In our current series, we’re exploring the biblical texts around which the American Revolution was built.
Some of them, like Exodus and Judges, were genuine inspiration for the colonial cause. Others, like Romans 13 and the Sermon on the Mount, were significant obstacles. Romans 13 instructs Christians to obey their governing authorities. Jesus’ commands about loving enemies and turning the other cheek cut directly against the logic of armed revolt.
We’ll be looking honestly at how these texts were used, misused, and wrestled with.
What we are not doing is making any claims about America’s special place in God’s purposes. Christian nationalism – the idea that American identity and Christian identity are essentially the same thing – is a distortion of the faith that has been used to exclude and to harm and we reject it entirely.
Rather, these texts belong to everyone who has ever longed for freedom. That is a much bigger story than any single nation.
