Empty Cathedrals and Christian Nationalism
Empty Cathedrals and Christian Nationalism
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only - Luke 4:1-8
I have been blessed as part of my ministry to travel to roughly 50 countries on 6 continents and get a sense of their history and culture. While there is much to delight in everywhere, there is also much to lament in each place.
Europe evokes strong conflicting emotions in me. Every city seems to be constructed around numerous awe-inspiring cathedrals as well as endless more humble churches from modest to majestic. The architecture varies greatly, but the collective impression is profound. Many of these buildings are priceless works of art that people will buy tickets to and stand in line to see because of their grandeur. Some took dozens, if not hundreds, of years to construct. The architects often did not live long enough to see them completed. Clearly Jesus made a massive impression on these countries in ways that have lasted more than a millennium.
While these cathedrals vary greatly depending on local culture and the branch of Christianity observed in that country, what they have in common across the continent is that they are almost entirely empty of worshippers. How is it possible that a faith that compelled such devotion and commitment of resources and which served as the foundation for dozens of cultures across an entire continent could become swept aside and relegated to cultural artifacts of a by-gone era?
At the risk of over-simplification, I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say it was primarily caused by Christian Dominionism or Nationalism. The church strained its credibility when it became the official religion of Rome and got entwined with the exercise of power. But, after the Protestant Revolution and development of separate nation states, the churches throughout Europe became state churches tied to kings and waring power structures, and they ended up justifying all the wars and atrocities each nation committed. From the 100 years’ war, through the 30 years’ war, colonization, the Atlantic Slave trade, to the two World Wars, Christianity in Europe lost credibility because it became identified with the abuse of power, exploitation of non-Christian people groups, and violence in service of that power. Sometimes the most “Christian” countries did the worst evil in the name of God. For example, Germany was the theological center of Europe in the early 19th century. Yet, Hitler was endorsed by most of the German church.
While other forces certainly contributed to the collapse of Christian faith in Europe, like the advance of Darwinian interpretations of evolution, which provided an alternative narrative to Christianity, Europeans embraced this explanation for the universe by-in-large because they were looking for options to a “Christian world view” that no longer looked like Christ and became a source of death instead of life.
While that would be sad on its own, what is terrifying to me is how popular Christian nationalism has become in my beloved home country. Many Evangelicals have decided it is time to “take our country back” and embrace the ways of power. Instead of following the model of the Prince of Peace who worked for transformation from the margins to the center and from the common people upward through society one life, family, and community at time, Christian Nationalists (even as they reject that label) want to impose their view of the world from the top down through the use of political power, even including violence.
Instead of loving enemies and welcome strangers into God’s global kingdom of every race, tribe, and tongue, Christian nationalists want to claim their nation and culture are superior and must be protected from dangerous “others.” Christian nationalism uses the name of Jesus but does not follow his teaching nor his ways. Jesus rejected the sword and suffered for others. Christian nationalism picks up a sword and makes others suffer. Instead of loving enemies in an effort to draw them into the family of God, Christian nationalism stokes the fear of others/foreigners in an effort to keep them out of “our country.”
I understand there is something attractive about Christian nationalism’s mountaintop offer to “make this a Christian country.” But that offer has an idol wrapped inside. Instead of using the servant way of Jesus which models grace and goes to a cross, it falls to the temptation Jesus rejected when Satan offered to give him all the kingdoms of the world if he would pledge allegiance to his form of coercive power.
Of course, all disciples should want to see their country and culture take on the values of their faith. But the way we advocate for these things matters tremendously. We cannot win at the ballot box what we have lost on the street. The kingdom of God does not come down from Capitol Hill or the White House. It starts as a mustard seed in your house and moves house to house as lives are transformed and characters remade at the grass roots level and then on up through society. It comes through Jesus followers being the Church.
In fact, where Christianity is growing most rapidly in our world it is in underground movements without any institutional power and often under severe political persecution. Case in point, Iran has the world’s fastest growing church and has for over a decade despite severe persecution. There is somewhere between 1 – 2 million Christ followers in Iran now. Clearly, they don’t need the government’s support to be experiencing transformation that is increasingly disruptive to their oppressive regime.
When the church opts for a shortcut to power from the top down, it always ends up looking hateful and endorsing abusive power. It becomes ugly and un-Christlike. When that happens, it loses credibility and then loses the next generation or more. I fear the growth of Christian nationalism in the USA could cause the declining church in our country to collapse like it did in Europe.
So, I appeal to all followers of Jesus to reject the temptation to pin our hopes and habits on political power and instead to embrace the ways of Jesus. Reject fear and hatred of the “other.” Love your enemies, welcome strangers, recognize the image of God in all people and all cultures, and serve the unique reign of the one true King who is building his universal kingdom one heart at a time.