“This should NOT be a problem to grasp, if we think carefully rather than reactively,” Buck continued. “He’s arguing for practicing a ‘differentiating love.’ We all do it, including God.”
Buck went on to explain that while God loves all people, he has a “differentiating love” for followers of Jesus. In the same way, parents love their own children more than the children of their neighbors.
“So, @William_E_Wolfe is arguing that a nation has a right and responsibility to prioritize and show a ‘greater love’ to its own citizens in the same way that you and I have a right and responsibility to prioritize and show a ‘greater love’ to our own children,” Buck concluded.
Reclaiming the Term ‘Christian Nationalism’
In a separate tweet on Saturday, professor of ethics and public theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Andrew T. Walker offered his own redefinition of Christian nationalism. He tweeted, “‘Christian Nationalism’ is meant to be derisive, and there are undoubtedly very concerning elements. But if you’re a Christian and believe our nation should have the aftershocks of the resurrected Christ reflected in its customs, you, too, are a kind of Christian Nationalist.”
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Below this remark, Walker posted a link to an essay he wrote on January 19 entitled, “Protecting Christian Political Theology from the Shibboleth of ‘Christian Nationalism.’” In the article, which was published two weeks after the U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, Walker argued that while Christian nationalism is problematic, it should be differentiated from Christian political theology.
“The very best of the Christian political tradition entails a fervent seeking of the common good, and that entails recognizing certain moral goods consistent with Christian moral tradition,” Walker wrote.
In response to Walker’s tweet, Bradley Mason said, “At least this professor of ethics and public theology (I kid you not) is consistent. I mean, his denomination/convention was created to defend the ‘Christian’ culture of racial slavery. But I’m sure they’ve got it all right this time,” referring to the SBC’s previous endorsement of American slavery upon its founding in 1845.
“Understand that this is a watershed moment,” said Rett Copple. “Guys in our seminaries not running from CN but rather soberly defining and then embracing the term is a definitive door slammed in the face of the deconstructionists and progressives.”
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Tweeting screenshots of both Copple’s and Buck’s retweets of Walker and Wolfe respectively, Christian sociologist Samuel Perry said, “We’re about 6 months from this, folks: mainstream evangelical movement to proudly embrace #ChristianNationalism to war against liberalism/deconstruction.”
