Creation Care as Antidote to Christian Nationalism

There is a fever in the land of America.  There is a spirit of fear of other nations,  immigrants from other countries, and even fear of dissenting voices within America’s borders.  One of the chief causes of this fever is Christian nationalism.  Christian nationalism is a distortion of the Gospel that merges faith with an exclusionary, ultra-patriotic ideology.  In this blog show how an appropriate view and practice of creation care is  the best antidote to the dangers of Christian Nationalism. 

First of all, creation care is grounded in the biblical view that God created and governs all creation.  The Psalmist wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).   The Bible doesn’t put America in a place of privilege or superiority over any other nation or tribe.  And when history concludes with the culmination of the Kingdom of God, all people and nations will be included in the redeemed heaven and earth. John wrote about this vision in the Bible’s final book, describing the population as “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9).  The Bible goes further in explicitly naming Jesus Christ as “the firstborn over all creation,” adding “all things have been created through him and for him.” (Col 1:15-16)  In short, all creation was made for Jesus Christ, not for any singular nation state.

Christian nationalism forgets that the earth is the Lord's and not ours. Of all the nations on the earth, we claim a place of privilege.  Since the 1970s, many Presidents, both Republican and Democrat, have used the words of Puritan preacher John Winthrop to describe America as a “city on a hill” (from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount).  Of course, Jesus was not making reference to a future nation called the United States of America.  He was calling on the Christian community to be different from the world, not to put their light under a bushel.  This position has contributed to the false notion that America is a Christian nation, despite the fact that her founding documents (The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) neither speak of Jesus Christ or the church founded by Jesus Christ.  The danger of promoting the idea that America is a Christian nation, is that it implicitly, at least, serves to privilege Christianity above other religions or groups that are non-religious.  Christian nationalists seize on this impulse to promote Christian beliefs through the institutions of the government.  For example, Christian nationalists want to fund Christian organizations (schools) with tax payer dollars rather than fully supporting public schools that undergird an ethos of religious pluralism.  

Second, creation care is grounded in loving all creation, not just loving America and Americans.  In the parable of the Good Samaritan, it should be noted that the wounded man on the side of the road is ethnically unidentified.  We simply don’t know if he is Jewish or Palestinian or whatever, but we do know the one who helped him was a Samaritan, a group of people despised by the purist Jews.  Jesus presents this “inferior” human as the hero of the story.  He is the one who understood what it meant to love his neighbor.  The clear teaching is that we are to love all our neighbors regardless of their status, race,  ethnicity, gender, orientation or nationality.  Only when we are ready to care for all creation, are we following the ethics of Jesus.  Furthermore, it is not an unjustified application to see our neighbors as those who will live 50, 100 or 200 years from the present time.  Creation care calls for us to love our neighbors who are wounded and vulnerable, not only those living today, but those who will travel these roads in the generations that follow. 

Christian Nationalism, on the other hand, calls us to “put America first,” regardless of the impact on the world.  Consequently, if we need more oil and gas, we should certainly extract it, because this will keep us as the world’s greatest power.  And since God has privileged us over godless China, it is our God-given duty to make sure we have more than they do.  This is true, even if we know the long-term impacts of expanding oil and gas production will contribute to an unhealthier climate for people, especially the poor.  Rather than working cooperatively with other nations in seeking a safe, healthier climate, we assert our power, our “firstness” in the global race for dominance. To add to our transgression, we seek to put Christians before other religious groups. So it's America first, and within America, it's Christians first.

Finally, creation care is grounded in a posture of caring for the earth, not dominating it.  The first assignment to Adam was to “tend and take care of the earth,” (Gen 2:15)  not exploit  and dominate it. For all the good the Enlightenment  of the 17th and 18th centuries did for the world in helping us harness the earth’s resources for good, it also nurtured a sense of dominance over the earth, rather than a partnership with the earth.  Creation care offers the model of St. Francis of Assisi who valued his brotherhood with creation over Francis Bacon, Father of the Enlightenment,  who nurtured the instinct of looking at creation as an object to be subdued, rather than an subject of wonder and adoration.   Creation cares instills in us a posture of humility and servanthood in relation to the earth.  

Christian nationalism, on the other hand, is grounded in an ethic of power, bleeding over into our relationship with the earth.  We are freed to use whatever the earth gives us for our pleasure and purposes, regardless of the long-term impact on the earth as a whole.  If biodiversity is reduced, global temperatures rise, coral reefs are bleached out, and glaciers melt threatening ecological harmony, it is merely a necessary consequence of subduing the earth for our country and its place on the world stage.  We are seeking short-term returns and will let the future take care of itself.  In the meantime, we will exercise our God-given privilege to promote our version of faith, justice and global hegemony.

There is a place for Christians to love their country, serve it and seek its well-being.  Respect for the flag and giving honor to those who serve in defending the country is compatible with the Christian faith.  But respect for the flag and love of country can descend into idolatry when power is sought over servanthood, pride overtakes humility, and care for the creation is forsaken in the pursuit of short-term profits.  Creation care is an effective antidote to Christian nationalism.  Building a strong narrative of creation care undermines the power of Christian nationalism. 

C3 invites you to care for creation and oppose Christian nationalism.  The two are diametrically opposed to one another.  One renders to Jesus and his kingdom, while the other renders to Caesar and his Empire.