Nazis and Christian Nationalists Converge
This first full episode of the Stop Christian Nationalism podcast begins with news of Nazis and Christian nationalists mingling at Turning Point USA, as Donald Trump commands Americans to fall on their knees to the Christian god. There have been many who note the similarities between Trump and Hitler, but of course, Christian nationalism and Nazism are not quite the same thing. We’re not living in 1930s Germany, after all. As Mark Twain said, history doesn’t repeat itself. It rhymes.
From there, this episode considers the warning from Christian nationalist leader Nick Fuentes: “We’re going to reclaim America for Christ, retake America for Christians, and if people have a problem with that they can stay and live under it, or they can go somewhere else where they have different rules, and then we’re going to follow you to those countries, and we’re going to make those countries the same way, and you are going to become a Christian.”
If that’s not enough to frighten you into action, listen to Andrew Torba, a Christian nationalist who was hired to work on Republican Doug Mastriano’s campaign for Governor of Pennsylvania this year. He warned that, “We're taking back this country for the glory of God and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop us. Every knee will bow, yours included.” Torba has some pretty wild ideas, including a conspiracy that nonbelievers and Pagans secretly control America. Of course, there’s never been a Pagan or atheist President, Speaker of the House, or Supreme Court justice.
Next, there’s the ominous threat from Christian nationalist U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert, who threatened that if Americans refuse to all convert to Christianity, the Christian nationalist movement will take away everybody’s constitutional rights. Freedom, Gohmert says, should exist only for Christians.
The podcast then considers the claim that Christian nationalism is somehow not a part of Christianity. The wisdom of Chrissy Stroop comes in handy here: “Christianity” is not a synonym for “good”.
Finally, the first episode of Stop Christian Nationalism discusses the importance of voting in the upcoming 2022 elections, and how people can expand their electoral influence beyond their own vote on Election Day.