Gnosticism is a heretical teaching that some early Christians hated and fought, but since the 19th century it has quietly and subtly grown in popularity among Christians, especially evangelicals.
Early Gnostics believed that the material world was all evil and full of pain; therefore, one of their goals in life was to escape it. Similarly, some evangelicals believe that the world is so evil that Christians should not try to “fix” it by political means. Instead of engaging in political action, Christians should focus solely on winning souls to Christ, because in their minds, heaven is ruled by God, whereas the world is (temporarily) ruled by the devil.
It is true that getting to heaven is more important than winning an election, but the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, turning the political and social order toward God may lead more souls to Christ.
That is why some Christians advocate a public faith that does not hesitate to mix theological and political conservatism.
In “Zero Hour,” Stephen Wolf, author of “The Case for Christian Nationalism” and holder of a PhD in political philosophy from Louisiana State University, James Poulos To discuss the appropriate role of faith in politics today.
Wolf criticizes evangelicals for caving to the left instead of appealing to nominal Christians, many of whom are white, conservative Trump supporters who attend church only twice a year but, most importantly, can be persuaded to become active members of Christian churches.
He calls himself a “Christian nationalist” and says, “In the end, Christian nationalism is [is] It’s not about taking America back for God.”
“That’s one aspect of it,” he added. “But ultimately, [about] want[ing] A country where people are culturally encouraged to worship God…it’s not about acquiring dominion for dominion’s sake.”
Wolf, a Christian nationalist, believes this can be achieved partly through political means: For him, the government should make laws that are in line with the Bible and orient its citizens to Christianity.
But being a Christian nationalist doesn’t mean the federal government should make all the laws. Sometimes, perhaps most of the time, the federal government makes mistakes. Therefore, Wolf argues, state governments should “resist injustice at the federal level” because state governments’ powers “are not delegated by the President or the U.S. Congress.”
To hear more from Stephen Wolf on Christian nationalism, evangelicalism, the MAGA movement, and more, All Episodes He co-starred in “Zero Hour” with James Poulos.
America was convinced that technology would rule the world. But in reality, we have been hit by a catastrophe of perpetual crisis, from politics and economics to the spiritual foundations of our existence. The era we grew up in has come to an end. How do we recover and start again? To find the answer, visionary author and media theorist James Poulos examines the minds and hearts of today’s top people in politics, technology, ideas, and culture:Zero Hour” on Blaze TV.
