A new documentary that claims to be a film opposing Christian nationalism instead is a hit piece that broadsides all Christian conservatives, say two Christian writers who have watched it.
God and Country (PG-13), released this month, “takes a closer look at the dangerous implications” of Christian nationalism and “explores how a base of Christians has radically stoked a movement erasing the line between Church and State,” its website advertises. Rob Reiner is a producer.
Andrew T. Walker, the managing editor of World Opinions and an associate professor of Christian ethics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says the film missed its mark. His story called it a “hit piece.”
“It’s a biased vilification of conservative Christians that is little more than an exercise in fanning progressive wrath,” Walker wrote in a new column at World Opinions. “Admittedly, the documentary landed a few good punches in its criticisms. Did it rightly call out a lot of cringe and horrible theology done to defend Trump? Yes. Some of the precincts in conservative evangelicalism deserve scathing criticism for sycophantically excusing or defending Donald Trump’s many flaws. But one need not be a theological or political liberal to make that criticism.”
The film, Walker said, smears social conservatives.
“Do you oppose abortion? If so, that’s a marker of Christian nationalism,” Walker wrote, alluding to the film’s theme. “Do you oppose LGBTQ ideology? If so, that’s a marker of Christian nationalism. Do you oppose critical race theory? If so, that’s a marker of Christian nationalism.… That’s what one learns from the film.”
The film “ended with an extended discourse on abortion,” Walker wrote.
“Of course, it also ended with a reference to the ‘least of these’ in Matthew 25, but apparently with no regard to asking whether the unborn qualify as ‘the least of these.’ The documentary is as intellectually serious as that argument.
Jon Brown of The Christian Post said the movie is a “partisan broadside that deceptively conflates so-called Christian nationalism with positions held by a large swath of conservative Christians.”
“By stringing together disjointed, out-of-context clips that lump together John MacArthur and Billy Graham with obvious charlatans and screeching fringe preachers, the filmmakers reveal either their profound ignorance or their cynical desire to assign the pejorative Christian nationalist label as widely as possible,” Brown wrote.
“The clear takeaway is that for many on the Left, Christian nationalism is simply any form of Christianity that seeks political representation without first bowing the knee to their progressive orthodoxy,” Brown concluded. “Many factions vie for their place in the rough-and-tumble of the public square, but conservative Christians seem to be the only ones expected to give up the battle, even by those within their own ranks.”
Photo credit: God and Country; used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.