{"id":54687,"date":"2024-05-26T15:50:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-26T22:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/?p=54687"},"modified":"2024-05-26T15:52:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-26T22:52:29","slug":"my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/","title":{"rendered":"My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism<\/h2>\n An Appeal to Heaven<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism? It\u2019s a prayer. I ask God: \u201cSpare America from rule by the MAGA-Moscow wing of the Republican Party!\u201d<\/p>\n The pine tree\u2019s appeal to heaven is not necessarily a supplication for God to establish America as a Christian state. The appeal to heaven does not procure the divine right of a king. The appeal to heaven does not entreat Amon-Re to empower the Pharoah or petition Allah to grant theocratic authority to the calif. Might we legitimately interpret the pine tree as an invocation of divine justice to render judgment against our nation when it sins? To appeal to heaven on Christian nationalism could very well petition God to render judgment against earth on behalf of a heavenly dose of justice, compassion, and peace.<\/p>\n \u201cAn Appeal to Heaven\u201d 1968 stamp commemorating George Washington\u2019s use of the flag on ships before the revolution<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Philosopher John Locke, you may recall, in 1690 declared \u201can appeal to heaven\u201d would provide a divine right for revolution against an unjust human government. All human governements are in fact human constructions, Locke held. Theologically, in contrast to human construction, the Kingdom of God provides a higher standard of justice. \u201cAnd where the body of the people, or any single man, is deprived of their right, or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n An appeal to heaven on Christian Nationalism<\/h3>\n \n \n \n \n \n Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alioto. An Appeal to Heaven?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cOver the past couple of decades the Appeal to Heaven Flag has become a symbol of Christian nationalism,\u201d observes Barbara O\u2019Brien<\/a> in an informative Patheos<\/em> blog post. And Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has been excoriated in the press for flying this flag at his summer home. Might Christian nationalists mistakenly think that this is flag signifies theocracy?<\/p>\n If the Christian nationalists in our neighborhood fly the \u201cAn Appeal to Heaven\u201d flag, that flag just may be saying the opposite of what they think it does. Rather than ascribing divine authority to the Washington government, this flag places the Washington government under judgment by divine standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Conclusion<\/h2>\n**** ** Human government is a human construction. Included here is democracy. This human dimension makes democracy subject to megalomania, to graft, to injustice. In short, to sin. It is incumbent on our national leaders to aspire to the highest standards of justice. But, when they fall short, each appeal to heaven asks for God\u2019s standard of justice to judge our own.<\/p>\n ** God does not take the side of one sinful faction \u2014 one class, one race, one gender, one religion, one political party \u2014 against an opposing sinful faction. Rather, God\u2019s justice applies to us all. So also does God\u2019s grace, love, and compassion.<\/p>\n ** ****My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism? It\u2019s a prayer. I ask God: \u201cSpare America from rule by the MAGA-Moscow wing of the Republican Party!\u201d<\/p>\n PT 3242 My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism<\/span><\/h4>\n Public Theology: Resources<\/a><\/p>\n Christian Nationalism Resources<\/a><\/p>\n \u2593<\/p>\n Ted Peters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n For Patheos<\/em>, Ted Peters posts articles and notices in the field of Public Theology<\/a>. He is a Lutheran pastor and emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union<\/a>. His single volume systematic theology, God\u2014The World\u2019s Future<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>is now in the 3rd<\/sup> edition. He has also authored God as Trinity<\/em><\/a> plus Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society<\/em><\/a> as well as Sin Boldly<\/em><\/a>: Justifying Faith for Fragile and Broken Souls. <\/em>He recently published. The Voice of Public Theology<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>with ATF Press. See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com<\/a> and Patheos<\/em> blog site on Public Theology<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2593<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Might we legitimately interpret the pine tree on the “An Appeal to Heaven” flag as an invocation of divine justice to render judgment against our nation when it sins? To appeal to heaven on Christian nationalism could very well petition God to render judgment against earth on behalf of a heavenly dose of justice, compassion, and peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4597,"featured_media":54702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4205,146,150,97,20,10],"tags":[4248,1363,4254,4251],"class_list":["post-54687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-nationalism","category-evangelical","category-general-christian","category-progressive-christian","category-public-theology","category-religious-exemption","tag-an-appeal-to-heaven","tag-christian-nationalism","tag-john-locke","tag-justice-alioto"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism Appeal to Heaven<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An appeal to heaven might ask for divine judgment\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Appeal to Heaven\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Might we legitimately interpret the pine tree on the "An Appeal to Heaven" flag as an invocation of divine justice to render judgment against our nation when it sins? To appeal to heaven on Christian nationalism could very well petition God to render judgment against earth on behalf of a heavenly dose of justice, compassion, and peace.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Public Theology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ted-Peters-1083541758385507\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-26T22:50:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-26T22:52:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1442\/2024\/05\/an-appeal-to-heaven-banner-2-03-21.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"680\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ted Peters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Appeal to Heaven\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Might we legitimately interpret the pine tree on the "An Appeal to Heaven" flag as an invocation of divine justice to render judgment against our nation when it sins? To appeal to heaven on Christian nationalism could very well petition God to render judgment against earth on behalf of a heavenly dose of justice, compassion, and peace.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1442\/2024\/05\/an-appeal-to-heaven-banner-2-03-21.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ted Peters\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/\",\"name\":\"My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism Appeal to Heaven\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-26T22:50:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-26T22:52:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#\/schema\/person\/05733dcb47bd04e4c8cebb870a65c698\"},\"description\":\"An appeal to heaven might ask for divine judgment\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/\",\"name\":\"Public Theology\",\"description\":\"Public Theology is conceived in the church, critically tested in the academy, and meshed with the wider culture for the sake of the wider culture.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#\/schema\/person\/05733dcb47bd04e4c8cebb870a65c698\",\"name\":\"Ted Peters\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d560cb4007bb6e697a09e341761f730?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d560cb4007bb6e697a09e341761f730?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ted Peters\"},\"description\":\"Ted Peters is a pastor, professor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction. He is emeritus professor of systematic theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He co-edits the journal, Theology and Science at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. His fictional thrillers feature an inner-city pastor, Leona Foxx, who courageously challenges the structures of political domination that are buttressed by the latest in science and technology.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/tedstimelytake.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ted-Peters-1083541758385507\/\",\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/profile\/view?id=110214525&trk=tab_pro\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCsOmZFCJWcKXExhbHZsmJTg\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ted_Peters_(theologian)\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/author\/tpeters\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism Appeal to Heaven","description":"An appeal to heaven might ask for divine judgment","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Appeal to Heaven","og_description":"Might we legitimately interpret the pine tree on the \"An Appeal to Heaven\" flag as an invocation of divine justice to render judgment against our nation when it sins? To appeal to heaven on Christian nationalism could very well petition God to render judgment against earth on behalf of a heavenly dose of justice, compassion, and peace.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/","og_site_name":"Public Theology","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ted-Peters-1083541758385507\/","article_published_time":"2024-05-26T22:50:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-26T22:52:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":680,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1442\/2024\/05\/an-appeal-to-heaven-banner-2-03-21.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ted Peters","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Appeal to Heaven","twitter_description":"Might we legitimately interpret the pine tree on the \"An Appeal to Heaven\" flag as an invocation of divine justice to render judgment against our nation when it sins? To appeal to heaven on Christian nationalism could very well petition God to render judgment against earth on behalf of a heavenly dose of justice, compassion, and peace.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1442\/2024\/05\/an-appeal-to-heaven-banner-2-03-21.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ted Peters","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/","name":"My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism Appeal to Heaven","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-05-26T22:50:57+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-26T22:52:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#\/schema\/person\/05733dcb47bd04e4c8cebb870a65c698"},"description":"An appeal to heaven might ask for divine judgment","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/2024\/05\/my-appeal-to-heaven-on-christian-nationalism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"My Appeal to Heaven on Christian Nationalism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/","name":"Public Theology","description":"Public Theology is conceived in the church, critically tested in the academy, and meshed with the wider culture for the sake of the wider culture.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#\/schema\/person\/05733dcb47bd04e4c8cebb870a65c698","name":"Ted Peters","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d560cb4007bb6e697a09e341761f730?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d560cb4007bb6e697a09e341761f730?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Ted Peters"},"description":"Ted Peters is a pastor, professor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction. He is emeritus professor of systematic theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He co-edits the journal, Theology and Science at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. His fictional thrillers feature an inner-city pastor, Leona Foxx, who courageously challenges the structures of political domination that are buttressed by the latest in science and technology.","sameAs":["https:\/\/tedstimelytake.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ted-Peters-1083541758385507\/","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/profile\/view?id=110214525&trk=tab_pro","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCsOmZFCJWcKXExhbHZsmJTg","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ted_Peters_(theologian)"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/author\/tpeters\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4597"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publictheology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}