What serves as a powerful antidote to Christian nationalism from a libertarian and theological viewpoint? At FreedomFest 2023, the Libertarian Christian Institute presented “The Liberty Antidote to Christian Nationalism,” a breakout session moderated by Jacob Winograd featuring panelists Dr. Norman Horn, Ryan McMaken, Kerry Baldwin, and a video contribution from Alex Bernardo.
Drawing from Reformed, Catholic, and Protestant perspectives, the panel critiqued Christian nationalism as a collectivist activist movement lacking biblical depth, often advocating coercive laws and a “Christian Prince” to enforce morality—ideas they contrasted with limited civil governance focused solely on aggression, not non-aggressive sins like blasphemy. Speakers distinguished nationalism from patriotism, emphasized Christian identity in Christ over national ties, rejected Old Testament theocracy as a modern blueprint, and warned against merging church and state power, urging better theology to counter its rise.
Summary – The Liberty Antidote to Christian Nationalism
During this breakout session from Freedom Fest 2023, our panelists aim to provide an antidote to the growing influence of Christian nationalism by presenting comprehensive theological and libertarian perspectives. Drawing from Reformed, Catholic, and Protestant theological viewpoints, Jacob Winograd moderates the panel comprised of Dr. Norman Horn, Ryan McMaken, and Kerry Baldwin, with a special video contribution from Alex Bernardo.
Throughout the session, the panel explores the various definitions and ambiguities surrounding Christian nationalism, examining different opinions ranging from proud embrace to outright dismissal of the term. They critique the Christian nationalist program as an activist movement masquerading as a philosophy and question its compatibility with principles of civil justice. Also discussed are nationalism and patriotism and the identity Christians have in Christ. The panelists challenge the idea of using legal coercion to enforce nonaggressive immorality and caution against viewing the Old Testament theocracy as a political blueprint for modern governance.
This panel discussion focuses on Christian nationalism and offers theological and libertarian perspectives as an “antidote” to its growing influence.
Here’s a breakdown of the key points from the Antidote to Christian Nationalism from each speaker:
Alex Bernardo (3:34–11:58) critiques Stephen Wolfe’s book, The Case for Christian Nationalism, highlighting its lack of biblical interpretation (4:40), its misinterpretation of early Genesis (5:10), and its advocacy for coercive Christian laws (6:00) enforced by a “Christian Prince” (7:44) with absolute power. He argues that Wolfe’s vision is a return to medieval absolutism (8:14) and an open call for violent revolution (9:39), contrary to Christian teachings on power and non-violence.
Kerry Baldwin (12:18–23:03) addresses the concept of nationalism versus patriotism (13:08), asserting that nationalism is a collectivist ideology that sacrifices individual principles for the collective (14:31). She argues that Christian identity is found in Christ (15:15), not in cultural ties. Baldwin emphasizes that the role of civil governance (17:02) is strictly limited to addressing aggression, not enforcing non-aggressive immorality like blasphemy. She also dismisses the idea of using the Old Testament theocracy (19:51) as a blueprint for modern governance, as it was specifically for a particular time and people, and its purpose was fulfilled by Christ.
Ryan McMaken (23:06–33:25) discusses Catholic nationalism, particularly integralism (27:07), which advocates for a government that explicitly promotes Catholic Christianity and suppresses other faiths. He highlights that historically, there is little support for such a merger of religious and civil authorities in the early church fathers (28:24) and that this idea is a relatively new development (28:17) that emerged with the nation-state. McMaken concludes that true Catholic identity transcends national boundaries, suggesting a Catholic in Nigeria has more in common with another Catholic than with an atheist fellow citizen (31:51).
Norman Horn (33:29–40:10) addresses the definitional confusion around Christian nationalism, from those who proudly embrace it to those who dismiss it. He characterizes the Christian nationalist program as an activist movement masquerading as a philosophy (35:10) with little intellectual depth. He warns against the “Mott and Bailey approach” (37:43) used by Christian nationalists to advance indefensible positions and then retreat to easily defensible ones. Horn stresses that Christian nationalism is an “innovative theology” (39:02) and encourages Christians to combat it with better theology and education (39:22), returning to the core principles of their faith rather than seeking dominion through force.
