A Glorious New Day is Coming
Christian Nationalism is Not Worth Missing It
The weekend of February 1, the second weekend after Donald Trump’s inauguration, something compelled me to read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. I first became aware of this classic work of Christian literature in 2016, when it was discussed in a women’s Bible study my mom participated in. I had to work at that time, but its premise intrigued me, so I started reading it on my own. But my job was starting to get difficult at that time and I couldn’t focus, and had to opt for lighter reading for the time being, and then I forgot about it in the ensuing years. But something about the chaos and instability of the world right now compelled me to return to this book and its contemplation of heaven and hell.
For those unfamiliar with this book, the entire book is a dream in which the protagonist finds himself in Hell. In his dream, hell is not the traditional lake of fire, but rather a dreary town where it is always twilight, and always raining. The people have no material needs because they can just imagine the house they want and it is built for them. But there is no civic life because the people are quarrelsome, and the town is continuously spreading because people move further away from each other. But most important of all, the people in Hell are only ghosts. For the time being at least, they are allowed to go on holidays. Most choose to return to earth, perhaps to haunt a house that once belonged to them, or hang around a library to see if anyone is still reading their work. But a few take the opportunity to board a bus and visit heaven.
Heaven fills the bus with brilliant light, and for the time being, it is perpetually in a state of eager anticipation, as if it were two minutes before sunrise. The implication is that after God’s final judgment, the darkness of night will fully descend on the town that is hell, surprising its cultured inhabitants who were still convinced that they were on the brink of a new dawn, while in Heaven, the people, who are solid and real, eagerly anticipate the moment when the sun will rise and a new day will spring forth in God’s full glory. The message of this book is simultaneously fascinating and sobering to me. A common question that skeptics raise in opposition to Christianity is, “how could a loving God send people to hell?” C.S. Lewis’s compelling dream narrative with theology expertly woven in, answers this question. God does not send people to hell. People freely choose it by their attitude, and the state of their heart during this life. In the words of the Teacher the protagonist meets in heaven, “That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say “Let me have but this and I’ll take the consequences”: little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death” (Page 81). In his dream, almost everyone he observed ultimately chose to get back on the bus and return to hell. The only exception was a man possessed by a demon who allowed his heavenly mentor to kill it, at which time, he was transformed from a ghost to a solid man, and the demon transformed into a beautiful stallion causing all of heaven to rejoice.
I think it is significant that C.S. Lewis was an atheist who called himself “a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape” (Surprised by Joy Page 294). Years ago a friend and I were commiserating over our struggle to comprehend math concepts when we were in school, and she said she found that the best math teachers were the ones who also struggled with math at one time. People who have always been math geniuses may understand the concepts, but they cannot empathize with people whose minds were wired for different abilities, and therefore often lack the patience or compassion to teach them. Similarly, sometimes I think theologians who have been Christian their entire lives use a lot of jargon about glorifying God or Christ dwelling in us that is incomprehensible, even off-putting to the secular world we are supposed to evangelize. Such jargon can also be perceived as dismissive, even judgmental to Christians who want to believe but are going through a season of doubt. But C.S. Lewis, who knows what it is to be an outsider to Christianity, contemplates the concepts of Heaven and Hell in accessible language.
Most theologians I have read also spend too much time in my opinion engaging in academic arguing with one another on relatively minor points. Is hell a literal place of eternal torment—the traditional view—or are people punished for a time, depending on the nature of the sins committed in this life and then cease to exist? Is universal salvation or purgatory a possibility? Scripturally grounded arguments can be made in defense of each of these views. I personally am not convinced by the idea of universal salvation, given the frequency in the Bible of God’s commitment to vanquish evil. Although we fallible humans are commanded by Christ to view no one we interact with as irredeemable, the Bible is clear that in the final judgment, God in his infinite, infallible wisdom, will determine that some people are irredeemable, and as C.S. Lewis explains it, would actually be unhappy in heaven. I also read a quote from T. S. Eliot that resonated with me: “I had far rather walk, as I do, in daily terror of eternity, than feel that this was a children’s game in which all the contestants would get equally worthless prizes in the end” (Heaven, Randy Alcorn, Page 25). Somehow I know in my heart that this life isn’t going to turn out to be a pointless children’s game, but as for the specifics of the rewards and punishments, perhaps we weren’t meant to know. What God reveals unambiguously, and what He intended for us to focus on right now is the big picture: “Because God is the source of all good and Hell is the absence of God, then Hell must also be the absence of all good. Likewise, community, fellowship, and friendship are good, rooted in the triune God himself. But in the absence of God, Hell will have no community, no camaraderie, no fellowship” (Heaven, Page 28). C.S. Lewis illustrates this truth vividly, and also explains the attitudes and life choices that will determine our ultimate destination.
What does this have to do with Christian Nationalism, and why was I compelled to read this book the second weekend into the second Trump administration? Let me be very clear. The purpose of this post is not to suggest that Donald Trump, or Elon Musk, or J.D. Vance are going to Hell. Although I do not see evidence of spiritual fruit in their lives, you could say God has classified information. It is not our place to speculate on anyone’s destiny. And even if these people are on the road to destruction right now, they are still alive. We should pray that their eyes might be opened. It is never too late to repent in this life.
I do find it interesting that C.S. Lewis imagines Napoleon (who died in 1821) in Hell, pacing back and forth continuously in his mansion ranting about who was at fault for his defeat. But I am scared to be that presumptuous because I was convicted numerous times while reading this book, seeing a little bit of myself in all of the people in Hell, proof that we are all sinners who can only be saved by God’s grace. That weekend, after a week of being required to make cold calls to promote our call center services, which I have come to hate passionately, I was especially convicted by the ghost woman who did nothing but grumble. As the protagonist’s teacher explained, “It begins with a grumbling mood, and yourself distinct from it: Perhaps criticizing it. And yourself, in a dark hour, you may will that mood, embrace it. Ye can repent and come out of it again. But there may come a day when you can do that no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood, nor even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself going on forever like a machine” (Page 90). We all fall short, even after accepting Christ, but the good news, as the protagonist’s teacher explains it, is that if there is the tiniest spark, the faintest hope of repentance, the heavenly teachers will patiently blow on the ashes until the fire roars to life. But when there is only a pile of ash, that is when it must be swept up. Or to use a current analogy, if there is the tiniest morsel of good apple in the ball of worms, the heavenly mentors will search for it: it is only when we are clearly nothing but a ball of worms when the teachers will not search the pile forever—sorry, couldn’t resist. In real life, I believe that if someone exhibits the tiniest spark of a longing for Christ, they will never see Hell to begin with, and for those who have truly accepted Christ, the Holy Spirit makes us aware when we sin so that we can make a course correction long before our spark is lost.
But I believe Christian Nationalism is a road to destruction. In Donald Trump, I see a man who is obsessed with revenge, unable or unwilling to forgive anyone who ever injured his pride, and concerned only with holding onto power, to the point that even now in this life, I don’t think he has a concept of what real joy is. Like I said, he is still alive, and true Christians should pray that God might soften his heart, and we should not allow our loathsome view of Donald Trump to harden our hearts against this misguided human being created in God’s image. As things stand now, I don’t think Donald Trump would find happiness in Heaven, where all of his power, wealth and influence in this world will mean nothing. In the people who are aware of his bad character but use him to implement policies favorable to Christianity, they are like a ghost the protagonist’s teacher described, who could not admit that he had mistaken the means for the end. Didn’t Jesus warn that you cannot harvest good fruit from a bad tree? As a result of their blind loyalty to Donald Trump, I think their eyes have been blinded to the true teachings of Christianity, and as things stand now, they may not be happy in heaven where there will be no tolerance for self-righteousness or white supremacy, and where neither their American identity, nor America’s hegemony in this world will mean a thing. In Elon Musk, I see a man fully invested in the worship of Mammon. Despite being the richest man in the world, his lust for more money is insatiable, to the point that his words and actions as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency reveal a sociopathic disregard for “the least of these.” As it stands now, he will not be happy in Heaven where this staggering wealth will mean nothing.
Our hearts should simultaneously break for these people, who are so blatantly choosing wealth and power in this life which is but a mist over the everlasting joy of Heaven, but also tremble with reverent fear over the times we, in less extreme but no less sinful ways, succumb to worldly temptation. Thank you Lord for graciously saving me, giving me a spark of longing for true, lasting joy. Though I don’t always behave accordingly, I really do want to spend eternity in your presence, to experience that glorious sunrise on a restored creation, and enjoy everlasting community, fellowship and friendship. Please be with me Lord to make sure that spark never dies, and if it is your will, show me opportunities when I might be your ambassador, and direct misguided travelers to the correct road before it is too late.
That reminds me of a song: As I wrote this, I found myself singing the hymn Morning Has Broken. This version by Cat Stevens is the one I am most familiar with. It could be a song of gratitude and reverence for each new morning we are blessed with in this life, but I believe it could also be an allusion to the glorious bursting forth of that everlasting morning all true Christians eagerly anticipate in a new creation. As I listened to this song, with its beautiful lyrics and joyful instrumentation, I appreciated on an even more visceral level how much I would rather miss out on an opportunity to acquire great wealth, or a powerful position than risk missing out on the privilege of experiencing this glorious morning. “Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!”