My dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Over the past months, I have become aware of several leftist philosophies that are being circulated as truth within the body of Christ that I feel compelled to warn you of lest you should be deceived. We have an enemy who goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and one of his tactics is to deceive leaders in the Church, who have earned the trust of Christians in the past, who then deceive other unsuspecting Christians. This is more prevalent than I’ve ever seen in my sixty-nine years.

One of those leftist philosophies is that patriotic Christians who support President Trump are “Christian nationalists.” Knowing from my experience as a missionary to Japan that one of the things feared by Christians in that Country is a return to the nationalism that was a huge factor in World War II, I immediately rejected this philosophy as being applicable to American Christians who support our President.

Here are a few comparisons of nationalism and patriotism that may help you to differentiate and identify the two.

“Nationalism is a feeling that one’s country is superior to another in all respects with a sentiment of superiority and aggression toward other countries. Patriotism pertains to the love for a nation, with more emphasis on values and beliefs. The sentiments are more inclined towards the idea of coexistence, with equal respect & regard for other countries. In patriotism, people all over the world are considered equal.”

“This is another important difference between nationalism and patriotism. Patriotism is rooted in affection whereas nationalism is rooted in rivalry and hatred. Patriotism has peace as its substratum. In other words it can be said that patriotism works from the base of peace.”

In my opinion, the political left in the United States is much more guilty of nationalism than Christians who support our President. The left are the ones trying to force their political correctness philosophy on all Americans to the exclusion of our freedom of speech and freedom of religion, even going as far as to censor those who disagree. The political left is definitely rooted in rivalry and hatred with an attitude of superiority and aggression toward others within this nation while most Christians who support our President do so from a love for our nation with emphasis on the values and beliefs which he supports. (If you have any doubt of this, look at the fruit of the Black Lives Matter movement and Antifia.)

Another leftist philosophy which is being passed off as “truth” within the body of Christ is the idea that it is unimportant that Christians vote for candidates who support Christian values. They assure Christians that voting for liberal candidates who support abortion even up to birth, the LBGTQ agenda including Marxism, a completely godless philosophy, is not in opposition to their Christian faith.

(The only way I can make sense of this is by looking at what David Horowitz calls “the Trump derangement syndrome,” referring to people who hate our President so much that it has blinded them to the truth. They will accept almost any philosophy that allows them to align themselves against him.)

Even as I write these words and know them to be true, I can barely believe this is happening. How is it possible that followers of Christ have fallen for this idea? Who does it benefit? Absolutely, unequivocally, it benefits the kingdom of darkness which hates a country based on Christian principles and it benefits the political left who have their own agenda for the Country we love.

I have Christian loved ones who support both these philosophies. One of my friends, a leader in the body of Christ, drops her gaze and won’t make eye contact with me or respond if I say anything the least bit patriotic or political which alerts me that I’ve probably passed over into what fits her definition of “nationalism.” Another family member has disowned me because I spoke truth about the activities of Black Lives Matter. I could give more examples.

I pray constantly for a Damascus Road experience similar to the one Saul-soon-to-be-Paul experienced for Christians who have embraced these philosophies. Saul too was deceived and believed that it pleased God for him to hunt down and prosecute or kill Christians until he was confronted by Jesus, knocked down, and blinded. Later, Luke, who recounts this experience in Acts nine, tells us that “something like scales fell from his eyes” and his vision was restored. This is the desire of my heart for Christians who are deceived, especially those who are leaders in the Church and are being used, unknowingly, as a tool of the enemy.

I’ve told members of my family that it’s all about who we choose to listen to and who we choose to believe. I beg you to look at those factors in your life and ask God to show you whether your sources are feeding you lies or the truth. If you are one of those who has believed these philosophies, I pray that you would search your heart and seek God to be shown the truth so that you won’t be an instrument used by Satan to deceive others.

Heavenly Father, we live in perilous times. How we need the Spirit of Truth to guide us into all Truth. Help us not to be like the horse or the mule, who are too stubborn to receive guidance, but to humble ourselves before you. Amen.