BIBLICAL REVIEW OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Bible stories of warfare and bloodshed are symbolic references to spiritual warfare in which God uses truth in the mouths of his people to fight his enemies (i.e., religion.) Christian Nationalists are God’s enemies because they do not understand that the bible and God’s spoken work are not the same. Lacking that understanding, Christian Nationalists create their religion and policies out of their literal interpretations of the bible instead of listening to God’s spoken voice. That irrepressible tendency makes them God’s enemy as well as the enemy of the people they oppress. It also makes them enemies of people who care about the oppressed, want to deliver them from oppression, and preserve democracy for everyone.
The sooner we all start thinking of Christian Nationalists as spiritual enemies, the sooner we will engage with them with spiritual warfare — not just politics. And the sooner we engage them with spiritual warfare, the sooner we can overcome injustice perpetrated by rank and file Christian Nationalists and their legislative henchmen.
But we must not be deceived into believing that this is a way in which we engage, win, and then go back to business as usual. The seemingly endless stories of interreligious and intrareligious conflict in the bible — especially the Old Testament — tell us that this kind of conflict is normal for all religions. That biblical fact is confirmed in a world history of never-ending history of warfare that appears to be politically motivated but often has religious roots.
For more about religious conflict from God’s perspective, see these links:
Once we understand that religious conflict is normal, we can accept that the current season of conflict with Christian Nationalists. And once we understand that truth, we are prepared to accept that this war will never end. That will be a sobering fact to accept for those who choose to get involved.
Before we begin fighting, however, we need to know what our weapons are and how to use them effectively. Religious interpretations of the bible suggest that spiritual warfare includes prayer, fasting and asserting claims of authority over demons and satan. If we understand that these mythical entities are not real, and if we understand that the only successful weapon against religious lies is spiritual truth that comes from God’s mouth, we will stop using human weapons to accomplish a miracle that God alone can do: Change hearts and minds. Then we will participate with God in three ways.
-
- Stop aggravating Christian Nationalists with name-calling and rhetoric that arouses their desire to control people who do not share their religious beliefs. (See Unproductive Strategies for Changing Hearts and Minds.)
- Expose lies based on the literal words of the bible believed by Christian Nationalists. (See Truth vs Lies).
- Speak truth about the spiritual meanings contained in the literal words of the bible to Christian Nationalists and one another. (See Truth vs Lies).
All Americans, from the least to the greatest, religious and non-religious, have platforms from which they can effectively confront Christian Nationalism in these ways. If they don’t use their influence to actively confront Christian Nationalism, they are probably doing more to aid and abet the enemy than fight it. There are no truly neutral parties in this war.
Below are two lists of recommended attitudes and behaviors that people should, and should not, do — as much as possible — to fight against Christian Nationalism. These are aspirations which people should be mindful to observe — as much as possible. They are only recommendations and should not be considered as laws. No one will be able to do, or not do, all of these recommendations all the time. And many will be unable to do any of them at any time because they are passive –not aggressive — and because they are unwilling to make the sacrifices required to be successful warriors. Nevertheless, these are the things, along with fighting lies with Truth, that are necessary to waging spiritual warfare against Christian Nationalists.
***
It is reasonable to call these “things to do” and “things to avoid doing” “spiritual warfare” because they are foreign to visible, conventional strategies for political or social activism. Being foreign, conscious changes of heart and mind will be necessary before they are adopted and practiced. Changes of heart and mind are internal, spiritual events that cannot be observed with natural senses. And only after these internal adjustments have been made will it be possible to practice telling truth to confront lies which are the foundation of Christian Nationalism.
See the links below for suggestions about telling truth to confront lies: