Gnosticism — it’s a heresy which some of the earliest Christians anathematized and fought against. But since the 19th century, it has secretly and subtly increased its popularity amongst Christian, especially evangelical, circles.
The earliest Gnostics essentially believed that all of the physical world is evil and painful. So, one of their goals in life was to escape the world. Similarly, some evangelicals believe that Christians should not try to “fix” the world through political means since the world is so evil. Instead of engaging in political action, Christians should only focus on winning souls to Christ since the world is (temporarily) controlled by the devil, whereas heaven is controlled by God in their minds.
It’s true that getting into heaven is more important than winning an election. But they aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, orienting the political and social order toward God may lead more souls to Christ.
That’s why some Christians are advocating for a public faith — one that isn’t shy to mix theological conservatism with political conservatism.
On "Zero Hour," Stephen Wolfe, the author of "The Case for Christian Nationalism" and graduate from Louisiana State University with a PhD in political philosophy, sat down with James Poulos to discuss the proper role of faith in politics today.
Wolfe criticizes evangelicals for caving to the left instead of trying to appeal to nominal Christians — many of whom are white, conservative Trump supporters; only attend church twice a year; but most importantly, can be convinced to be active members of a Christian church.
A self-described “Christian nationalist,” he argues that “in the end, Christian nationalism [is] not about taking America back for God.”
“There are aspects of that,” he adds, “but it's ultimately [about] want[ing] a nation where people are encouraged culturally to worship God ... it's not about taking dominion for dominion's sake.”
As a Christian nationalist, Wolfe believes this can be achieved partly through political means. For Wolfe, governments should pass laws which align with the Bible and orient its citizens toward Christianity.
But being a Christian nationalist doesn't just mean that the national governments should legislate everything. Sometimes, maybe even most of the time, the federal government gets it wrong. So, since the power of state governments “is not delegated from the president or or U.S. Congress,” Wolfe argues that state governments should “resist things that are unjust at the federal level.”
To hear more of what Stephen Wolfe had to say about Christian nationalism, evangelicalism, the MAGA movement, and more, watch the full episode of "Zero Hour" with James Poulos.
America was convinced tech would complete our mastery of the world. Instead, we got catastrophe — constant crises from politics and the economy down to the spiritual fiber of our being. Time’s up for the era we grew up in. How do we pick ourselves up and begin again? To find out, visionary author and media theorist James Poulos cracks open the minds — and hearts — of today’s top figures in politics, tech, ideas, and culture on "Zero Hour" on BlazeTV.
