"I Didn't Move; You Did" (Part 15B): The Shift Toward Christian Nationalism And The Abandonment Of Character

In the first part of this series, I spent a good deal of time looking backward. I revisited the statements, declarations, and public witness of the evangelical movement that shaped me. Again and again, I found leaders insisting that Christians must care for the poor,  pursue justice, tell the truth, defend the vulnerable, practice humility, and maintain enough distance from political power to speak prophetically to it. And we would do all of this not just personally but corporately. We were called to build a society that valued these things as well as reflected in leaders and laws.

Then I turned to the present. I have been asking a simple question: What happened? Why have so many voices that once challenged immoral presidents and unjust policies now defend and even applaud them? To look at this, I have been chronicling various areas in which a profound shift has taken place and explaining how it reveals the conservative evangelicalism I was raised in moving from solid Kingdom foundations of orthopraxy to shaky Empire foundations of power, violence, callousness and idolatry.

In the previous post, I argued that Christian nationalism changes the church in predictable ways. First, it encourages the nation to borrow God's authority for the empire's actions. We saw that in the way war can become wrapped in the language of divine mission, turning national victories into God's victories and military power into an instrument of God's kingdom.

But there is a second consequence, one that may be even more damaging to the church itself.

Once the church becomes closely intertwined with a political movement, it gradually abandons the call to speak prophetically to those in power. Instead of holding leaders accountable, it begins protecting them. Instead of confronting sin wherever it appears, it starts making exceptions for "our side." The result is not simply political compromise. It is moral compromise that deals a devastating blow to the public witness of the church.

I think nowhere is that shift more visible than in the evangelical movement's dramatic reversal on the question of character.

"I Didn't Move, You Did": A Musical Interlude

I collaborate with Chat GPT and Suno to put my ideas to music. I was an English major, so I do work on the lyrics, but I am not a musician, so Suno helps me out in that area. Here is a link to the song, if you care to listen: https://suno.com/s/JKyLwNpuWdwD4D42

"I've Seen The Things You Applaud"

The way I see life, it makes you so angry 

But I see what kind of things make you smile 

So I’ll stick with my side of history 

Even if it makes me an exile 

And I hear how you think I’m flawed, 

but I have seen the things you applaud, 

and it’s an Empire-style façade, 

because it doesn’t look at all like God. 

You nod when kids get ICED at school

 Like dignity is something they’re beneath 

Laugh at the nicknames and public shaming 

I guess cruelty trumps kindness on TV 

Leaders wave a Bible over words of violence 

Call war crimes “protecting liberty”

 But the man who said, “love your enemies” 

Sounds nothing like these wannabe kings 

 

The way I see life, it makes you so angry 

But I see what kind of things make you smile 

So I’ll stick with my side of history 

Even if it makes me an exile 

And I hear how you think I’m flawed, 

but I have seen the things you applaud, 

and it’s an empire style façade, 

because it doesn’t look at all like God. 

You dedicate golden statues with pious prayers 

While our bombs kill school children in Iran 

The poor get buried under mountains of debt 

While the wealthy get tax breaks from the man

They slash the bread lines, gut programs in schools 

Tell refugees their welcome has ceased 

Then quote a verse about “God blessing nations” 

Like Jesus never said we should care for the least. 

The way I see life, it makes you so angry 

But I see what kind of things make you smile 

So I’ll stick with my side of history 

Even if it makes me an exile 

And I hear how you think I’m flawed, 

but I have seen the things you applaud, 

and it’s an Empire-style façade, 

because it doesn’t look at all like God. 

You target drag queens and profanity 

While abusers boast behind white house doors 

Excuse the sins of the wealthy and strong 

The victims of Epstein are the one you ignore 

You say immigrants are poisoning our blood 

You say they’re animals, thieves, and snakes 

But every face you’ve learned to vilify 

Bears an image God Himself made.

 

The way I see life, it makes you so angry 

But I see what kind of things make you smile 

So I’ll stick with my side of history 

Even if it makes me an exile 

And I hear how you think I’m flawed, 

but I have seen the things you applaud, 

and it’s an Empire-style façade, 

because it doesn’t look at all like God.

And yes I’m flawed like you keep saying 

Surely I don’t always see things right 

But I know the fruits of fear and power 

don’t look anything like Christ. 

The way I see life, it makes you so angry 

But I see what kind of things make you smile 

So I’ll stick with my side of history 

Even if it makes me an exile 

And I hear how you think I’m flawed, 

but I have seen the things you applaud, 

and it’s an Empire-style façade, 

because it doesn’t look at all like God.