Christianity’s advantage and unique contribution, according to Wilson, is its “balance of form and freedom, structure and liberty together.” Because Christians worship one Triune God, they have “space for ultimate unity and ultimate division,” he said, and they respect order and love liberty.
While discussing history, philosophy, and politics, Wilson explained that societies are organized in one of three ways: tribalism, nationalism, or globalism. “As a Christian,” he said, “I would like [our] national structure to conform to the things that God wants and not the things that man wants. That’s Christian nationalism.”
‘Additional Liberty’ Will Result, Said Douglas Wilson
Carlson, who said he agreed “vehemently” with Wilson’s statements, then asked, “What if I’m not Christian? How do I fit in?” Wilson replied that based on the past 2,000 years, “I trust the Christians to take better care of a secularist’s liberty than I trust the secularists to take care of mine.”
After acknowledging various “warts and sins and blemishes” throughout the history of Christendom, Wilson said atrocities by Communists far exceed those. Meanwhile, Christian theologians have “a book of God’s revelation with which to condemn these things,” he added. “We can say that’s inconsistent, that’s not what God wants, and we should conform to what God wants. That’s Christian nationalism.”
The concept “doesn’t mean disobeying God’s will in the name of Jesus,” Wilson clarified. “Christian nationalism means conforming what we’re doing to God’s revealed will in the name of Jesus. It means obeying him, not disobeying him.”
Next, Carlson inquired whether Christian nationalism implies “forced conversion” or reduced rights for non-Christians. “No,” Wilson immediately responded. “It’s an expansion of the rights of non-Christians.” The pastor said if he were president—“and what a glorious three days that would be”—the average non-believer “would not know what to do with all the additional liberty.”
Opponents use scare tactics about Christian nationalism, claiming it will lead to a “Handmaid’s Tale” type of society, Wilson said. But he pointed out that government regulations already burden citizens’ day-to-day lives.
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“You would have a great deal more practical liberty as opposed to the kind of liberty that the leftists want you to have, the kind of liberties that you can exercise in a 6×8 prison cell,” Wilson said. “You can read porn in a prison cell; you can have dope smuggled into you in a prison cell.”
Social Media Reacts to Douglas Wilson Interview
On his website, Wilson said it was a “privilege” to converse with Carlson. “If there is one thing I could ask you to take away from that interview,” Wilson wrote, “it would be the point that there is no political solution for the mess we are in. And precisely because there is no hope for a political fix, there is a profound reason for hope.”
“Politics is no savior,” he added, “but politics can indeed be saved…because politics is most certainly a sinner.”
When ChurchLeaders asked Wilson about the feedback from his interview, he replied, “I was very grateful for the opportunity to speak with Tucker, and grateful also for his [willingness] to address as vexed a question as Christian nationalism. We have received quite a warm response.”
