Recent political rhetoric and publications have pictured Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former president Donald Trump as competing to be a “Messiah” for the nation. This language has circulated around those who hold a view of Christian nationalism for a while.
Let’s make one thing very clear from the beginning. Christianity has one Messiah, Jesus Christ. He alone deserves the title, and He has done the most important thing. He has paid the price for our sin and provided Himself as a way to eternal life. We do expect His return. It will be an undeniable, very public return that all will see. No secret “returns” other than Jesus’ constant presence with us.
Will there be other people chosen by God for God-given purposes? Absolutely. That is true of every believer, for we are all disciples of Jesus prepared for good works (Ephesians 2:10). So then, is the current slate of prominent Republican politicians sent by God to make the United States a Christian nation or save us from the immorality endorsed as being progressive? If so, they are doing a shameful job.
Those who represent Christ have more than a cause. They have a high standard of morality and love by which they must accomplish their cause. God’s mission is never to accomplish an end through any means possible. Both Trump and DeSantis fail the love and morality test. They smell more like demagogues pandering for votes. Many voters who are Christians are making the same error. They are foolishly being drawn in by political rhetoric. We should be mindful of how we act. It matters to our witness. It matters to our Lord.
I firmly believe that human life starts at conception and should be protected by Law and by choice. I also believe that practical measures should be in place to help women who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy regardless of how they got there. That would be love.
I believe transexual rhetoric is very dangerous and is poisoning the minds of both children and parents. Sexual dysphoria does happen. Gentle, loving psychological care is the answer, not surgery and hormones and certainly not an ideology that suggests the gender is fluid.
There are many other issues that Christians should care about. These include a care for the poor and immigrant that does amount to handout but does amount to a leg up. We can assimilate more immigrants. We are clearly short of workers. And we can incentivize work. Not everyone who could be contributing to our economic success is doing so.
Protecting the planet was our first job from God. Clearly, we do have a problem, a big problem, with global warming. There is a transition in technology that has to be made. It will not be accomplished by ignoring it. Ignoring it will cost more, aggravate desperation immigration, really sink our national debt. The transition needs to be as rapid as possible and as smooth as possible. Starting this late doesn’t help. We will see just how agile democracy and America can be. It doesn’t really matter what other nations do. We need to do the right thing.
Becoming or “continuing” as a Christian nation has never been a goal of the disciples of Jesus. We are part of the Kingdom of God. We can exist as majorities or minorities, even persecuted minorities. Our mission is to show love, worship God in spirit and truth, share the Gospel, baptize into Christ, and develop disciples. We may speak truth to governments and societies, but we are not here to rule them–not until Jesus comes again.
In the meantime, entangling our faith with political causes of unworthy candidates poisons our mission.
Then there is the matter of just being a citizen of the United States of America. The Bible doesn’t endorse any form of government over another. Democracy is most successful and most free form of governing sinful human beings with sinful human beings. Even then, a country has to have many things going for it to have a successful democracy. One of those things is a trust in the election system and a willingness to peacefully turn over power. Poisoning the American mind about that system is the most egregious civil sin. It is as un-American as you can get.
Giving Christ 