Deconstructing God as king

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on August 30, 2024.

As Donald Trump criticizes Kamala Harris for supposedly “turning Black,” laughing too expressively or creating AI-generated crowds, his poll numbers are slipping. Therefore, many of his political advisers are urging him to focus on policies. One of the most common statements from conservative pundits over the last few weeks is that if Trump would focus on policies, he would win because most Americans agree with conservatives on policies.

But unfortunately for Republicans, that’s simply not the case anymore since the Christian nationalism embedded in Project 2025 would spell the end of our democracy.

Both sides claim to be campaigning for truth and justice, yet we have radically different views on how to define what’s fair and what’s right. As previous BNG reporting has shown, both sides claim they are defending democracy. Yet given what we’ve witnessed from the Christian nationalists in recent years, how we understand the meaning of democracy matters urgently.

As David Gushee wrote earlier this week, “No specific policy issue contested within a democracy is as important as whether the democracy itself survives.”

Christ is king?

Gushee concluded his piece by saying: “Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God. No country is that kingdom. No human community deserves ultimate loyalty.”

Of course, Gushee is correct about the kingdom, countries and community. But one of the problems in our current discourse is that the idea of Jesus being king is one of the most foundational arguments of Christian nationalists. In fact, the Christian nationalist organization Right Response Ministries has named their 2025 Conference, “Christ is King: How to Defeat Trashworld.”

“One of the problems in our current discourse is that the idea of Jesus being king is one of the most foundational arguments of Christian nationalists.”

Like Jesus’ original disciples, today’s Christian nationalists tap into the idea of Jesus reigning over the world by assuming Jesus wants them to be in positions of power and authority. This is what the Seven Mountains Mandate of the New Apostolic Reformation is all about. And it’s in the non-charismatic theologies of Christian nationalism as well.

Strategies for responding to Christian nationalists

One of the struggles we have in responding to Christian nationalists is figuring out what line of reasoning to take up with them. Because Christian nationalists are convinced they’re basing their belief on Jesus and the Bible, one common approach among conservative and moderate evangelicals is to argue with them on the basis of Scripture by providing additional verses or alternative interpretations. But this approach tends to devolve into “Verse Wars” that go back and forth without accomplishing anything.

Another approach many moderates and progressives take is to redefine “kingship” by showing how the Hebrew prophets and Jesus himself subverted the assumptions of empire by locating God on the underside of power in and among the oppressed. The benefit of this approach is that you can continue to affirm Jesus as king and the Bible as the king’s revelation.

In my conversations with conservatives who are not Christian nationalists, this approach tends to work well and may prove effective in exiling Christian nationalists from gaining momentum. But it still feels uncomfortable to use words like “king” and “reign” while thinking of definitions that are completely subverted from their popular usage because those words trigger within the hearers’ feelings of supremacy.

A third approach is to live in relationship with them and hope your long-term friendship may help them wonder if not all liberals are being possessed or controlled by demons. To be sure, living within and among people in healthy relationships can help soften their heart to “the other.” But given what Project 2025 has in store for our country, we can’t beat around the bush until 2050 while these policies get enacted.

A fourth strategy is to expose Christian nationalists as really weird extremists. As I wrote in my piece on the New Apostolic Reformation, these are people who once climbed Mount Everest and stabbed the snow while worshipping because they thought there was an invisible ice castle that was home to an invisible queen and dragon who were controlling the 10/40 Window. It’s an entertaining story, for sure. And it’s quite effective for convincing conservatives who are not Christian nationalists of how disconnected from reality many of these people are.

But unfortunately, the underlying theology still remains present even among most seemingly normal evangelicals — the ideas that Jesus is king and the Bible is the king’s inerrant decree for the roles of men and women.

Continue reading at Baptist News Global.