Month: September 2026

Regular visitors here will know that occasionally I publish what someone else has written. Simon Swift has sent me a few articles of the past months and he has just sent me this. Simon writes clearly with a wonderful humility that invites thought. See what you think of this one particularly in the context of the rising Christian Nationalism.

The world is full of trouble, wars, and political upheaval fill the news streams. Economic collapse is threatened, and the cost of living is getting worse. Exceptional weather here in Europe with threats of extended and record breaking heatwaves, wild fires and draughts brings fear of ecological disaster. Freedoms under threat in countries that once championed liberal democracy. One could be forgiven for thinking this is all heading towards the Apocalypse. In the so called West, certain politicians have been using fear and hate to stir up nationalism as a vehicle to power and empire. A new brand of Christianity has been born just for the West: Christian Nationalism. Where does the Way of Jesus figure in all this? Is Jesus the answer?

The short answer, of course, is yes. But I have never liked short answers and just saying Jesus is the answer, is not good enough. Perhaps the question is wrong, too vague for a real answer, and why the question in the first place? Maybe you are happy that there are leaders willing to use what ever means to protect a national identity as part of the Faith. That democracy has failed us and we need a hero who can sort it all out, a populist politician giving easy slogans as answers.

Does Jesus’ story, message, and resurrection fit within this new brand of Christianity?

The use of the word Kingdom is found all over the bible and Jesus himself used it. Yet I find it a difficult term to use as it can lead to empire building instead of freedom. Perhaps it is used a lot, because as the Jewish scriptures were edited and developed, those involved lived in the kingdom of Israel. Again it seems that the people wanted a charismatic leader to provide all the answers for them. A search was begun to look for a leader with anointing to lead his people in the right direction, one dedicated to the kingdom of Israel, or should that be kingdom of Heaven? God was soon disappointed with their first king and he was replaced by their most famous one, David. Yet he too became corrupted by power. Humanity then had to wait a long time till God’s Word became flesh to be worthy of the title of king.

The title of Christ, or Messiah given to Jesus means the Anointed One. To me, this speaks more of Priesthood than kingship, of Aaron than of David. Of course we can see it as bringing the two together. It reminds us of the character Melchizedek; Jesus as priest/king. If a king he must have a kingdom. But what of that kingdom, what is it, and what does it mean to live in it?

One of Jesus’ own descriptions of his kingdom is of a small seed becoming a large tree and the birds coming to perch on its branches. Though I like to think of them as nesting in the tree making it their home. For me, this speaks of possibilities, of emergence and nurture rather than dominion and authority. The Word, an idea that is spoken in to reality. Or in this case planted into its hearers hearts and minds. Will it germinate? What will emerge from this planting? Another parable of Jesus comes to mind: the sower spreading the seed over different types of terrain. The parable gives us an understanding of how the environment is so important to the seeds growth. If the seed does begin its transformation into a tree, it emerges into an environment, it does not do so in isolation. Its shape will be effected by outside influences. A question we can ask is does it dominate the land it grows in or does it become a source of life for all that grows up around it? When the birds come to nest in it, do they find a home or prison, partnership, or master?

Jesus’ ministry was one of love and invitation, not command and judgement. The Anointed One as priest rather than king? The parable of the prodigal son is a good picture of what Jesus’ ministry was doing. Its effect on the establishment as well as to the lost children. The context is family, not institution or even religion. God is father, the lost come home to be sons & daughters. The older brother, upset at the father’s grace, complains and the father’s answer is quite remarkable. He tells the brother that everything is his. This speaks of inheritance. When we become followers of Jesus, do we become his father’s servants or his children?

If we choose to follow Jesus, we become his students. We are expected to become imitators of him: The Way of Jesus. This means the Way of love, it includes giving, mercy, resurrection, and humbleness and I’m sure you could add more this list. The Way starts with forgiveness and repentance. It is to chose to live a new kind of life; a change in direction and relationships. A movement away from the world’s empires and their expectations of conformity. A move towards eternal life.

The trouble with Kingdoms and their empires is they have an us-and-them view of the world. Empire requires ownership, all are resources to be used and discarded as necessary. You are either useful or not, loyal or the enemy. And if not useful, you are expelled; a type of death. If not loyal then death is the final solution. That’s what empires do. They are a hungry beast that exploit and devour the resources they have.

So I find the idea of Christian Nationalism worrying as it is more interested in gaining dominance in culture and social life that excludes those that do not conform; a type of empire. Exclusion (a type of death) being its main weapon, it can so easily turn into racism and incorporate ethnonationalism; ideas that go against the Way. After all our allegiance is to the Christ and his Way not to some western pattern of life and culture.

When we talk of the new age, the new heaven and earth becoming one. Is it a dramatic day of judgement where heaven and the old earth is literally destroyed and replaced by a new one? Or has the new age already begun and we who claim to follow Jesus are the planters of the seed with the intention of transformation to the Divine Commonwealth (or Kingdom of Heaven if you prefer)? Jesus does talk of judgement at the end, but he speaks of angels removing the weeds from the crop. But it is angels not us humans. Perhaps we should concentrate on being not the king’s judges, but priests. Ministers inviting people into the Divine Commonwealth. Practitioners of hope instead of judgment and fear. The way we walk, talk, and do our daily lives is our tilling of the soil. Preparing it for planting so when the Word comes and plants the seed: a mighty tree grows and birds come to rest.