I am a Christian, prepared to defend my faith.
I am a Nationalist, a proud American, prepared to defend the tenets of our democracy as founded by the US Constitution.
I am not a “Christian Nationalist”. I do not advocate for a Christian state.
The infighting within and between Christian churches is proof enough. Anyone claiming to be a Christian Nationalist probably doesn’t understand the term.
For those making a stink about it, some will quote (in the manner of “a guy once said….”) the 11th Article of the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli, "As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion…."
However, the text of Article 11 in the English translation doesn’t match the original Arabic text, which doesn’t mention religion. Why not?
What do we know of the context?
Beginning in the 15th Century, the Barbary Pirates were terrorists of the sea, actively capturing and selling Europeans as slaves. By the time we won independence in 1776, the Pirates were attacking and seizing American vessels. In 1794 the US Navy was founded in response to the Barbary threat.
The 1796 Treaty of Tripoli was one of many efforts to strike peace with the Muslim terrorists. The terms were negotiated by Captain Richard O'Brien and the Arabic text of the original document was translated into English by Joel Barlow, a poet and an ardent Jeffersonian Republican.
For insight, Jefferson spoke of the ongoing conflict with Tripoli in his first Annual Message to Congress (December, 1801) as the notable exception to our Nation’s general condition of peace. He referenced the letter he’d sent to the Bey earlier in the year in response to Tripoli’s threat of war. Our position on Christianity wasn’t of interest.
In 1892’s Church of the Holy Trinity vs. US SCOTUS decision: “If we pass beyond these matters to a view of American life, as expressed by its laws, its business, its customs, and its society, we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth. ... These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.”
A 1905 publication, The United States a Christian Nation by David Brewer, opens with reference to that SCOTUS decision.
I agree with Brewer’s conclusions; although we’re not a Christian Nation, we are nation established on the fundamental tenets of Christianity. We amended our Constitution to ensure freedom to practice all variations of Christianity and other religions.
So I ask, what Christian values are objectionable to those who take issue with this truth?
I’m prepared to defend our rights for life, liberty and independence.
Let’s do this!