CHRISTIAN NATIONALISTS ARE MODERN DAY PHARISEES
Christian Nationalists’ claims to love and obey God are empty boasts because everything they say and do is contrary to God’s commands regarding loving their neighbor. Jesus spoke for God on this matter when he called the Pharisees of his day hypocrites. Here is the Blue Letter Bible’s description of Pharisee:
A sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile. In addition to OT books the Pharisees recognised in oral tradition a standard of belief and life. They sought for distinction and praise by outward observance of external rites and by outward forms of piety, and such as ceremonial washings, fastings, prayers, and alms giving; and, comparatively negligent of genuine piety, they prided themselves on their fancied good works. They held strenuously to a belief in the existence of good and evil angels, and to the expectation of a Messiah; and they cherished the hope that the dead, after a preliminary experience either of reward or of penalty in Hades, would be recalled to life by him, and be requited each according to his individual deeds. In opposition to the usurped dominion of the Herods and the rule of the Romans, they stoutly upheld the theocracy and their country’s cause, and possessed great influence with the common people. According to Josephus they numbered more than 6000. They were bitter enemies of Jesus and his cause; and were in turn severely rebuked by him for their avarice, ambition, hollow reliance on outward works, and affection of piety in order to gain popularity.
Anyone who knows anything about Christian Nationalism can see that modern day Christian Nationalists fit the description of Pharisees perfectly. Similarities are highlighted in red above to aid comparisons. Scriptural verification of this description can be found in these links:
Knowledge of the ideologies and behaviors of Christian Nationalists and biblical references to Pharisee demands the conclusion that Christian Nationalists are modern day Pharisees. Since Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites, it can also be reliably said that Christian Nationalists are Pharisees and hypocrites.
It is inconceivable that God would call Pharisees who are so unlike Jesus and so disobedient to his commands to use his name and authority to exercise total dominion over America. Nevertheless, because Christian Nationalists believe that they are called by God and claim that their readings of the literal bible direct their actions, those wrong beliefs (i.e., lies) must be the prime target for truthtellers who confront the movement. Similarly, wrong beliefs (i.e., lies) about America’s history must also be targeted.
Because the movement is based on lies, the only realistic way to defeat it is with truth about God and history. Anyone who has tried to reason with Christian Nationalists on policy issues and early American history knows that it can’t be done. We see evidence of their intransigence on policy issues daily. They are as fixed on their political beliefs as they are on their religious beliefs and the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation. Instead of changing their minds, they harden their hearts to maintain their beliefs, amp up their rhetoric, and retreat to the security of their churches and media echo chambers. Perhaps truth will prevail where reason fails.
Whether anyone listens to truthtellers or not is God’s problem. Our challenge is to just tell the truth trusting that God will use the truth to break through Christian Nationalists’ hard hearts, soften those hearts, and allow God to change their hearts and minds. Until that happens, they will continue advancing their offense against God’s commandments.
Challenging beliefs based on the literal words of the bible is the only realistic strategy for confronting Christian Nationalism. This is true because, with only a few exceptions, liberal state and federal politicians have been unsuccessful in their efforts to change the minds of their conservative colleagues about policy issues. Polls show that some American voters may be changing their minds about the fitness of some politicians for office, but history and the popularity of Christian Nationalism clearly show that we should not depend on voters to vote in their best interests. The only strategy left is to tell the truth about the false religious and historical underpinnings of the movement.