OPINION:
Grifters and con artists are notorious for utilizing some ruse to deflect their unsuspecting victim’s attention away from the swindle being conducted right in front of them. This same type of old trick, dating back at least to the days of Karl Marx, is also often utilized in carefully planned propaganda schemes. The idea is to accuse often innocent individuals or groups of bad acts so as to create confusion and public ill will against them while all the time the instigators of the false accusations are actually doing the very same things they are blaming on their opponent.
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As this scenario applies to our current situation in America, what we see is the far left employing this type of rhetoric in seeking to draw attention away from their subversive socialist agenda by painting conservatives and those also who identify as Christians as subversive enemies of democracy. A case in point is the frequently occurring and current use of the term “Christian Nationalist” as a derogatory term in an effort to bring any Christ-follower who would dare oppose them into disrepute.
To be completely honest, these subversive tactics have been somewhat successful.
By painting conservatives, and particularly Christians, in a negative light, there are two separate deleterious effects. The first is perhaps the most obvious in that negative attacks such as we are seeing do, in reality, impact how the general culture views Christianity and conservatives as a whole. The idea being, in this case, if you tell a story long enough and loud enough, even if it is not true, someone is going to believe the tale. Ultimately, even the folks fabricating the facade may begin to believe the labeling though it doesn’t even get within speaking distance of truthfulness.
However, there is a second issue that could be more troubling than the first. A greater problem arises when the negativity begins to take its toll on the target, again in this case conservatives and Christians, and thereby begins to drive them “underground.” This effect can be seen within the American church as it has to some degree vaporized like a ghost in the face of the onslaught of derision. Either way, the end result is that the radical left is emboldened, and conservative Christianity and the American church are left cowering in the corner wearing the proverbial dunce cap.
If perception is indeed reality, then conservative Christians are presently on the losing side of this propaganda war because we have allowed demonic influences to define the terms. Just like the alphabet sex group has usurped God’s rainbow as their symbol, the radical left has stuck a label on all of Christianity that has been manipulated to meet their agenda, and we are standing by and allowing them to do so.
Recently, CBN ran a story entitled “Christian Nationalism: Rejecting the Left’s Misleading Narrative.” That article referenced a new Public Religion Research Institute poll which showed that “roughly three in ten Americans qualify as Christian Nationalist adherents or sympathizers.”
The original survey based this designation on whether an individual believes the following: “that the government should declare America a Christian Nation; laws should be based on Christian values; that we will not have a country anymore if America moves away from our Christian foundations; being Christian is an important part of being truly American and that God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.”
Near this same time Politico Report Heidi Przybyla concocted a much broader definition of a Christian Nationalist when she proclaimed that “They believe that our rights as Americans, as all human beings don’t come from any earthly authority. They don’t come from Congress. They don’t come from the Supreme Court. They come from God.”
While most Christians do not fit neatly into the Public Religion Research paradigm of Christian Nationalism, if Ms. Przybyla’s concept is the correct one, then that would certainly include the totality of America’s founding fathers, which in truth were not even all Christians. Should you doubt that reality, then you, like many on the left including Ms. Przybyla, have not read The Declaration of Independence or the preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
It is easy to see that by controlling and manipulating the culturally approved definition of Christian Nationalism, the radical left creates confusion at a minimum and public disdain and distrust of Christianity and conservatism at its worst.
Russ Vought, the president of the Center for Renewing America, an organization devoted to restoring and promoting Judeo-Christian principles, has this to say about this controversial terminology: “Their definition of Christian Nationalism is something that obviously we reject, I mean, they’re putting this in a bucket that is un-American. We’re not talking about theocracy.”
Indeed, a recent Pew Research study showed “that less than one percent of White Evangelical Protestants believe Christians should get special rights. And of those who believe that the U.S. should be a Christian Nation, only 24% think the federal government should advocate Christian religious values.” That same Pew Research study also revealed that 52% of Christians believe the government should advocate for moral values that are shared by people of many faiths.
At Southern Evangelical Seminary we believe in the natural law of God that should be written on the hearts of every man, woman, and child, and particularly on the hearts of the citizenry of the United States. This “God Line” should serve as a fulcrum for the decisions of humanity, and it is the strain of thinking and acting that has held this country together for lo these many years. And it is this “God Line” that the atheistic socialist group would love to erase from the collective memory of our nation. Realistically speaking, they are doing quite well with their project to this point. However, though we seek a return to the basic morality of God and to principled Christian living and governance for America, we do not seek the power that the left covets to such a great degree. In the final analysis, it is this power that they want so that they can force their agenda on us as a less than “elite” class.
Our hope at SES, as well as that of other true Christ followers, lies in a much greater concept than even that which America could ever afford. It is simply our hope that our voice of reason and reality can have equal footing in the increasing din of the town square. We know that the Word of God will ultimately prevail, but our present concern is that the America that we love and that has existed for almost 250 years will continue to exist. To that end, we will be faithful citizens.
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After a successful career as a lawyer and judge, Judge Phil Ginn retired as the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the 24th Judicial District in North Carolina. Throughout his 22-year judicial career, he had the privilege of holding court in almost 50% of the county seats in North Carolina. Currently, Judge Ginn serves as the president of Southern Evangelical Seminary (ses.edu) and is a regular contributor to Christianity.com and The Washington Times. Judge Ginn has also been featured on Fox News, CBN, Newsmax, Decision Magazine, The Christian Post, Townhall, and many others.
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