Christianity has suffered since its infancy. Stephen was the first Christian martyr, and soon Apostle James was put to the sword by Herod’s orders. Imprisonments, beatings, and false accusations are described in the Book of Acts, New Testament epistles, and secular history.
The Roman authorities soon began mass efforts to stifle and end this new “Nazarene sect” (Acts 24:5 NIV). During Nero’s reign (AD 5468), Apostle Paul was accused, tried, and taken to Rome in chains. Secular history says he and the Apostle Peter were put to death.
Apostle John was exiled to Patmos during Domitian’s reign (AD 81-96). This was a time when Christians were brutally murdered, used as sport for hungry lions in the coliseum, and burned alive.
All those persecutions did not end Christianity; rather, it spread like wildfire in dry stubble. Historians have written, “The blood of the martyrs irrigated the growth of Christianity.”
But something on the horizon was a greater threat than all the persecutions.
Constantine (c. AD 272—May 22, AD 337) won many battles. He had one more major enemy he had to defeat to solidify his claim of being Emperor of the Roman Empire. Maxentius had proclaimed himself Emperor and was in Rome with his army (Alfred E. Knight, A Concise History of the Church, London: C. Morrish, 1888, p 69).
Constantine had a vision—perhaps a hallucination or vivid dream. A glittering cross appeared in the sky, inscribed with the words, “In hoc signo vinces,” meaning, “In this sign overcome” (Ibid.).
He dreamed that Christ stood beside him and told him to make a banner in the form of a cross, which was to be carried before the army in place of the Roman Standard (Ibid.).
According to the Knight history, “The sight of the banner animated his [Constantine’s] soldiers and inspired them with that reckless courage which usually accompanies a superstitious zeal. The armies met—a bloody engagement ensued—and Constantine was victorious” (Knight, p. 70).
Although he had a sordid history, Constantine was welcomed by leaders of the church. He was invited to attend their meetings, participate in discussions, and make decisions. “Nor was this intrusion resented by Christians generally;” Knight tells us, “they looked upon it as an auspicious and happy omen; and instead of rebuking the emperor for his meddling, they welcomed him as the bishop of bishops (Knight, p.72).
Constantine marked a turning point in the Christian Church. Christianity had come into the world as a religion of peace and good will. Jesus had commanded his disciples to put up the sword and had forbidden its use by them either in the spread or in the defense of the new faith. For three centuries his followers had obeyed this injunction. For the early Christians, the profession of arms and political power was incompatible with the Christian life (Philip Van Ness Myers, General History for Colleges and High Schools, Boston: Ginn and Company, 1906, p. 300).
Now, in a moment, all this changed. The most sacred emblem of the new faith, the cross, was made into a battle standard. From the day of Constantine’s victory over Maxentius, a martial spirit entered the religion of the Prince of Peace (Myers, p. 301).
Constantine made Christianity the religion of the Court. This marks the beginning of the decay of its primitive simplicity and high moral standards. The thousandyear period known as the Dark Ages had arrived (Myers, p. 302).
Historians call it “The Dark Ages.” The reality is it was Christian Nationalism, plain and simple.
What is the definition of today’s Christian Nationalism? It is “a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civic life. It contends that America has been and should always be distinctively Christian from top to bottom—in its selfidentity, interpretations of its own history’s sacred symbols, cherished values, and public policies—and it aims to keep it that way. But the ‘Christian’ in Christian Nationalism is more about identity than religion. It carries with it assumptions about nativism, white supremacy, authoritarianism, patriarchy, and militarism”(Andrew Whitehead, Taking Back the Nation for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2022).
Authoritarian leaders declared themselves heads of the Church during the Dark Ages. Departure from religious rules was a crime punishable by the civil authorities.
The Dark Ages lasted until Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1455. The Gutenberg Bible was printed in Latin. Soon, men began translating this into English, unlocking the Latin into the language of the people. They did so at great peril to themselves.
William Tyndale was burned at the stake. The bones of John Wycliffe, another early translator, were dug up, burned, and the ashes thrown into a river. This kind of behavior demonstrates the ruthless resistance to knowledge that we see even today.
Those who teach a true account of history, pointing out the injustices of racism, or opposing Christian Nationalist ideologies, are called “WOKE,” a term of derision used to insult and ridicule.
In my view, combining Christianity with political power is like what began with Constantine. The Bible that Donald Trump is selling, with its additions of the U. S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Pledge of Allegiance, and the song “God Bless the U.S.A.”, is a prime example of Christian Nationalism.
Florida Governor DeSantis said after he was reelected on November 9, 2022, “Florida is where woke goes to die.” He has been in the spotlight for his alignment with Chrisitan Nationalism, which claims the U.S. was founded as a white, Christian nation. Not one word in the Constitution mentions Christianity. Rather, the First Amendment mandates a separation of church and state.
Donald Trump was invited to give a Christmas message at the megachurch, First Baptist, in Dallas, Texas, on December 19, 2021. His message said nothing about Christ’s birth but that he (Trump himself) was going to make America great again. He was received with chants of, “U.S.A, U.S.A.” (baptistnews. com/article/first-baptist-dallascheers- trump-breaks-out-into-usachant- after-he-speaks).
The preface of the book, “General History,” says, “We study history that we may be wise before the event.”
The “event” has already arrived. Christian Nationalism rears its ugly head in this country now. And those who revere Christianity as a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ must resist it—both for the sake of this nation and that of Christianity itself.