Bonus Episode: What Is Christian Nationalism? And Why Do White Christians Love It So Much‪?‬ Shake the Dust

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.ktfpress.com

On today’s episode, Jonathan and Sy talk Christian Nationalism. They cover:
-        What Christian Nationalism is exactly
-        Why they personally reject it
-        Why it’s so hard for White Christians to let go of the idea that the US is a Christian nation
-        Why White Christians need to confess, repent of, and oppose Christian nationalism, rather than merely stating that it’s wrong or minimizing its importance
Mentioned in the Episode
-        Jonathan’s book, Twelve Lies That Hold America Captive
-        Dr. Anthea Butler’s article on why White evangelicals need to own Christian nationalism
-        The Belhar Confession from South Africa
Credits
-        Follow KTF Press on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Subscribe to get our newsletter and bonus episodes at KTFPress.com
-        Follow host Jonathan Walton on Facebook Instagram, and Threads
-        Follow host Sy Hoekstra on Mastodon
-        Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra – listen to the whole song on Spotify
-        Our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess – follow her and see her other work on Instagram
-        Production and editing by Sy Hoekstra
-        Transcript by Joyce Ambale and Sy Hoekstra
Introduction
[An acoustic guitar softly plays six notes, the first three ascending and the last three descending – F#, B, F#, E, D#, B – with a keyboard pod playing the note B in the background… both fade out as Jonathan Walton says “This is a KTF Press podcast.”]
Sy Hoekstra: White Christians in our democracy today have power and we want to know what to do with that power. And the answer has to be, “Oh, we have to use it to enact what Jesus would enact.” It is trying to apply teachings from a person who was occupied, who was in no position of power, and who was not interested in establishing a government on Earth…
Jonathan Walton: [Laughs]. Yes, that’s true.
Sy Hoekstra: …to the question of how you establish a government on Earth [laughs].
Jonathan Walton: Yes.
[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: “I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you’re building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]
Sy Hoekstra: Welcome to Shake the Dust, leaving colonized faith for the kingdom of God. I'm Sy Hoekstra.
Jonathan Walton: And I'm Jonathan Walton. Today, we're going to be talking about Christian nationalism. What it is exactly, why it's much closer to what the average White American Christian believes than you might think, and some others might think, and why rejecting it is mostly an excuse not to engage in some deeper and very necessary self-reflection about the church's political witness in America.
Sy Hoekstra: Just some small things like that, that's what we're talking about. Before we get to that, I just wanted to encourage everyone, as we've been doing all these bonus episodes, to go to Apple or Spotify and give this show a five-star rating. It really helps us as we try and spread the word about the show when people look at it and see that other people find it valuable, and we would really, really appreciate it. We've gotten some, a few more of these ratings as we've been asking you all to do it, and we would just please encourage anyone who hasn't done it to keep going. It's a really easy and free way to support what we do at KTF Press helping people leave the idols of the White American church to follow Jesus, and we very much appreciate it.
If you're on Apple, if you could give us a written review as well, those are so encouraging to us and they give other people a great kind of flavor of what the show is about from the perspective of readers. So Apple or Spotify, give us a five-star rating,