Over at his blog Old Life: Reformed Faith and Practice, Hillsdale College historian Darryl Hart is once again criticizing me.  Several folks who read this blog and Hart’s blog asked me if I would respond to his most recent post.  I hope Darryl won’t mind if I quote the entire post below and add my responses in bold.  Here goes:

John Fea is back (it’s been a while) with an explanation of why he energetically criticizes the David Bartons and Robert Jeffresses of the evangelical world:

My approach to critiquing Jeffress, the Christian Right, and the court evangelicals is structural in nature. It is fitting with my vocation as a historian. Theologians and pastors are probably better equipped to make a direct biblical case for why Jeffress’s Christian nationalism is idolatry and harmful to the witness of the Gospel. Greg Boyd, Richard, Hughes, John Wilsey, and others have already made such a case. I encourage you to read their books. But early American historians are best equipped at taking a sledgehammer to the foundation of Christian nationalist politics.

So yes, I do get “bent out of shape.” Maybe I am obsessed. Somebody has to be. We need good American history more than ever. Christian historians have a public role to play in such a time as this.

JF: My original post can be read here. I should also add that the “noted American religious historian” I reference in the first paragraph is Darryl Hart.

My problem with this at one level is that John does not seem to acknowledge the optics or signaling. If he criticizes these evangelicals, then his readers will know that he is not that kind of evangelical — though I think his readers are way smarter than that and that no one confuses Messiah College with David Barton U. (or even Liberty U.).

JF: Hart implies that my convictions are not really convictions, but a clever ploy to show people that I am “not that kind of evangelical.” I will try not to be offended. And yes, Hart is correct.  Indeed, some of my evangelical readers do understand the difference between Messiah College and Liberty University or David Barton U.  I also think that many of my non-evangelical readers and non-Christian readers who may not have understood the difference between these schools have learned from reading The Way of Improvement Leads Home that the world of evangelical higher education is more diverse than they originally assumed.  But I also get new readers every day.  If my experience is any indication, many folks out there still don’t understand the difference between Messiah College and Liberty University or David Barton University.  I hope my blog will teach people that evangelicals are not all the same when it comes to their approach to higher education or politics.   I should also add that The Way of Improvement Leads Home is not a Reformed Christian blog, a paleo-conservative blog, or a denominational (Orthodox Presbyterian Church) blog. In this sense, it is different than Old Life.

But the bigger objection is that John only goes after evangelicals when they do this and not the entire enchilada of American Protestantism. To read John’s blog, you might receive the impression that only the Religious Right has engaged in a crass Christian nationalism (as if a refined Christian nationalism exists). But what about when mainline Protestants engage in the kind of civil religion that evangelicals advance?

JF:  I blog about what I want to blog about.  I never said The Way of Improvement Leads Home tried to cover everything.  Having said that, I have written a bit of history about the use of Christian nation rhetoric among mainline Protestants. Check out The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society.  (I also appreciate Hart’s generally positive review of the book in The Wall Street Journal).

Consider President Obama’s remarks while welcoming Pope Francis:

You call on all of us, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, to put the “least of these” at the center of our concern. You remind us that in the eyes of God our measure as individuals, and as societies, is not determined by wealth or power or station or celebrity, but by how well we hew to Scripture’s call to lift up the poor and the marginalized, to stand up for justice and against inequality, and to ensure that every human being is able to live in dignity – because we are all made in the image of God.

You remind us that “the Lord’s most powerful message” is mercy. That means welcoming the stranger with empathy and a truly open heart – from the refugee who flees war torn lands, to the immigrant who leaves home in search of a better life. It means showing compassion and love for the marginalized and the outcast, those who have suffered, and those who seek redemption. . . .

Your Holiness, in your words and deeds, you set a profound moral example. And in these gentle but firm reminders of our obligations to God and to one another, you are shaking us out of complacency. All of us may, at times, experience discomfort when we contemplate the distance between how we lead our daily lives and what we know to be true and right. But I believe such discomfort is a blessing, for it points to something better. You shake our conscience from slumber; you call on us to rejoice in Good News, and give us confidence that we can come together, in humility and service, and pursue a world that is more loving, more just, and more free. Here at home and around the world, may our generation heed your call to “never remain on the sidelines of this march of living hope!”

JF:  If this is Christian nationalism, then call me a Christian nationalist.  

I have a two-fold criticism of the Christian nationalism popular among the members of the evangelical Right.  First, as a historian, I am critical of their faulty views of American history and historical thinking in general.  Second, as an evangelical myself, I am critical of the way this faulty view of American history leads to the conflation of the church and the nation.  If I understand Hart correctly, I think we are in agreement here.

I would make two quick points about the Obama remarks above.  First, Obama does not make specific references to American history or the American founding. Second, I think much of what Obama celebrates in Pope Francis’s ideas is compatible with American values.  If Obama quoted a Muslim thinker who spoke in a way compatible with American values I would say the same thing.  

I believe that government has a responsibility to promote the common good.  It should, among other things, protect the dignity of human life, encourage families, promote justice, care for the poor, and protect its citizens and their human rights.  I also believe in something akin to the Catholic view of subsidiarity.  This means that many of these moral responsibilities are best handled locally.  This is why I am very sympathetic to “place”-based thinking and find the arguments put forth by James Davison Hunter in his book To Change the World to be compelling.  

But when morality fails at the local level, such moral failures must be dealt with by higher governmental authorities.  For example, I believe that the intervention of the federal government in the integration of schools during the era of the Civil Rights Movement was absolutely necessary.  Local governments and white churches in the South failed on this front. Moral intervention was necessary.  I use the term “sin” to explain understand what was going on in these racist Southern communities.  Others may not use such theological language and prefer to call it “unAmerican” or simply “immoral.”  But whatever we call it,  I think we can still agree on the fact that what was happening in the Jim Crow South was morally problematic and the federal government needed to act. I hope Hart feels the same way.  If he does, I wonder what set of ideas informs his views on this.

I realize that the kind of approach to government I am espousing here is different from the kind of secularism Hart has written about in his book A Secular Faith: Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State.  According to one synopsis of the book, Hart believes that “the only role of government is to ensure that the laws do not injure faith and its practices.”  (This, I might add, is the same kind of thinking put forth by court evangelicals such as Robert Jeffress).  

In the end, I think Hart’s warning about mixing church and state is important.  You should read A Secular Faith.  I read it, enjoyed it, and learned much from it.  I also agreed with much of it.  I just don’t go as far as Hart in my secularism.  This apparently makes me a Christian nationalist.

Maybe you agree with President Obama’s policies and Pope Francis’ teaching. But what is this “we” and “our” of which POTUS speaks? How is that anything but a mixing of Rome’s religion with America’s political norms?

And what about FDR’s “speech” that informed citizens of America’s involvement in the D-Day operations (June 6, 1944) — get this — in the form of a prayer?

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. . . .

Wow!

JF:  Wow indeed!  I am not sure I am comfortable with FDR’s language here, but as a historian I also realize that FDR is speaking to a largely Judeo-Christian audience.  I have never written about this quote on my blog for two reasons.  First, it does not invoke American history.  Second, I cannot write about everything.  Maybe I will do a post on it someday.

No matter how big Jeffress’ congregation is and no matter how many Americans Barton may reach with his materials, neither can hold a candle to the kind of resources POTUS brings to bear on the nation and the world. Can Barton or Jeffress make war? I don’t think so.

So why not go after the nationalism that informs American officials who actually use force legitimately and send American soldiers to battle?

Why not also cease treating President Trump as if he is unworthy of presiding over a righteous nation? If Trump’s critics actually had a different moral standard rather than an expectation that POTUS should conform to Christian morality, they might become less indignant. Plenty of reasons to oppose Trump without Christian ones.

JF:  I am opposed to Trump for both Christian and non-Christian reasons and sometimes those reasons converge.  I don’t expect my POTUS to conform to Christian morality, but I do want him to exemplify some degree of moral character. I believe that there are basic standards of decency and civility that are essential to a healthy republic.  Many of these are compatible with my own Christian faith, but I don’t believe that a person has to be a Christian to think such standards are important.

I am sure Hart will have much to say in response and will attempt to poke holes in my argument.  That is what he does.  Frankly, I am flattered that he pays so much attention to what I write. 🙂