The public space has never been a theologically or morally neutral one; therefore, the Church has and will continue to heed the divine obligation to speak into it the holy Word of God. Only a godless culture would dare to claim that the public sphere is somehow neutral. The New Testament clearly announces the darkness of this present age (Eph 6:12). Yet, those who boldly lift their voices on behalf of the Church and her Lord in the public sphere, which is more important now than ever as we approach the final parousia (The second coming of Christ), are facing intensifying persecution for doing so. Over the last few years, a frenetic buzz around Christian Nationalism has spread throughout our churches. Just as the apostle Paul evangelized more boldly in his most fiery trials, so also must we defend the traditional Christian and Lutheran response to anti-Christian public policy, rhetoric, and other subversive actions against Christendom in our Christian vocations within all three estates.
In contrast to active Christian participation, the quietistic response of Christians today places a wedge between Church and state, claiming the role of the Church is limited to prayer and that the role of a Christian is, at most, voting. This is neither Biblical nor Lutheran. It appears that those who most strongly advocate against Christian activity in the public sphere are the ones who failed to respond appropriately to the “pandemania” during the recent pandemic. They appear to hide behind screeds on Christian Nationalism as a reason to avoid participation in the public sphere and to justify what amounts to a soft-antinomian behaviour.
