OPINION: What really is Christian nationalism? Look through history

Many things are complicated, but their essence can often be simplified. U.S. Supreme Court decisions are known by their case titles, such as the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case of 1954 stopping segregation, or Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District of 1969, in which it ruled neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

President Ronald Reagan’s Berlin speech of June 12, 1987 — “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” — simply and eloquently described the human desire for freedom.

Reagan also simplified the concept of design when, in remarks delivered at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., in 1988, he said: “I have long been unable to understand the atheists in this world of so much beauty. I’ve had an unholy desire to invite some atheists to a dinner and then serve the most fabulous gourmet dinner that has ever been concocted, and — after dinner — ask them if they believe there was a cook.”

Scientific laws testify to a designer (God) through the Anthropic Principle that has more than 50 extremely fined-tuned laws of physics, biology (DNA), chemistry, cosmology and other precise variables necessary for humanity to exist. The design of computer codes, sculptures, symphonies and space stations demand a human mind. None of these could happen by the chance of atoms coming together in nature.

After surviving the assassination attempt on his life, Reagan said: “Whatever happens now, I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can.”

The Moscow Summit of 1988 is the event he intended to use, not about arms control or political freedom, but getting the Soviet Union opened up to a belief in God. He believed the Communist government-mandated atheism blocked citizens from knowing about eternal happiness. Reagan also told Mikhail Gorbachev the story of a soldier gazing at the stars before the next day’s battle: “I’ve never contemplated your creation and yet tonight, gazing up out of my shell hole, I marveled at the shimmering stars above me and suddenly knew the cruelty of the lie (of atheism),” and prayed that if he died in battle, God would accept him. He was a Russian soldier with a lifelong indoctrination of atheistic communism, but able to see God through his works.

In 1983, Reagan gave his famous “evil empire” speech saying: “Let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness, pray they will discover the joy of knowing God.”

Earlier in May of 1982, he wrote about his dying father-in-law, Loyal Davis: “I want so much to speak to him about faith. He’s always been an agnostic. Now I think he knows fear for the first time in his life.”

The other of the two great presidents of my lifetime survived two assassination attempts and said on Election Night: “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening and I owe my life to Almighty God. We will fear not, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness.”

That was, of course, Donald Trump.

Contrast these understandings of how life should be lived with the Dec. 18 Lewiston Tribune article about NPR’s Heath Druzin, which was titled “Journalist: Christ Church influential among Christian nationalists.”

He is among the latest woke reporters trying to silence any public expression and support of the ideals of our country’s Judeo-Christian origins or by churches doing their job, at least the nonsecularized ones. I think he would suppress public expressions of Christian ideals as radical “Christian nationalism.”

Druzin criticizes Doug Wilson for building “a Christian industrial complex,” but has no stated problem with the abortion industrial complex or the body mutilating gender-altering surgical complex to destroy the family.

Druzin said: “Wilson and his followers — who seek to change society into a theocracy — have become influential thought leaders among Christian nationalists.”

The definition of a theocracy is a country run by politicized priests or rabbis or ayatollahs. This is not what the founders instituted nor what Wilson advocates.

As Druzin should know, the First Amendment provided for the free exercise of religion — of any religion — but does not allow for a state-run religion. It does allow for the beliefs that the founders relied on to be taught in schools (started by Puritans to teach those beliefs), and through them is the basis for a moral and therefore civilized society.

The article quotes Druzin as saying: “He (Wilson) sees these schools as a way to change culture through these students.”

I wrote in my March 20, 2022, column: “The National Education Association, some school board members and teachers seem to subscribe to the thoughts of George Brock Chisholm, the first director-general of the World Health Organization. In a Sept, 11, 1954, speech at a Conference on Education, he said: ‘To achieve world government, it is necessary to remove from the minds of men their individualism, loyalty to family, tradition, national patriotism and religious dogmas.’ He also said children must be removed from their parents to prevent them teaching these concepts.”

This is the historic communist method of using government agencies such as Child Protective Services to remove the young children from parents who won’t support the child’s gender ideology. We can assume Druzin supports Chisholm’s known communist ideas vs. Wilson’s view of educating children.

Thank God, Trump removed America from the WHO.

Druzin is quoted as saying that the recent general election was a “wake up call” to anyone who didn’t think Christian nationalism would be influential. Precisely — as most of us voted to remove wokeism, diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory from polluting children’s beliefs.

So, when concerned parents speak up at school board meetings and against libraries supporting drag queen programs and making pornography available to teens and younger, it’s because we know the family-destroying agenda of the WHO and Chisholm is still the agenda.

Expressing the understanding of true priorities, Gen Z college athletes of schools such as Boise State University, Ohio State University, Notre Dame, the University of Texas at Austin and others on national TV and in print — as well as Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh — give unashamed praise to Jesus as the solution to our problems through the spiritual song “Come Jesus Come” by CeCe Winans.

Sections of the Gen Z generation are very encouraging to me about the future.

Reelected House Speaker Mike Johnson, in his acceptance speech, recited the daily prayer of President Thomas Jefferson, which acknowledges God’s authority and asks his help for America’s problems.

These concepts as well as Presidents Reagan’s and Trump’s statements of following God’s will is my concept of Christian nationalism.

Eggleston, M.D., is a retired ophthalmologist. His email address is rjegglestonmd@gmail.com.