"In short, WE DENY any affiliation with what is presently characterized as "NAR" in many circles of both Christian and secular press. We also believe that reports of an alleged conspiratorial, worldwide, dangerous "NAR" movement are highly exaggerated and misleading. As for "Christian nationalism," WE RECOGNIZE that for some, this simply refers to a healthy form of Christian patriotism, of loving God and loving one's country. In that sense, the term is benign. WE ALSO RECOGNIZE that some media outlets put the worst construction on our words, take us out of context, falsely associate us with dangerous, fringe groups, and unfairly malign us. For those who genuinely want to separate fact from fiction, we make these clarifying statements." - Dr. Michael Brown and Joseph Mattera
Let's first deal with the NAR strawman arguments made. No one is saying the NAR is conspiratorial. Just the opposite. They are transparent in their actions to take over culture. They have written books about it. They have falsely prophesied about it. They are hardly operating stealthily. They are proud about it. They openly brag when the latest faux-Christian movie has success. They gushed when Mike Johnson was recently named Speaker of the House. There is nothing secret about the NAR beloved. It is far from an exaggeration to say this move is a cancer on the body of Christ and extremely dangerous. As for Christian nationalism let me be clear. There is no "benign" rendering of this term. Like it or not, it now refers to skinheads, nazis, antisemites, and MAGA folks. Read the key verse beloved because it is the very first commandment. Thou shall have no other god before me. Not money, fame, power, lust, or even patriotism. These are idols we place before God. The blaming of the media here is quite a tell as well. We saw this recently when snowflake Jonathan Con cried that Rolling Stone had taken him out of context when they did no such thing. They quoted him. Brown and Mattera can pretend to be clarifying this all they want but it does not change reality. When the fringiest of hate groups all rally around you, then you are affiliated with them whether you like it or not. The lunatic criminals who assaulted police offices while trying to stop democracy on January 6th stopped after defecating in the well of the senate and beating cops senseless to pray and give thanks to Jesus. These are facts Dr. Brown. You can pretend you had nothing to do with them, but they sure think they have something to do with you. We are citizens of heaven and God does not allow dual citizenship. Just read the key verse again if confused about that.
"WE RECOGNIZE that America has a rich Christian heritage, despite its many historic failings, and that to the extent we have honored that heritage, the nation has been blessed. And we applaud those who encourage other Americans to pattern their lives after Christian principles that have helped bring God's favor to our nation through the generations. In addition, WE BELIEVE that nationalism is a biblical concept in the sense of nations having defined borders and identities, as mentioned by Paul in Acts 17 and by Moses in Deuteronomy 32. God sets national borders and governments and authority spheres for a purpose. WE ALSO BELIEVE in the positive value of respecting national borders and national authority, in contrast with an international one-world government." - Dr. Michael Brown and Joseph Mattera
Here we come to the flawed historical rewrite that the NAR engages in. Odd for two guys swearing to you they are not NAR. The notion proffered here is false. Were there Christians when this country was founded? Of course so. There were also atheists who signed the Declaration of Independence. Most were deists, who did not agree that Christ was the son of God. Just check out the Jefferson Bible, where Founding Father Thomas Jefferson removed all references to the deity of Jesus as well as His miracles. The NAR tale says that when we "honored" Christianity, America was blessed but when exactly did we do that? When we rebelled against England despite the prohibitions in Romans 13? Some NAR adherents will go further back to the Pilgrims because admittedly they were more Christian. Well until they slaughtered the indigenous people who had helped them survive and steal their land. The truth is this country has done a lot of good and a lot of bad, which Brown and Mattera pay lip service to here. The problem is the NAR story pretends that we were really good and Christian right up until modern days when the evil Democrats plotted to move our culture away from God. Absolute nonsense. Our culture was never with God to begin with. Individual people were certainly but the entire nation? This is just more flawed NAR theology, being espoused by two guys trying to convince you they are not NAR. Right. They give up the game here though in admitting that their goal is to encourage other people to pattern their lives after Christian principles! Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, Jews? Doesn't matter. What they all need is the gospel but what the NAR wants to give them is encouragement to behave better. What will change eternally? Absolutely nothing. It is interesting here that they choose to insert some Republican Party talking points about immigration. I can't imagine standing before Christ explaining why you hated some people because God once divided the people by borders. It is just a disingenuous argument devoid of the spirit of Christ. It is as if dominionists such as Brown and Mattera forget that there were people living on this continent when it was "discovered." Didn't God divide their land with borders just like everyone else? Why was it ok to displace, murder and then abuse them for centuries? That is bad enough but to then pretend hating Hispanic people is because of Deuteronomy is just beyond the pale.
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