Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 28:2 (Summer 2024)
Article: Editorial: Thinking About Christian Nationalism
Author: Stephen J. Wellum

Editorial: Thinking About Christian Nationalism

Stephen J. Wellum

Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He received his PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and he is the author of numerous essays and articles and the co-author with Peter Gentry of Kingdom through Covenant, 2nd edition (Crossway, 2012, 2018) and God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology (Crossway, 2015); the co-editor of Progressive Covenantalism (B&H Academic, 2016); the author of God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of the Person of Christ (Crossway, 2016) and Christ Alone—The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior (Zondervan, 2017); the co-author of Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christ (Zondervan, 2018); and the author of The Person of Christ: An Introduction (Crossway, 2021) and Systematic Theology: From Canon to Concept, vol. 1 (B&H Academic, 2024).

The subject of “Christian Nationalism” has been in the news, especially in the last four years. It is not that this discussion is new; it is not. But in light of January 6, 2021, the media has used the term as a pejorative, desiring to squelch the influence of Christianity in our broader political, cultural, and moral discussions. In our secular-postmodern society, religion is tolerated but only if it remains private. But once theological convictions and truths are brought into the public sphere, secularists tend to cry foul, hence what we have witnessed in the last number of years: a growing desire to silence Christians, especially where Christian theology and morality is in conflict with the culture, and thus not to tolerate a Christian view in the public square. This was not always so. The founding of America, along with its constitutional republic and institutions, was undeniably influenced by Christian theology. America is a product of the Western world, and the West cannot be understood apart from the influence of Christianity. For example, in our form of government, there is a distinct separation of powers between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. This is a direct influence

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of the Bible’s teaching on human sin. Why are the branches distinct and separate? Because our Founders believed in human sin and depravity, unlike many Enlightenment intellectuals such as Jean Jacques Rousseau and others who argued for the inherent goodness of man. But given the Bible’s teaching on sin, our Founders believed that placing too much power in too few hands, without some kind of check and balance, was a recipe for disaster, and if not checked, it would open the door to some form of statism. T...