Thanks @anon75384934 @JennyLynne @Bestill
This is quite a behemoth issue. Quite the thing to tackle and discuss. Wow. As a protestant, I would just generically be concerned where any pope might be coming from. Especially after we had seen what Francis could be about. But i suggest that the pope is a huge figure in our world. And it would seem to reason that however God might move upon our times, He might use a pope to point out bad or good. In that I am not saying that I would understand the pope as a man of God. Because of the office I would tend to think not. And the soteriological differences in doctrine are huge and are in place for reason of contrast for his true church to discern (which i believe is clearly biblically in protestant understood doctrine).
If we look at God’s character through scripture though we see things about Him and His most loving kindness toward His creation in sending His very Son to die for us in our rebellion. What I try to do (which is not easy with some of the shifting perspectives among us) is not just stay centered and discerneing as @JennyLynne has wisely pointed out…yeah…we should…amen. But how much of centered in Him may be of preconceptions of His word and where He word might actually speak. Its truest voice beyond our denominational takeaways.
When we see mankind exult himself using Christ to produce a Christian nationalist party of sorts, it is somewhat reasonable to hold that whole thing in suspect. As it should. The way in which, for me, tends to be helpful to hopefully see somewhat through the philosophical fog of so many themes like:
- The middle east shiftings/Iran/Israel/Abraham Accords
- American political shift to the right
- Epstein files
- Immigration enforcement
- etc.
The list is overwhelming, but to be able to see through socio-political fog clusters all along the way, to me, is considering what we know of His character in his word what could be discernable for providential understanding for today. For example, like I would see Christian Nationalism in a certain light. I would recognize that what it is is an emotional reaction to how much evil we are seeing today. And try, in the flesh, to come up with a solution. I don’t believe that Christian Nationalism will succeed. But I would see its growing interest and the concern of it as not just a symptom of immature and fleshy response in a strange world we live in. But something like a given response almost we might expect.
What Christian Nationalism does seem to present is awareness. Awareness that the church realize where she had been weak. Awareness that things are getting more evil these days. And awareness that in the midst of evil increasing, we also have God providing providentially an awareness that our age is being given a special dispensation of “revealing” to us quite a bit. Regarding the things that have gone on in the past. Regarding the way things in more ugliness disclosed are revealed to us. And regarding that in part beyond evil increasing, we are waking up to the way things really are rather than being more so under an influence that had us never really question before. At least not to the degree it has this day.
One reason i don’t believe Christian Nationalism will become a real thing is because I believe it is a strength of America for Israel’s sake. Yes of course this would have to do with my eschatology. But it would just seem that like we see in social media how the argument can tend to be between “Christ is King” and Israel (as a nation and Zionist thoughts within America and the Western world). I believe that tension help us to see a quite grander narrative. One that highlights America (who had every form of cause to dissipate in political strength over the past few decades) and Israel, who seems to constantly be the number one hit of interest on the top 40 list. To me, it would just seem that America gain significant traction and backing Israeli empowerment more than an actual Christian Nationalist movement succeed in America. What I think might succeed in America is it becoming quite possibly far much more involved with prophesy than any one might have imagined. I’m not saying that in respect to short term newspaper headlines. I am saying this in general. Overall.
Because what we are being shown is that the middle east face is shifting and America is hugely a part of this. That much we know.
As far as a pope warning Catholics around the world not to be manipulated into Christian Nationalism? I find that kind of ironic though. I know the Catholic church has gone through a lot of changes over recent decades and long standing centuries. But in a way I would have thought the Catholic Church was the original Roman State meets the church (Roman Catholic) origin – and was Christian Nationalism itself. Does it identify itself as a recovering Christian Nationalist itself? In some sense having a pope over all Catholics around the world could be seen as Christian Imperialism. A much grander effort than just staying in one nation. Pope Francis was seen as the most liberal super woke pope ever. So in Catholic tradition it would seem that any pope after him would likely be seen as conservative next to Francis.
But one thing i am glad about. I am glad that the Catholic church does not blindly follow a caricature of MAGA. That would be ridiculous. I believe it is best for the Catholic church (the church militant) to stay far from that. But offer better solutions. I’ am not sure they have any? Keep the borders open? Not sure if they have something better. I don’t say that tongue-in-cheek. I say that on the real. The reason Christian Nationalism exists is in large part a symptom of a church that went to sleep while all manner of evil cropped up around her. If Catholicism is unable or unwilling to address that it is probably best to sit this one out.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I believe the media frenzy silhouettes what to be aware of. Maybe for entirely different reasons.