Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor

Spoiler Disclaimer

Synopsis

Pastor Caleb Campbell has watched as Christian Nationalism has taken over a significant part of the American political and religious landscape. After taking a stand against it, he's also experienced the fallout in both his personal life and his church. Christian Nationalism is rooted in a desire for power and control and therefore isn't consistent with the teachings of Jesus, so Pastor Campbell decided to become a missionary to those who are seduced by the movement's belief system in an attempt to lead them back to the true Jesus. In Disarming Leviathan, he equips Christians to follow him into this mission field by explaining what Christian Nationalism is and why so many people are attracted to it. Then he lays out the most prominent beliefs and viewpoints of the movement along with practical steps that can be taken and questions that can be asked of its adherents in order to humbly subvert those beliefs. In this way, he hopes to help people show kindness and compassion to their Christian Nationalist neighbors and in doing so gently direct them back to the truth and love of Christ.

Review

Disarming Leviathan is Caleb E. Campbell's debut book. In it, he likens the monster of Christian Nationalism to that of the Leviathan which is mentioned in scripture and explores how readers can view those who've been deceived by this ideology as a new sort of mission field to reach and turn back to the way of Christ. He begins with the basics, explaining exactly what Christian Nationalism is. He then explores the central beliefs of the movement and the methods, including spiritual language, that the leaders of the cause are using to deceive people and draw them into it. Once the movement and the ideas and drivers behind it have been well defined, Rev. Campbell teaches readers how to engage this mission field in a healthy way that begins by viewing Christian Nationalist adherents as one would any other lost people group in need of Jesus's transformative power. One way this can be done is by cultivating conversations, communication, and heart-to-heart connections. As would be the case with any mission work, the missionary must first prepare themselves to be in the right frame of mind, so the author takes readers through some basic steps on getting ready to meet with the people they're trying to reach. The book wraps up with a practical field guide on how to counter some of the most prevalent views of Christian Nationalism broken down by categories. In this section, the author explains a little about each belief followed by a system of engagement, which includes possible clarifying questions, followed by finding points of connection through shared values. He continues with shibboleths and red flags, with shibboleths being things you can say that would indicate you are a friend, while red flags would be things to avoid saying because they'll indicate you are an enemy. The conversation then turns to encouraging the honorable values beneath the blustery rhetoric and finding ways to gently lead the listener back to scripture and the ways of Jesus by humbly subverting their talking points.

Over the last few months, my church book club has read several books that have touched on the topic of Christian Nationalism. Disarming Leviathan was our latest pick. Unlike the other books, which discussed the complicity of both evangelical and mainline protestant churches in the rise of Christian Nationalism, this one explores how best to love your Christian Nationalist neighbor (whether that's family members, friends, or just people you meet along the way) and to disciple them out of these idolatrous beliefs. After learning more about the history of the movement in the previous books, I thought this book would be a good one for understanding what to do about people you know who've been caught up in it or just how to deal with Christian Nationalists in general. IMHO, it gives sound advice on this topic and encourages readers to treat those people in our lives who harbor these extreme beliefs as a mission field that needs to be turned back to the real way of Jesus. Pastor Campbell makes it clear that these people didn't reason themselves into their beliefs, so simply presenting facts, figures, data, or articles from reliable sources won't be enough to convince them to renounce those beliefs. Instead we have to communicate with them in healthy ways by creating a relationship that provides a safe space for them to express themselves, which we can then use to begin a dialogue. Several years ago, my church offered an in-depth study of the book, Talking Across the Divide, which presented similar tactics for dealing with people with whom you disagree, so I believe that these steps can possibly work. However, I personally can be pretty blunt and often too honest for my own good, so I'm not sure that I would be the right person for this kind of job. Still I completely support and admire the mission work that the author is doing in this field. For anyone who has a patient spirit and feels that they can engage the Christian Nationalists in their lives without losing their cool, I would highly recommend this book as a great guide on how to get started.

You May Also Enjoy

Talking Across the Divide: How to Communicate with People You Disagree with and Maybe Even Change the World by Justin Lee

Visit

Caleb E. Campbell