Friends,

In his Daily Meditations page my friend and colleague, Matthew Fox quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heshel who offers much to think about regarding Christian Nationalism.

Let there be an end to the separation of church and God, of sacrament and callousness, of religion and justice, of prayer and compassion….Prayer must never be a citadel for selfish concerns, but rather a place for deepening concerns over other people’s plight….Prayer is meaningless unless it…seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. 

— Joseph Kilikevice

In yesterday’s DM, I shared the very disturbing news about young MAGA followers who declared “Christian nationalism as a good alternative” to American democracy.  Actually, there is nothing “Christian” in the authentic sense of that word about so-called “Christian nationalism.”  Selling hatred is not in any way what Jesus was about. 

It is true that Christian history has a lot to apologize for when empires (Spanish, Portuguese, English, American) ravaged indigenous cultures and religions around the globe often in the name of Christ and sometimes inspired to do so by the papal “Bulls of Discovery” (now rescinded and apologized for by Pope Francis).  Or the shameful church endorsement of slavery over the centuries.

“Christian nationalism” is an extension of such opprobrious and racist and hate-filled ideologies.  Many so-called Christian churches in Hitler’s time surrendered Christ’s teachings for his vision of a Third Reich.  This reality is what Lutheran theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was standing up to after all and paid the ultimate price for resisting.

Just recently I discovered a talk by Rabbi Abraham Heschel given to a gathering of 2000 Roman Catholics at a national liturgy conference held in Milwaukee in 1969.*  In his talk, Heschel brought up a fact about the Auschwitz death camps. He said: It is with shame and anguish that I recall that it was possible for a Roman catholic church adjoining the extermination camp in Auschwitz to offer communion to the officers of the camp, to people who day after day drove thousands of people to be killed in the gas-chambers.

Let there be an end to the separation of church and God, of sacrament and callousness, of religion and justice, of prayer and compassion….Prayer must never be a citadel for selfish concerns, but rather a place for deepening concerns over other people’s plight….Prayer is meaningless unless it…seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. 

What he spoke about in 1969 at a large Roman Catholic gathering and which remembered the dark times of Nazis dominance and religion’s failures to resist, apply to our dark times as well.  Christian nationalism is not Christ, it is antichrist.

Speaking of a healthy Christianity and a Real Jesus, I am appearing in a dialog with Steve Dinan of the Shift Network on Saturday to discuss the mysticism of the Real Jesus and our own.  A mysticism and love of life that gives birth to the prophet (or spiritual warrior) in us all. 

What is this thing called “Christianity” that is the opposite of this thing called “Christian nationalism”?  What are the teachings of Jesus that support a deeper spiritual awakening and potential collective shift, reminding us of the value in saying “yes” to life as we embrace our inner mystic, prophet, and sacred calling to nurture and express the life-giving qualities of our humanity — compassion, wisdom, equality, and joy? 

Our understanding of Jesus has often been distorted by overemphasizing dogma and underemphasizing experience.  Mysticism is the experiential side of healthy religion that leads to a Yes for existence and love and truth and justice.  The conversation is free of charge and you can Register here to reserve your spot.

Read the full text of “Christian Nationalism” — and Its Opposite here.