Misty D. Watson

I sat here Tuesday night literally clutching my pearls. 

Disbelief spread over me as more and more battleground states turned red. 

Here we go again. 

I went to bed in a state of freeze, and though I’m going through the motions – work, playing chauffeur to my daughter, supporting her, buying groceries, cleaning my kitchen – five days later, I still feel the same way. 

Even the words aren’t flowing easily.

It’s not just the fear of the unknown: How high will the price of good rise with tariffs in place? What will be the results of foreign policy? Will my teen daughter have any autonomy left by the time she’s a grown woman? Will marginalized groups become even more marginalized? 

Will Christian nationalism creep its way further into the government? 

All the progress of the last century… gone… just like that? 

People are becoming more brazen. 

Just this week racists texts were sent to Black Americans stating they have been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation,” while a demonstration at Texas State’s campus displayed signs including “women are property,” “types of property: women, slaves, animals, cars, land, etc.” and “homo sex is sin.” The demonstration was done by street preachers, not anyone associated with the college, according to news reports. Preachers? PREACHERS? 

Isolated incidents? Or is this what the next few years are going to be like? 

I had already been seeing an influx of Confederate flags and “F*ck Biden” flags flying from the back of pickup trucks.

Each incident feels like an ominous glimpse into a possible future. From the rise of hateful rhetoric to the emboldening of those who openly embrace regressive ideologies, it feels like these aren’t isolated moments but signs of a larger shift.

The effects of Christian nationalism continue to grow exponentially. 

Of course, I realize our country has never hidden its hate for others and that you cannot reason with emotional people…. 

But when has that ever kept me quiet?

I think a lot of our current issues stem from this false doctrine that there’s only one correct path to reach our final destination. And Christian nationalism dictates that all people must be cattle prodded onto that same path, whether they like it or not. 

In Matthew 25, it was Jesus who planned to divide people as the shepherd divides his sheep (right) from the goats (wrong), and not the American government (verse 32). 

In this passage, Jesus goes on to remind us that this division will happen based on the act of feeding those who hunger, giving a drink to those who were thirsty, taking in a stranger in need, clothing the naked, visiting those who are sick and those in prison – because “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me” (verses 35- 40). 

OK. There are two categories: sheep/right and goats/wrong. Nothing in between. No “but what if…” stipulations. 

We find ourselves with a clearly laid out plan of action based on this passage. We are to make sure people have access to clean water, food and clothing. We are to take in strangers in need, and we are to visit those who are ill and criminals. That’s how we get sorted as a sheep and placed on Jesus’ right hand and how we hear the phrase “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (verse 34). 

[If you really want to dig into this further, you can also visit Isaiah 58. I find comfort in the book of Isaiah because there are so many parallels to what we’re facing in today’s society.]

And yes, we know salvation is ultimately not about our works but our faith. Hebrews 11, The Faith Chapter, chronicles example after example of how faith moved people to take action. Faith and love are both action verbs. 

Now, let’s take this a step further. 

Ezekiel warns us “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fulness of food and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy” (verse 49 in the NKJV). The NIV reads “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” 

The real reason Sodom was destroyed – not the Sunday school propaganda answer so many were taught – is that the residents were prideful, selfish and lacked compassion for others. A select few had plenty and didn’t help those without. That is the actual abomination before God (verse 50). 

Sodom’s downfall was not what happened in private but a public system that failed to care for the most vulnerable. 

Why, then, is Christian nationalism determined to stop social services that help those who are poor? Why, then, are persons of color and those from other countries facing such severe treatment? Why, then, are there discussions of laws that control people’s actions rather than laws designed to help others?

Because Christian nationalism is a veil, a fallacy, manipulation. It is designed to give you a sense of indignation, to make you think you’re on the path to righteousness, to deceive you into believing its principles will further God’s kingdom. 

Its real goal is to further white supremacy, the patriarchy, authoritarianism, xenophobia and the rights of a few over the rights of the masses. 

The love and humility central to Christianity are replaced by a quest for dominance. Support systems are dismantled and power becomes more important than empathy. 

With Christian nationalism, “faith” becomes the cloak of oppression.

The Bible does not teach anything that aligns with the ideologies found in Christian nationalism.

I am genuinely concerned about the rise in Christian nationalism in America. We have freedom of religion and there is a strong separation of church and state – and it should stay that way. Not everyone believes in God, nor should they have to. Not everyone believes in the same interpretation of God, nor should they have to. 

God gives us personal autonomy. Every. Day. We get to make the choices we want to make for ourselves. It’s a beautiful gift.

And Christian nationalism aims to take it away. 

True Christianity is guided by love. 

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Christian nationalism is guided by pride. Pride – the original sin. (Isaiah 14:12-14) 

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). 

It feels like that’s where we’re all headed – toward destruction. 

And it’s terrifying. 

In a society determined to place pride and division at the forefront, I choose the only radical act of resistance I have: 

Love.