Christianity Is The Real Target Of All The Hysteria Over ‘Christian Nationalism’
Are there any real and credible statistics supporting a menacing movement by Christians seeking to theocratize America with neo-Naziism?
Deconstructing the MLK myth
Americans widely celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. as a civil rights icon, but does his full legacy receive the scrutiny it deserves? While his activism for racial equality earns recognition, his theological views reveal a concerning departure from biblical orthodoxy. From denying Christ’s divinity to promoting the social gospel, King’s beliefs raise significant questions for Christians today.
Every January, Americans honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy. Schools, streets, and monuments bear his name as enduring symbols of progress and justice. His iconic “I Have a Dream” speech continues to inspire people worldwide, and his leadership in the civil rights movement remains transformative. However, beneath the public adulation lies a more complex story — one that complicates the perception of King as a paragon of Christian orthodoxy.
King’s embrace of a gospel stripped of Christ’s divinity and resurrection ultimately undermines the eternal hope of salvation, leaving a legacy that Christians cannot fully endorse.
As a pastor, theologian, and leader, King’s words carried immense weight, shaping not only the civil rights movement but also America’s moral and spiritual landscape. However, his writings and sermons reveal notable theological departures that deserve closer scrutiny.
How should Christians reconcile King’s transformative contributions to social justice with his deviations from foundational biblical doctrine? To fully understand his legacy, we must move beyond the public mythology and examine his beliefs through a biblical lens.
Born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, he later became Martin Luther King Jr. after his father renamed himself and his son to honor the 16th-century reformer Martin Luther. This name change reflected a connection to Christian tradition and reform. However, King’s theological journey would eventually diverge from these roots.
As the son of a prominent Baptist pastor, King grew up immersed in church life. He attended Morehouse College, where exposure to liberal theological ideas began shaping his intellectual and spiritual development. This influence deepened at Crozer Theological Seminary and Boston University, where he embraced theological views that strayed from traditional Christian orthodoxy.
Rejecting core Christian doctrines
King’s writings during his academic years reflect a clear rejection of essential Christian doctrines, including Christ’s divinity, the virgin birth, and the resurrection. These departures place him outside the bounds of biblical orthodoxy. In his paper on the “Humanity and Divinity of Jesus,” King wrote:
The orthodox attempt to explain the divinity of Jesus in terms of an inherent metaphysical substance within him seems to me quite inadequate. To say that Christ … is divine in an ontological sense is actually harmful and detrimental … so that the orthodox view of the divinity of Christ is in my mind quite readily denied.
King’s denial of Christ’s divinity naturally extended to other foundational doctrines, including the resurrection.
This doctrine (the resurrection), upon which the Easter faith rests, symbolizes the ultimate Christian conviction: that Christ conquered death. From a literary, historical, and philosophical point of view, this doctrine raises many questions. In fact, the external evidence for the authenticity of this doctrine is found wanting.
King also dismissed the virgin birth, the second coming of Christ, and the existence of a literal hell. Such theological positions directly conflict with core Christian beliefs, as underscored by the apostle Paul.
Now, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)
By rejecting these doctrines, King’s theological framework departs significantly from the faith he publicly represented, challenging the integrity of his spiritual leadership.
The ‘social gospel’ and its implications
Walter Rauschenbusch’s social gospel profoundly influenced King’s theology, emphasizing transformation of society over personal salvation. This reinterpretation of Christianity shifted the focus from the redemptive message of Christ’s death and resurrection to economic redistribution and social justice. King’s calls for a “warless world” and “a better distribution of wealth” clearly reflect this influence.
In a letter to Coretta Scott King, he wrote:
Let us continue to hope, work, and pray that in the future we will live to see a warless world, a better distribution of wealth, and a brotherhood that transcends race or color. This is the gospel that I will preach to the world.
While noble in its aspirations, this focus on temporal solutions often overshadowed the eternal hope found in Christ’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). By sidelining the gospel’s redemptive message, King’s theology contributed to a broader shift in American Christianity, where social justice increasingly took precedence over gospel-centered ministry.
The theological and ideological tension between King and traditional Christianity became evident in his relationship with the National Baptist Convention, the largest black Baptist denomination in the United States. Under Dr. Joseph H. Jackson’s leadership, the NBC placed institutional engagement over confrontational tactics like sit-ins and mass demonstrations. This approach clashed with King’s activism, culminating in a dramatic split during the NBC’s 1961 convention.
The division resulted in the formation of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, which aligned with King’s civil disobedience and social justice emphasis. However, this split also marked a theological departure, as the PNBC put activism above the gospel’s eternal message.
Truth matters
King’s legacy offers valuable lessons, but it also serves as a dire warning. His fight for racial equality transformed America, but his theological deviations reveal the dangers of placing social activism over biblical truth. King’s embrace of a gospel stripped of Christ’s divinity and resurrection ultimately undermines the eternal hope of salvation, leaving a legacy that Christians cannot fully endorse.
Theological integrity matters. When leaders compromise core biblical doctrines for societal transformation, they abandon the unshakable foundation of the gospel. King’s life serves as a powerful reminder that no matter how noble the cause, the truth of God’s word must remain uncompromised.
Many of the compromises King introduced have shaped today’s landscape, where private businesses are often pressured to bow to perceived injustices, further entangling the gospel with cultural activism. As Christians, we are called to evaluate every leader and movement against Scripture, refusing to trade eternal truth for temporal gains. Social transformation without the gospel is not only incomplete but ultimately hollow.
Want to grow in biblical theology? Try these 6 strategies in 2025
The new year is already here, and I can hardly believe it. Have you thought about what goals you might have for your Bible reading? You should form a plan. I realize that our plans aren’t written in stone, but you’re more likely to sit down with your Bible if you have a plan you’re trying to execute.
There’s no more important book in the world than the Bible. So if you’re planning on reading other books this year, both fiction and nonfiction, be diligent about prioritizing Scripture at the top of that list.
We want to meditate on the text. Meditation stirs delight.
Would you be interested in growing more in the discipline of biblical theology, seeking to see and interpret passages in light of, and in the flow of, the Bible’s big story? Do you want to reflect more on how later biblical authors use earlier biblical texts? Do you want to study the various ways that the New Testament connects to the Old Testament?
I think the subject and discipline of biblical theology are thrilling, and I’d love for you to be thrilled by it as well.
Let’s think about six strategies that you can implement in the new year that will help you grow in your understanding of biblical theology.
1. Read chunks
The more you read, the more you see. You can get through the whole Bible in a year by reading four chapters per day. But what if some days you read more than four? For instance, what if you sat down and read through Genesis 1-11? And then Genesis 12-25? Or consider reading Genesis 1-4 on day one, Genesis 5-8 on day two, and all of Genesis 1-11 on day three?
The emphasis is on larger swaths of text, so that you have more characters, dialogue, and events to connect. If you only read a chapter here and a chapter there, or a few verses here and a few verses there, the interconnectedness of the big story will not shine as brightly.
If you’ve never read through the whole Bible, then this upcoming year is a great time to do it. And when you read several chapters in a chunk, you’re positioning your mind and heart to see and enjoy the lively interconnectedness of the Bible.
2. Ask questions
The goal is not simply to take in information. We want to meditate on the text. Meditation stirs delight. One way to think about the text is by inquiry. Ask questions about what you’re reading, like these.
- Can you restate, in your own words, what you just read in that Bible chapter?
- Are you reading a narrative, or is it another genre?
- What characters were involved?
- Do you remember what the characters said and/or did, and do you know why they said and/or did it?
- Did anything happen in the chapter that reminded you of something earlier — maybe a pattern of actions or a certain turn of phrase?
- What does the Bible passage teach about the Lord and about his people?
- How does what you’re reading connect to what you’ve read earlier?
- Do you have a sense of what the present chapter contributes to what’s coming next?
- Are there particular commands to understand?
- Are there places you need to find on a map?
- Are there promises you need to rejoice in?
- How does the passage demonstrate a need for Christ?
- Do you know whether this passage is quoted or incorporated somehow in later texts?
The goal for these questions — and others — is to process the passages. You’re thinking about what you’re reading, and asking questions helps you think. You’re trying to notice, to really notice, what you’re reading.
3. Go backward
Reading forward isn’t always the best way to process Scripture. Because of the interconnectedness of the biblical writings, earlier themes and passages are developed and unfolded. There are patterns to discern and similarities to identify.
For example, when you’re reading in Genesis 9 about how Noah sinned with fruit and ended up in a situation of nakedness and shame, that should remind you of things that happened in Genesis 3. You should absolutely flip backward to the earlier chapter and compare things.
When you’re reading in Exodus about plagues upon Egypt and people being delivered from Pharaoh, the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12 may come to mind. Go back to Genesis 12 and meditate on the ways that Abraham’s life foreshadows what happens later in Israel’s national life.
Going backward will aid understanding because it reinforces the unity of the Testaments and the congruence of the biblical writings. So while you’re reading forward in the Bible this year, make sure you take time to go backward, too.
4. Pray fervently
Don’t read the Bible without praying. We shouldn’t be trying to understand the Bible in our own strength. We should want to come to the biblical text with a heart of dependence and humility. We are the ones in need. We are the ones who have faith seeking understanding.
In prayer to the divine author, we are asking the Lord to illuminate our understanding and to guard us from error. We are asking him to stir delight in us as we read and meditate. We should pray for focus, perseverance, and discipline. We should pray for spiritual growth and strength and renewal.
We’re investing our souls in the trustworthy and inspired writings of the divine author.
Our Bible reading needs fervent prayer. Hermeneutical formulas and analytical questions aren’t sufficient. We need the gracious and faithful work of the Spirit to help us think, believe, internalize, and respond.
Bible reading can also prompt prayer. We will be reading things that will prompt faces we know and situations we know about. We should interlock the practice of prayer with the practice of Bible reading. Those disciplines will serve each other, and both will serve our souls.
5. Get resources
Don’t think of the new year as a time with just you and your Bible. Many people have thought about and written about the Bible, and they have gone before us as a cloud of witnesses who can instruct and edify us through their writings. We need good resources.
Here are some to consider.
James Hamilton’s "God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment: A Biblical Theology." Hamilton works through the books of the Bible, and his book would be a great companion to your Bible-reading plan. His book "What Is Biblical Theology?" would further acquaint you with the concept and practice of biblical theology.
There is a "Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament" and a "Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament." Those two resources are full of insightful explanations and articles.
Jeremy Kimble and Ched Spellman have written an "Invitation to Biblical Theology," and you should take them up on their invitation. I love DeRouchie, Martin, and Naselli’s book "40 Questions About Biblical Theology." T.D. Alexander has a concise and helpful volume called "From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology," and I highly recommend it. "Exodus Old and New" is by L. Michael Morales, and it’s one of my favorite books from the past several years.
There are so many good resources. InterVarsity Press has a whole series called "New Studies in Biblical Theology," and the volumes therein are impressive and useful. Crossway has a series called “Short Studies in Biblical Theology,” and these studies are fantastic.
I’ve written a few things that might be useful in 2025 for you.
My books "Hope for All the Earth" and "Good News for All the Earth" explain the content and unfolding drama in the Old and New Testaments. The books are concise, aimed at thoughtful readers, and work well as a pair. My book "Short of Glory: A Biblical and Theological Exploration of the Fall" explores Genesis 3 in light of the canon of Scripture. And "40 Questions About Typology and Allegory" is my effort at seeing how the various patterns and figures and symbols of Scripture point to — and are fulfilled in — Christ.
We live in a time of abundant biblical-theological resources. The problem is deciding what to read first! Don’t sleep on the many resources that exist to help you understand the Bible and theology more.
6. Be patient
Getting better acquainted with the Bible takes time. There are no shortcuts. We need immersion in the text. We need to read and reread. Growth in biblical theology will be stimulated as we internalize more of the Bible and as we increase our grasp of the big picture.
You may miss some Bible-reading days. Don’t let guilt bog you down. Instead, let the beauty and glory of God’s redeeming plan draw you back into the sacred text for study and meditation and prayer. Keep reading; keep plodding. You might start some resources that you don’t finish. That’s okay, too. The point is to learn and keep learning.
Growth in biblical theology is not about a quick fix. We’re playing the long game. We’re investing our souls in the trustworthy and inspired writings of the divine author. We can read Scripture with a humble yet expectant posture. We can trust that God will grow us, strengthen us, uphold us, bless us, nourish us, and renew us.
May we start the new year ready and eager to be people shaped by the Bible, with lives submitting to God’s authority and hearts delighting in what God has made known through his word.
This essay was originally published at Dr. Mitchell Chase's Substack, "Biblical Theology."
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