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Examples of Christian Nationalism Are the ‘Greatest Argument’ Against It, Says Southern Baptist Ethics Professor

Christian Nationalism
Image credit: Henny Vallee

Without an “orthodox gospel” underpinning it, “Christian Nationalism is a complete waste of time,” writes Andrew T. Walker. The ethics professor recently tweeted about the hot topic, framing his thoughts from a Baptist perspective.

“The greatest argument against Christian Nationalism are the examples of Christian Nationalism,” writes Walker, who teaches at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “It has shown itself to not work and in the process, leaves the culture and the church in a beleaguered condition.”

RELATED: Pastor Robert Jeffress: If Voting One’s Values Is Christian Nationalism, ‘Count Me In’

Andrew Walker: ‘Government Isn’t Suited to This Responsibility’

On November 2, Walker begins a thread by tweeting: “England, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, and Sweden all have Protestant state churches, presumably ‘promoting true religion.’ But to what end with what success? These nations are socialistic, de-churched, secular, and progressive. Sounds like Christian Nationalism is working superbly.”

He continues: “This is one of the primary errors of Christian Nationalism: It requires a static and homogeneous culture. And even where those conditions are present, it doesn’t ensure actual orthodoxy. History shows just the opposite, in fact. Christian Nationalism is a complete waste of time if there isn’t an orthodox gospel. But where it has been tried, the gospel becomes obscured. This leads me to believe that’s a feature—not a bug—of the system. All (perhaps) because government isn’t suited to this responsibility.”

Believers “should absolutely want a Christian culture that honors Christ in every sphere,” Walker clarifies. “We should intentionally transmit the faith to our children and order our culture accordingly. But that should be done organically on the basis of voluntary commitments, not top-down nominalism.” In practice, the professor concludes, Christian nationalism “has shown itself to not work and in the process, leaves the culture and the church in a beleaguered condition.”

Walker, whose books include “God and the Transgender Debate,” was previously a senior fellow at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Debating the ‘Fruit’ of Christian Nationalism

Among those responding to Walker’s thread is California Pastor Aaron Burkhart, who tweets: “Christian nationalism is no different than Pharisaism. Only when it’s put like that do some folks start to get it.”