Saturday, October 11, 2025

Nationalism

(by Lorie Codispoti)

Over the years my husband has had many requests to sing This Little Child by Scott Wesley Brown. It’s an oldie, but the words still ring true. One line stands out to me as I ponder the angst I see among our nation’s citizenry … “every nation that has fallen has fallen from within.”
We continue to hear the label “christian nationalist” thrown around by a contingent known as the “left.” It's meant to be derogatory as they accuse another group known as the “right.”
Two questions: 1) Is there a definitive explanation of what christian nationalism is, because it’s apparent that we are not all working from the same definition? And, 2) Who decided that everyone should be pigeonholed into the left or right?
1. Christian nationalism is put simply by the consensus of Natasha Crain’s research (When Culture Hates You). Generally speaking to be a christian nationalist means you are advocating for public policy according to biblical values. (This does not include the problematic, fringe, extremist groups who claim to be christians & would define the term differently.)
What’s so scary about that? There’s nothing dangerous about advocating for the government to take care of its people by promoting “what is good & restrain what is evil.” (N.C.) That is not only the biblical mandate for government, but it’s what the Founding Fathers established with our Democratic Republic.
2. The symbolic labels of left wing vs. right wing originate from a political divide that started in 1789 France. Members of the French National Assembly were at odds with one another over how much authority the king should have. Their opposing political ideologies dictated their seating arrangements, with the liberal faction seating themselves on the left & the conservatives on the right.
I can’t help but remember how children would separate themselves on the playground based on whether or not you were an officer’s kid or a measly enlisted serviceman’s child. Can’t we all simply play nice together?
I recently heard former CIA agent, Andrew Bustamante summarize this whole thing in a way that made perfect sense.
“ Whether you are old or young, we're all nationalistic. We all love our country. But the thing that's driving so much of our nationalism is this fear of the other side. Not a fear of the collapse of our society, not the fear of some rising power across the ocean. But for some reason, we're more afraid of our neighbor than we are afraid of the real threats that are out there. For whatever reason, we get so distracted and so confused with our own infighting, that we don't realize that infighting is exactly what helps our adversaries. As we become more and more tribal, then we will become fed upon by our adversaries.”
In my opinion, the best example of Christian Nationalism looks a lot like it did for our founding fathers. While the left & right wings were all presently divided & dutifully accounted for, they were also able to come together to discuss their differences & yet find enough common ground to formulate the Declaration of Independence & Constitution that would serve & protect its citizens. They risked both their lives & livelihood for the good of a fledgling nation that needed to be unified if it was going to survive the onslaught of its enemies.
Jesus noted that, “every kingdom divided against itself is doomed to destruction" (Luke 11:17).
An older friend pointed out to me last week, as he reminisced about the political environment of his youth, that he can’t remember a time when the people of this nation were so divided. He lamented over the fact that he is even estranged from one sibling & barely has much of a relationship left with the other due to political divides.
Am I concerned about Christian Nationalism? Not in the way it’s defined above. What concerns me is the unwillingness to respectfully come together & dialogue enough to conclude that while we may have differing opinions, we-the-people want to see our democratic republic thrive as we advocate for “what is good” for our people.
I’m not naive enough to think that there is an easy fix to the problem of division in this nation. And, while I wish I could, I can’t say with confidence that our nation will survive this divide. But what I can say (& sing) with confidence, however, comes from another line in the song I mentioned … “Yet in the midst of this darkness, there is a hope, a light that burns. This little Child, the King of Kings, someday will return.”
And in His kingdom, all His children enjoy playing together on the playground.

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Watch The Body Grow

(by Lorie Codispoti)

One of the things I’ve been thinking about in recent days is this familiar idiom: “Cut the head off the snake & the body dies.”
Here’s the thing though; that idea doesn't apply to the kingdom of God. History confirms that when you cut the head off a christian leader, whose ministry is effectively producing fruit, the body of Christ is strengthened & christians multiply.
It was the early christian theologian, Tertullian, who said that it’s the blood of the martyrs that is the seed of the church.
The sacrifice of one christian who dies for his faith will serve as fertilizer for the soil that was prepared for a harvest of new believers. We see this example recorded in the book of Acts with the stoning of Steven, which resulted in the conversion of Paul. (We know this to be true with the deaths of many of the apostles as well.)
Church history is replete with the stories of many who were persecuted & murdered for their unwavering faith. Some of the ones whose stories we might be familiar with are John Wycliffe, John Huss, & William Tyndale. A few well known, modern day martyrs include Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jim Elliott & his four colleagues. Two of the women that stand out are Dorothy Stang & Nagham Nawzat.
It is estimated that over 900,000 christians have been murdered for their faith between 2011 - 2020. These are ordinary people serving as missionaries & advocates in hostile environments. We’ll never know their names, but God does, & their reward is great.
While peace can also contribute to growth, persecution serves to sharpen our focus as believers. Christian advocacy groups report that in most cases it is a catalyst for growth. Some have reasoned that persecution fosters solidarity as it drives believers to deepen their personal & corporate reliance on God. As we reflect on our own convictions in the wake of recent persecutions, may we be strengthened & inspired to share our faith with boldness.
Do you remember what God told the snake in Genesis 3:15? “I will put enmity between you & the woman, & between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, & you shall bruise His heel.” Not only did Christ step on our enemy’s head & crush it when He died & rose again, but He is going to return & chop satan’s head completely off. And when that happens his minions will scatter & be destroyed along with him.
Psalm 74:14 says of God… You broke the heads of leviathan in pieces, & gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Mount up the offense & don your armor, Church!
We have been commissioned to pursue the enemy, rescue the captives, & reclaim the territory that was stolen. Running away is not an option; there is no armor for our back. One day we will remove the battle armor forever, but this is not that day.
Cut the heads off believers & watch the body grow!