaphorical. And predictions of nuclear holocaust were also promises of deliverance and vengeance: true believers could view the nuclear Armageddon secure in the knowledge that it heralded Jesus’ return. It should be little surprise that by the middle 2000’s, one of the strongest predictors that white Americans affirm Christian Nationalist ideology is their confidence that literal Rapture and Armageddon events will take place, in which the faithful are caught up to be with Jesus followed by a war of God’s faithful against ‘the Beast’ of Revelation [Dispensational Premillennialism] (2007 Baylor Religion Survey).”

• Gorski, Philip S., Samuel L. Perry, and Jemar Tisby, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy, 2022, pp. 64, 68, 69.

For this week: For reflection: What are the virtues or practices of your religious faith that you most cherish? How do they guide you in your civic life?

An invitation to our virtual participants: Discussion and comments are very much encouraged and welcomed. Online discussions can be held in the comments section in the upcoming post on Social Media for this week’s Deacon’s Reflection which is part of adult formation at St. Francis Episcopal Church.

Closing Prayer – Prayer of Blessing

Like an infant’s open-eyed wonder and the insights of a wise grandmother, like a young man’s vision for justice and the vitality that shines in a girl’s face, like tears that flow in a friend bereaved and laughter in a lover’s eyes, you have given us ways of seeing, O God, you have endowed us with sight like your own. Let these be alive in us this day, let these be alive in us.
May the light of God illumine the heart of my soul.
May the flame of Christ kindle me to love.
May the fire of the Spirit free me to live this day, tonight, and forever. Amen.

• John Philip Newell, Sounds of the Eternal, A Celtic Psalter, p. 17.

“Unraveling the Strands of Christian Nationalism,” Deacon Joe Dzugan, St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2025.