Bowing to an Idol

The Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin is Minister of Word and Sacrament at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Greensboro NC. He also serves as co-host of The Moonshine Jesus Show and is the founder of The Christian Left, “a ministry for Christian progressives and their allies.”

Earlier today on social media, Rev. Sandlin shared the following on the travesty – and danger – of Christian nationalism in the United States.

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Christian nationalism loves to dress itself up as faith.

Wrap a Bible in a flag, pray at a political rally, drop Jesus’ name into a stump speech, and suddenly people call it holy. But Rev. Barber was right: when you sanctify wrong with God-language, you’re not worshiping God. You’re bowing to an idol.

That idol has a name. It’s empire.

And it’s nothing new.

The prophets railed against rulers who wrapped oppression in piety. Jesus himself stood toe-to-toe with empire, refusing to wave Caesar’s banner. He flipped tables, healed outsiders, and reminded us that Love is bigger than loyalty to the state.

The trick of Christian nationalism is that it takes something good (love of country, love of community) and twists it.

Suddenly, patriotism means excusing injustice.

Suddenly, the Beatitudes get traded for border walls.

Suddenly, loving your country means closing your eyes to its cruelty.

Suddenly, faith gets measured by political loyalty instead of compassion for the hungry, the sick, the stranger at the gate.

That’s not patriotism. That’s idolatry with better branding.

History is full of it: wars justified, slavery defended, oppression baptized, all because people blurred God and nation. And every time, it ended in blood and tears.

So let’s be clear. Love of neighbor never required allegiance to Caesar. It still doesn’t. Our calling isn’t to worship flags and borders. Our calling is to serve Love.

And idols (whether golden calves or star-spangled ones) don’t last.

Love does.

– Rev. Mark Sandlin
via social media
September 16, 2025

Related Off-site Links:
Charlie Kirk and Christian Nationalism – Stephanie Rutt (Concord Monitor, September 16, 2025).
The Gospel and the Specter of Christian Nationalism – Stewart Clem (Covenant, September 16, 2025).
The Shameful Christian Idolatry and Fraudulent Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk – John Pavlovitz (The Beautiful Mess, September 12, 2025).
Charlie Kirk: From Secular Activist to Christian Nationalist Icon – Religion Media Center (September 11, 2025).
Charlie Kirk’s Toxic Legacy of Hatred and Division – Christopher D. Cook (Common Dreams, September 11, 2025).


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “This Is What Fascism Looks Like”
• Trump's America: Normalized White Supremacy and a Rising Tide of Racist Violence
• What the Bible Really Says About Gender Justice
• Sufism: Way of Love, Tradition of Enlightenment, and Antidote to Fanaticism