Paul D. Miller untangles the confusion around Christian Nationalism

The Long Game

Paul D. Miller is currently a professor of global politics and security at Georgetown University, and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He worked at the National Security Council under Presidents Bush and Obama, and was a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army prior to that.

Miller's book is "The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism."

There are all kinds of books out there on Christian nationalism. But what I like about Paul is that he's coming to this topic as someone who has spent most of his life as a conservative Christian. He's making a very robust case for why Christian nationalism is a bad idea, but he's doing so, as he writes in his book, "because of my patriotism and my Christian faith, not despite them."

And because Miller comes from inside evangelical Christianity, he's careful to avoid painting with too broad a brush. He doesn't accuse any Christian involved in political activism of pushing Christian nationalism. And he also doesn't say that someone who supports Christian nationalism, or who believes that America is a Christian nation, is a fascist, an authoritarian, or a theocrat who wants the country to be governed by the 10 commandments.

At the same time, Miller is quite clear in his book that nationalism usually leads to authoritarianism. He takes on nationalism first, and engages in this book with the arguments of the chief proponents of nationalism, such as R.R. Reno and Yoram Hazony. And only after doing that does Miller move on to addressing the beliefs of Christian nationalists.

"Patriotism—an affectionate, open gratitude for the blessings of our political life here—is a virtue, which is why is it so important to distinguish it from the vice of nationalism," Miller writes. "But America is not a chosen nation, it is not the 'nation whose God is the Lord,' (Psalm 33:12) and Americans are not the 'people who are called by my name,' of 2 Chronicles 7:14. All Christians should join in that affirmation."

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