The synergistic love of God and country is an idea our ancestors understood well; it was the driving force that not only built America but also protected it.
Commentary
I’m hearing a lot of Christian bashing these days—even from
within the church—and most of it seems to be disguised in the progressively appropriated and constantly evolving phrase “Christian nationalism.”
Articles telling us of the rise of Christian nationalism often quote Bradley Onishi, a former Christian who’s been making the rounds to promote his 2023 book, “
Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next.” According to the American Atheists 2024 National Convention
website, Mr. Onishi is a former Christian who “deconstructed his faith” by his early 20s. Mr. Onishi is co-host of the podcast “Straight White American Jesus.” He was recently interviewed for NPR and PBS.
According to
PBS, Christian nationalism is a dangerous ideology that poses a threat to democracy and is “based around the idea that this is a Christian nation, that this was founded as a Christian nation, and, therefore, it should be a Christian nation today and should be so in the future.”
An
NPR interview revealed that Christian nationalists have a “core belief that the story of the United States is one where it has been elected by God to play an exceptional role in human history, and as being chosen by God, it’s the duty of Christian people to carry out his will on Earth.”
The latter article was the most disturbing, as the interviewer and interviewee spent time laughing at how former President Donald Trump “must love the idea that a lot of Christian nationalists see him as the anointed one.”
According to a Pew Research
poll, most U.S. adults haven’t even heard of Christian nationalism. I personally have yet to meet one self-identifying Christian who even has a clue what the term means.
Yet somehow, those radical liberal elites—sneering down at us from their lofty illegitimate thrones—have officially given the name “Christian nationalist” to the deplorable insects being scrutinized in the petri dish. It’s the official diagnosis for we delusional little ants who still believe in our
boom sticks and pray to a sky god.
However, as the Book of Ecclesiastes
tells us, “there is nothing new under the sun.” It was just 15 years ago that patriotic Americans began to be categorized as “domestic terrorists” and “militia members.” Back then, a
report told us that militia members “may display constitutional party, campaign for liberty or libertarian material.”
Also back in the day,
we were told that potential domestic terrorists often display “Don’t Tread on Me” flags. Today,
we’re told the Pine Tree flag, aka the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, represents Christian nationalism. Who knew?
What it really boils down to is that troubling fifth column called “regular Americans”—the majority of whom live between the coasts and still believe in God, family, and country. According to Matthew J. Peterson, we are traditionalists who embrace the likes of Thomas Aquinas, who “summed up what Western civilization understood to be the natural debt of gratitude all human beings owe to God, family, and country.”
There’s an inherent patriotism in our hearts that comes from knowing that God will guide and protect us as a people and nation when we do His will. After all, a serious study of history reveals how
Divine providence and
miracles helped create and sustain this country. (And, contrary to popular opinion, combining patriotism with Christianity doesn’t result in a mental disorder.)
The synergistic love of God and country is an idea our ancestors understood well; it was the driving force that not only built America but also protected it through two world wars. It was a conviction that lived in the hearts of Americans participating in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive—a battle that saw 26,000 U.S. soldiers killed in action and more than 120,000 total casualties.
It was an idea that gave
73,000 Americans the courage to storm the beaches on D-Day.
“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.”
It went on to talk about the need to obtain God’s blessings to “prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.”
Veteran war correspondent and eyewitness Ernie Pyle called the success of the D-Day invasion “
a pure miracle.”
At the Normandy American Cemetery, on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach at the 75th-anniversary ceremony in 2019, President Trump gave a
historic speech that encapsulated the meaning of “God, family, and country,” and succinctly expressed where Americans got the strength for that battle:
“These men ran through the fires of hell moved by a force no weapon could destroy: the fierce patriotism of a free, proud, and sovereign people. (Applause.) They battled not for control and domination, but for liberty, democracy, and self-rule.
“They pressed on for love in home and country—the main streets, the schoolyards, the churches and neighbors, the families and communities that gave us men such as these.
“They were sustained by the confidence that America can do anything because we are a noble nation, with a virtuous people, praying to a righteous God.”
I guess those words would make a lot of people angry today, because it sure sounds like “Christian nationalism” helped win World War II. If that’s the case, I’ll take up the torch and won’t break faith with the indomitable American spirit of those who went before me.
That’s why the noise from the radical left is becoming so loud and desperate—because they know we are still in possession of a force no weapon can destroy.
Dedicated to the memory of my uncle, Alvin H. Harris, D-Day and Battle of the Bulge veteran, 101st Airborne.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
