Christian Nationalism Could Ultimately Persecute Christians

Let's Learn from Pastor Martin Niemoller

When I was in high school, Mom came across a poignant poem that she read to me. It is short, the language simple, but the message stops you in your tracks. Mom and I couldn’t remember who wrote it, but I found the poem again, and the history of its author on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website.

“First they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the socialists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me”

This poem was written by Pastor Martin Niemoller, who was an antisemitic Nazi supporter, but had a change of heart when he was imprisoned in a concentration camp for speaking out against Nazi control of churches.

Hitler is a case study in what can happen when people don’t speak out against Nationalism. He wanted to make Germany great again, and wrongly blamed Jews for Germany’s defeat in World War I. As Christians, we are forbidden to hate anyone, as we know that all people are created in God’s image, but Christian hatred of Jews is particularly abhorrent in my view because we share much of our faith foundation with the Jewish people. Their sacred text, the Torah, is also the first five books of our Bible, and we will share the inheritance of God’s kingdom with them at the end of the age. And of course, Jesus was himself Jewish. Some antisemites blame Jews for killing Jesus, but we as Christians know that (A) Jesus himself says that his crucifixion had to happen in order that Scripture would be fulfilled; and (b) while Jesus was rejected by his own people who chanted “crucify him,” it was ultimately the Roman government who crucified him is the social unrest he was causing threatened their authority. But more importantly, as Christians, we know that the wages of sin is death, and in this sense, we all crucified him in the sense that we all have sinned and deserve eternal death, but Jesus took our place. Thus, antisemitism by a Christian pastor is especially ridiculous in my view.

Nevertheless, Martin Niemoller at first aligned himself with the Nazis because he thought they were on his side. Little did he realize the Nazis thirst for power would not stop with the Jews. I think this is a profound lesson in the importance of speaking out against Christian Nationalism today.

Last Sunday, the church I attend welcomed a new senior pastor, who used his first sermon to lay out his core values and vision for our church. It was an excellent sermon, but the statement that stood out most for me was his call that we be a church of engagement, rather than entitlement. There was a time in our history when Christianity was basically the only show in town. In many towns, the church was the tallest building. This is no longer the case, so rather than clinging tightly to an attitude of entitlement, we must engage with our pluralistic culture, which I interpreted as sharing the good news in a winsome way with one friend, neighbor, coworker at a time.

It occurred to me that at the root of Christian nationalism is an attitude of entitlement. Rather than engaging in the slow but rewarding work of sharing the good news one soul at a time, Christian Nationalism seeks to impose Christianity onto the culture through legislation. I am all for upholding orthodox Bible teaching in our churches and our personal lives. But when we lobby for legislation to impose our views on a pluralistic culture who may not share our views, we perpetuate the decline in Christianity that we purport to lament by projecting to the world a self-righteous, judgmental God. But we also risk eventually hurting ourselves. The reason theocracies don’t thrive as nations, at least not for long, is because ultimately man’s lust for power overshadows the orthodox teachings of the faith. Often, factions with extremely radical interpretations of the faith assume power and impose legislation that persecutes not only those of other faiths, but also the mainstream adherents of the state religion. I have read that right now in Afghanistan, many fathers are heartbroken that their daughters can no longer go to school, and believe that this is not an accurate teaching of Islam. But at least for now, they have no choice but to comply with the Taliban’s mandates. I am not saying we are anywhere near this kind of persecution. What I am saying is that (a) we should never take our freedom for granted even if we are the majority religion; and (b) history has shown, and regimes like the Taliban continue to show that when we in our fallen sinful state attempt to establish a righteous government based on religion, we ultimately end up persecuting ourselves. And by the time we realize what we have done, it may be too late.