Opinion Piece 

8th November
It looks as though the political fortunes of politicians who cynically exploit so called “Christian” Nationalism are waning both in the UK and in the United States. (That said the black shirt wearing balaclava wearing bullies on the streets are a small but forceful and highly vocal presence).

But it is worth reflecting on the resilience of differing Christian Denominations and groupings to this phenomena.

In General, the mainstream state or international churches, (The C of E, other national churches and the Catholic Church have been fairly clear that “Christian’ Nationalism is not really Christian at all. It might be worth noting that Orthodoxy has sometimes been prone to assimilation with Nationalism).

The free church and more evangelical groups have generally been more susceptible to either indifference, or infiltration, with the more whacky charismatic end of the spectrum is apparently most likely to embrace the theological eccentricities that correlate to the Christian Nationalist world view.

In the established free church group, The Baptist Union of Great Britain has had very little to say from the top of the organisation, even though they have particular expertise within their ranks. They have been for the most part strangely silent, even by comparison with other Free Churches. (Even given the lack of media coverage they are able to attract.)    

But we might do well to ask ourselves why it has been the Catholic Church that has spoken most clearly, consistently and Biblically into the current turbulent world scene.

Whilst the Established Protestant Churches generally have something approaching Catholic Social and Ethical teaching, both House Churches and Pentecostal and Charismatic Protestant Groupings and established free churches lack an established theological maturity and depth of reflection that enables them to resist the pull of the these secular manipulators of the Christian Faith, and to speak out clearly against it. If Church History is measured in Millennia, it is perhaps not surprising that their theological frameworks are comparatively adolescent and lack a coherent and fully worked out Social and Ethical Teaching.

This is partly due to their fragmentary and autonomous nature which is the product of their ecclesiology.

But there have been not a few moments, when people in these groupings might reasonably respond to the silence from their national “denominational” leaders in this historical chapter and ask, “What on earth are they there for, if they won’t speak out, do they serve any relevant purpose. We might find ourselves asking if a Church grouping can find nothing to say about such brazen twisting of the Christian message into hatred, are they fit for purpose or have they lost their way entirely?