A Biblical Defense of Ethno-Nationalism

Ethno-nationalism is a belief system that affirms a traditional Christian understanding of families, tribes, and nations. Ethno-nationalism holds that nations are defined and rooted in common heredity, and that the foundations of a nation are based on common ancestry, language, culture, religion, and social customs.

What are the primary factors that bind a nation together? Is it common ancestry or common ideas? In a sense, ethno-nationalism is redundant. It is evident that the English word nation has been traditionally defined by birth, not merely geographic or political boundaries. The word nation in the English language is related to natal, which means birth, as in a neo-natal ward. On Christmas we celebrate Christ’s nativity. You are a native of the land of your birth. But if this is true, why even speak of ethno-nationalism since it is redundant? Why not simply defend the concept of nationalism? The reason is that in recent history we have seen the ascendancy of the concept of the proposition nation. A proposition nation is supposed to be a group of people who are united by a common ideology rather than by common heredity, but as we shall see, a proposition nation is a contradiction in terms.

The question that we as orthodox Christians must ask is, How does the Bible use the term nation? What kind of nation does the Bible promote? Does the Bible endorse a more traditional definition of a nation? Or does the Bible promote the idea of a propositional nation, the proposition being Christian faith? It is my goal to demonstrate that the Bible in fact promotes the traditional concept a nation as an aggregation of people who share a common lineage.

The Meaning and Usage of the Word Nation in the Bible

The Bible is predominantly written in the Hebrew and Greek languages. The Biblical word used in the Greek New Testament and Septuagint translation of the Old Testament is the word ethnos. This word is related to our English word ethnicity and denotes those of a common lineage. This definition is also consistent with how the word nation is used in the Bible. Nations are first mentioned in the Table of Nations listed in Genesis chapter 10. The Table of Nations classifies the people descended from Noah after the Biblical Flood. These nations are all listed by heredity, like branches off a tree that has Noah for its trunk. Nations are enumerated as an extension of families, and the usage of the word nation is consistent throughout the Bible. After a number of generations had passed after the Flood, a man named Nimrod tried to build an empire. His kingdom was called Babel, and he united several different groups of people by his charismatic leadership. The people under Nimrod set out to build a city and a tower as a monument to their commitment to political unity. God takes notice of this arrangement and proclaims that this will cause evil to go unrestrained. God resolves to confuse the language of the Babel builders in order that men might henceforth be kept from uniting into one body politic. This is a strong passage that demonstrates that national boundaries and divisions are commensurate with the natural order that God has ordained.

Some may argue that the division of nations was only a transient solution to a problem posed several centuries ago and that in Christ these divisions are healed. These people would typically view national boundaries or division as a problem that will ultimately be solved. Ethno-nationalists strongly disagree with this view of the teleology or purpose of race and racial distinctions. Ethno-nationalists affirm that God intended to create separate races, nations, tribes, and families from the beginning, and that ultimately all people would be united under Christ. Since racial distinctions exist in heaven, it is clear that God intended for racial distinctions to exist for his own glory. Nothing in the Bible indicates that racial distinctions or racial identity is a transient solution to a temporary problem. Instead these distinctions are an integral element of our identity that will endure forever. Since we’ve established that separate nationalities exist in heaven and that there are multiple “nations of them which are saved,” it is clear that race does indeed have intrinsic significance. We could no more argue that our resurrected bodies will lack racial identity than we could argue that they lack gender identity.

Racial Pride, Loyalty, and Responsibility

It is common among white Christians today to believe that any sort of pride of race is inherently wrong or evil. Many Christians express the belief that we should only boast in our identity in Christ. There is a sense in which this is true. The Apostle Paul considered everything that he could claim to be “but dung” in comparison to the “excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,” including his own ancestry! It’s extremely important to note that Paul is making a comparison by hyperbole. Paul is saying that in comparison with Christ’s righteousness, all that we have and all that we are is worthless! It is also important to point out that Paul is comparing his own righteousness, to the righteousness of Christ. It is in this sense that nothing about us matters for salvation. We are saved solely by the merits of Christ. Even Christ demands that our loyalty to himself exceed our loyalty to our immediate families and spouses! It would be a severe mistake however to conclude that attributes such as ancestry or even marriage are meaningless!

Indeed, the very same Apostle Paul who spoke those words to the Philippians also said that he was “willing to be accursed from Christ” for his “brethren, his kinsman according to the flesh.” The New International Version renders “kinsman according to the flesh” as “race.” This is a clear and unashamed expression of racial pride and loyalty. Paul unambiguously expresses solidarity with his people even though they themselves were unbelievers! Paul’s commitment for his missionary work to non-Israelite people did not in any way compete with his natural affection for his own people. If it was alright for Paul to express such commitment to the welfare of his own kindred, why is it considered wrong for white people to express the same commitment? White people are usually singled out for any expression of solidarity with each other, even when there is clearly no animosity expressed towards people of different races. This sentiment of love and affection for one’s own people should not only be manifested in warm feelings of kind regard, but also should be manifested by outward actions and responsibilities.

Today many people do not believe in family responsibilities or obligations. This should not be so! The Apostle Paul tells his disciple Timothy that “if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel!” Clearly, our “own” probably cannot be interpreted to mean what we would call race today. Our own in this verse refers to extended family which centers in on the household or immediate family. What Paul is teaching here is that people have familial obligations that radiate outward in concentric loyalties. Our responsibilities to humanity at large are extraordinarily small in comparison to our responsibility to our immediate family. This again demonstrates that family, clan, tribe, nation, and race have meaning in the Biblical paradigm of society.

The Purpose of National Distinctions

The purpose that God has for different nations or races will be fleshed out in greater detail in other articles. This should merely serve as a brief overview of the question of what purpose the nations serve. The first observation that we must make is that national distinction based upon heredity already existed at the time of Babel. We are given a relative time frame reference in the Table of Nations when we read that the division of Babel occurring during the lifetime of Peleg. Peleg is the fourth generation from Shem, and the fifth generation from Noah. Therefore, it seems that national identity was rooted in the sons of Noah and their offspring, and that the division at Babel was not a new or innovative arrangement, but was rather a reaffirmation of a preexisting social structure which had existed at least since the time of the Flood. God confused language as an additional tool for maintaining national distinction. This did not create new nations which had theretofore not existed! There had already been several generations of the nations listed in Genesis 10 by the time that Tower of Babel is formed and God was protecting the unique identity of the nations that already existed. It is certainly true that Babel was a punishment for sin, but it was also an act of mercy from God in order to restrain the evil that typically arises in cosmopolitan societies who have lost sight of their tribal identity. Raceless or tribeless societies become decadent due to anonymity and loss of patriarchal authority, which is inevitable in these regimes. When people forget their ancestors they will not regard their children and future descendants!

Deuteronomy 32:8 tells us that nations were divided by a special act of God’s providence. We read that the Most High divided the nations their inheritance and separated the sons of Adam, and that God set the boundaries of the nations. God’s dividing the inheritance to the various nations is a positive and intentional work of God’s providence. This means that God did not merely allow the nations to be divided but that He caused this to happen for man’s own good.

Another pivotal passage that addresses the purposes of national distinctions and affirms their propriety is Acts 17:26-27. In this passage we read that God made from one blood (presumably referring again to Adam) “all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.” It is worth pointing out that traditional Christians firmly believe that all humanity is descended from Adam and Eve, seeing as Eve is referred to as the “mother of all living.” Commonly, detractors of ethno-nationalism erect a straw man that suggests that ethno-nationalists do not affirm the unity of everyone under Adam as a covenant head. Indeed, it is this covenant unity by which original sin is transferred to all mankind. But this common descent from Adam does not change the fact that God intentionally divided the nations of men and appointed them their respective bounds and habitations. Notice also that verse 27 provides us with a reason why God did this. God did this so that man would grope for God and find him! It is important to note that no one can come to God through their own natural ability, but it is clear that God uses distinct nations as a means of bringing about salvation by his own sovereignty similar to the way that God uses believing spouses to sanctify and redeem their unbelieving husbands or wives.

Some people argue that this may have been a passing purpose of national distinctions, but that these distinctions are blurred or done away with by the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost recorded in Acts chapter 2. The problem with this interpretation is that it does not square with the narrative. If God intended for the people at Pentecost to amalgamate into one body politic then he would have caused them to start speaking one language again, hereby facilitating their unity. Instead we read that God caused those present to hear the Apostle Peter preach to them in their own language! It is important also to point out that those assembled at Pentecost were identified as pious Israelites who had gathered at Jerusalem from the regions where they had been residing. Pentecost would hardly resemble a United Nations gathering today. The people involved were quite homogeneous ethnically. Moreover Pentecost was the baptism of Babel. Dr. Francis Nigel Lee states quite succinctly the relationship between Babel and Pentecost:

Pentecost sanctified the legitimacy of separate nationality rather than saying this is something we should outgrow. In fact, even in the new earth to come, after the Second Coming of Christ, we are told that the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of the heavenly Jerusalem, and the kings of the earth shall bring the glory and the honor – the cultural treasures – of the nations into it… But nowhere in Scripture are any indications to be found that such peoples should ever be amalgamated into one huge nation.

What then is the destiny of separate nationality as Dr. Lee calls it? Are separate nations bound to “bleed into one” as the Gospel spreads? Or will separate nationhood persist? Ethno-nationalists strongly believe that separate nationhood will persist even into the next life in the new heavens and the new earth. We read about this chiefly in Revelation, written by the Apostle John, when he writes that “the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it (heavenly Jerusalem): and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.” The Apostle John also envisions Christians of every kindred, people, and nation in heaven, and also witnesses the Tree of Life in the heavenly Jerusalem which is for the healing of the nations. Within the church, then, we can boldly assert that there are separate and distinct nations. When you become a Christian, you retain your ethnic and racial identity. These are not done away with in Christ, but rather sanctified and legitimized in the same way that both genders are sanctified in their separate identities within the family and Church. What role do nations play in a Christian civil society? This question is foundational to a traditional Christian understanding of social order.

The Role of Nationhood

As J.C. Ryle has written, “Community of blood is a most powerful tie.” In Deut. 23, Israel is given laws regarding who can assimilate into the congregation of the Lord. The congregation of the Lord probably denotes Israel’s national church. It is important to notice that assimilation took into account both heredity and history when determining assimilation. The Moabites and Ammonites are more thoroughly excluded due to a bad past history with the children of Israel, and Egypt is more readily assimilated due to Israel being a stranger in their land. Edom and Israel were nations that had a troubled history to say the least. But the Edomites are easily assimilated into the Israelite congregation due to their consanguinity, since both are descended from the patriarch Isaac. This is why Edom is referred to as Israel’s brother. The significance of consanguinity taught in this passage was not lost on noted commentator Matthew Henry, who writes concerning this that, “The unkindness of near relations, though by many worst taken, yet should with us, for that reason, because of the relation, be first forgiven.”

Ethnic identities are the outgrowth of families. The Bible does not endorse the notion of a propositional nation that is simply identified by ideas rather than lineage. Israel serves as an example of nationhood that the rest of the nations are supposed to emulate. It stands to reason that if Israel was reckoned hereditarily by lineage, then all nations should be identified the same way. The easiest way to conceive of a nation is to think of a nation in the proper sense as an extended family. Ancient Israel was organized into twelve tribes descended from their patriarch Jacob, and these tribes are listed according to the families that make them up. The first eight chapters of Chronicles are dedicated to listing the families of the tribes because “all Israel were reckoned by genealogies.”

Non-Israelites were called strangers or sojourners and were to be treated with courtesy and fairness. The best way to think of these strangers or sojourners is as invited house guests. Guests in your home should be treated with the utmost courtesy, but at the same time they do not take ownership or possession of what belongs to you. Incidentally, God promises to punish wayward Israel with uncontrolled influx of foreigners who will sap their strength and consume their wealth. This is eerily similar to America’s current circumstances. Physical blood relationships are significant for civil government through the principle of kin rule as well as for property ownership since only Israelites were allowed to permanently own land that was partitioned based upon tribal identity.

The Principle of Kin Rule

The Bible places familial authority in the hands of husbands and fathers. This is considered “sexist” or “chauvinistic” by today’s standard, but God does not answer to man’s opinions! In the Bible, civil authority is a natural outgrowth of familial authority. The foundational text for this position is Deut. 17:15, which states that Israel should set one from among their brethren to be king over them, and that they were not to put a stranger over them who was not their brother. It’s important to keep in mind that brothers does not always refer to Christians in the Bible. Num. 20:14, Deut. 1:16, 23:7, 2 Kings 10:13-14, Neh. 5:7, Jer. 34:9, and Rom. 9:3 are examples of it being used in the ethnic sense in terms of Israel’s identity. Gill points out that the King is Israel’s brother, both by nation and religion, not exclusively by religion. Keil & Delitzsch (hereafter K&D) point out that the King is not a foreigner or non-Israelite. Knox suggests that based upon Deut. 17:15, all women and strangers are excluded. Again, we cannot simply interpret references to strangers or foreigners as though they were inherently unbelievers. Is. 56:3 is a good example of strangers/foreigners joining God’s covenant. Samuel Rutherford also uses Deut. 17:15 as the foundational text of his classic magnum opus on civil government in which he comments, “The king is a relative.” I would also point out that strangers could be circumcised, but were still reckoned apart from the children of Israel, and were not made civil magistrates. The nation of Israel was based upon heredity. Lev. 18:26 is particularly informative because those who keep God’s law and statutes are said to be of the Israelite nation (ethnos) and the strangers (non-Israelites) that dwell among them. This is a solid example of how the nation of Israel was considered to be hereditary, not solely covenantal or spiritual.

There are other parallel passages that confirm the familial nature of civil authority. Kings and queens are referred to as fathers and mothers. Other parallel passages that should be mentioned are 2 Sam. 5:1 and 1 Chr. 11:1 in which the tribes of Israel affirm David’s legitimate claim to rule by stating that they were of David’s “bone and flesh.” It is clear from the context that “bone and flesh” refers to some finite hereditary relationship that cannot be applied to everyone. That civil rulers should have a close kindred relationship to those they rule seems to be the application of what Moses is communicating in Deut. 1:13-16 and 17:15. This establishes the basic principle upon which all nations are governed. This bone and flesh relationship is the same way that the Bible communicates what is normative for marriage. God created the woman to be a “helpmeet” to her husband, and this is best accomplished by the bone and flesh relationship of Adam to Eve. Intermarriage between distant nations breaks this norm mentioned in Gen. 2:23-24 for marriage in a similar way that polygamy or marriage across large age differences goes against the standard rule for marriage based upon the example given by the marriage of Adam to Eve. Civil consideration also prevented marriage with people who were Israel’s enemies. The law in Deut. 23:1-8 was applied by Ezra and Nehemiah to prevent marriage to those who would seek Israel’s harm. The practical reasons for this rule in Deut. 17:15 is obvious. If a stranger governs a nation then he will naturally expropriate the wealth and property of the native people for the benefit of those who are of his own bone and flesh. This applies both to Christians as well as non-Christians since multiple nations will always exist within the Church, even in heaven. There can be exceptions to this rule. God temporarily used Joseph as a wise regent to Pharaoh in Egypt, and King Cyrus’ righteous decree allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland under his protection. These are exceptions to the rule and are a clear case of God bringing the best out of a less than ideal situation.

Tribal Property Ownership

The Bible promotes the private ownership of property. This is inherent in the commandment against stealing. God is the true and proper owner of everything, but He has delegated stewardship over creation so that humanity might take dominion over what God has created. Part of this dominion is exercised in ownership of property. God divides the inhabitable land between the different nations and he further subdivides this land between the various tribes, clans, and families. God expects boundaries to be acknowledged and respected . This does not mean that political boundaries will never change. A good example of this was the political schism that divided the nation of Israel into the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah following King Solomon’s death. The fact that political boundaries might change over time does not nullify the principle and relevance of boundaries in general to God.

God’s law also provided Israel with a provision that would insure that property stayed within families and clans. The firstborn son would become the primary inheritor of his father’s estate and property, and would thus become the head of his father’s house after his father’s death and the caretaker of his kinsmen. This is called primogeniture and was practiced as a matter of law in European society until very recently. In the absence of a male heir, the eldest daughter’s husband would be the primary inheritor of the estate. What if the daughter’s husband was from another tribe or clan? Wouldn’t this easily transfer property from one family or tribe to another tribe? Yes it would, so God specified that female heirs were to marry within their father’s tribe and clan, so as to prohibit this from happening. Recall that Israel is given to us as an example of how Godly nations are to operate. Clearly, then, God cares about physical inheritance, and His law has built-in protections from allowing it to be squandered or permanently lost due to passing financial offers or circumstances. The Bible promotes economic nationalism by allowing Israel to charge royalties to foreigners for the privilege of conducting business with the Israelites, as well as by providing for the Jubilee laws, which allowed the Israelites to redeem their property that they would have to lease or sell for a period of time. The problem of the mentality of the “global economy” is that this concept is the tool of international bankers and business men who desire to turn a profit at the expense of the well-being of their countrymen and even immediate family!

Contrast this problem with one of the best examples of fidelity to familial inheritance in the person of Naboth. King Ahab offered a large sum of money to Naboth in exchange for the vineyard that Ahab coveted. Naboth refused, telling Ahab, “The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.” Naboth clearly expresses that his loyalty to his ancestors is stronger than his impulse to make a quick buck. The ironic thing about laissez-faire capitalism is that the desire to get rich quick and frequently exchange property often leads to poverty and over-consolidation of wealth in the hands of a few businessmen and executives. Societies that neglect Biblical wisdom will ultimately pay the price in their inheritance!

Empires and Propositional Nationhood

Against the principle of kin rule and tribal ownership is the existence of empires. An empire is a kingdom that extends over several different tribes, nations, and peoples. Propositional nationhood has its origin in empires. The first recorded attempt at empire was Nimrod forming the city of Babel that was mentioned previously. The prophet Daniel also speaks about a succession of empires that would rule the Mediterranean world in Daniel chapters 2 and 7. Empires are usually relatively short-lived and are maintained by military might and aggression. Empires are a cheap imitation of Christ’s spiritual kingdom which will grow to encompass all physical nations and people which is established peacefully by the internal ministry of the Holy Spirit, rather than by military might.

America was not traditionally viewed as a “propositional nation” until recently in history. John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States, and co-author of the Federalist Papers, writes concerning America’s founding:

With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people — a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence.

In case you missed it, John Jay means by “descended from the same ancestors” that Americans were identified as Europeans, in the same way that the “same religion” that Americans professed was Christianity.

The underlying problem with propositional nations is that they experience internal conflict due to differences in interpretation of the country’s propositions. Take America for example. America is supposed to be a propositional country that unites around the concepts of “freedom” or “democracy” or my personal favorite, “tolerance.” Who interprets these concepts in the same way? No one! This is why every election cycle is a heated debate over our meaningless and undefined “values.” America has degenerated into a proposition nation in the recent decades, but it is by no means the first proposition nation. The Greek historian Aelius Aristides wrote extensively about Roman universal citizenship of the people it conquered as a means of preserving their rule.

Most noteworthy and most praiseworthy of all is the grandeur of your conception of citizenship. There is nothing on earth like it. You have divided all of the people of the empire – and when I say that, I mean the whole world – into two classes; and all the more cultured, virtuous, and able ones everywhere you have made into citizens and nationals of Rome … Neither the sea nor any distance on land shuts a man out from citizenship. Asia and Europe are in this respect not separate. Everything lies open to everybody; and no one fit for office or responsibility is considered an alien. Rome has never said “No more room!” No one is a foreigner who deserves to hold an office or is worthy of trust. Rather, there is here a common “world democracy” under the rule of one man, the best ruler and director … You have divided humanity into Romans and non-Romans, … and because you have divided people in this manner, in every city throughout the empire there are many who share citizenship with you, no less than the share citizenship with their fellow natives. And some of these Roman citizens have not even seen this city [Rome]!

Sound familiar? This sounds an awful lot like America’s current immigration and naturalization policy! In AD 212, emperor Caracalla finally declared all freemen of the empire from Britain to Arabia as Roman citizens. When Americans promote this concept of propositional nationhood in the quest to “make the world safe for democracy,” we are unwittingly replicating the worst aspects of pagan Rome who tried to set up a “world democracy” under the rule of one man. America’s current religious policy is the same is the imperialistic Romans. All religions are tolerated so long as they conform to the obedience of the state, whereas Christ accepts no competitors in matters of religion. For Rome, this meant worshiping Caesar as God in addition to whatever other gods a person might be inclined to worship, and in modern America we look to the state no less than the ancient Romans did for the source of all our material needs and comforts.

Was America founded as a Roman style propositional empire? Or was America founded as a biblical nation rooted in history, tradition, kinship, and the Christian faith? America was founded by the settlers in Virginia and the Pilgrims in Massachusetts as a Biblical nation. The Virginia Company’s charter seal bore the image of the English King James I. The Pilgrims addressed themselves as “loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James” meaning that the colonists saw themselves as English subjects rather than as Christians who had no earthly sovereign. President George Washington insured that immigration and naturalization were restricted to “free white persons of good moral character.” If we had continued to heed the wise precedent of many past generations of Americans then non-Christian religions would be essentially non-existent here. Borders have been blurred and in some cases rendered meaningless by allowing imperialism and cultural Marxism to dictate policy rather than God’s law. We will not avoid the punishment that God promises to those who disregard His law and precepts.

An Appeal to Ethno-Nationalism

It is obvious that there is no alternative to embracing the ethno-nationalism that the Bible prescribes as normative. Europe was made great through the adherence to God’s law in all things, including ethno-nationalism. We have fallen far from our previous civilization which was evident only a number of decades ago. During the 1960s, the culturally-Marxist “civil rights movement” carried us toward the unbiblical idea of “equal rights” and away from God’s law.

We as Christians have a moral duty to promote Godly order in our lives, as well as for our families and our societies. We can clearly see from the Bible that nations should naturally be tied to blood and soil. We must reject ideologies which reject this Christian notion of ethno-nationalism. It is no coincidence that we have rejected the Christian basis for national identity at the same time as we are rejecting the Christian doctrine of marriage, gender roles, and morality. The rejection of ethno-nationalism is nothing more than a symptom of the rejection of God’s law in its entirety, sadly even by professed Christians in many cases.

The foundation of a Biblical nation as defined in the Table of Nations is derived from common ancestry, common religion, common history, and common customs, and mutually possessed ideas and values will be built upon this foundation. In America we have made the same mistake as the Romans before us, and we will not escape their eventual fate. We European Christians who are heirs of Western Civilization are at a crossroads. We can either choose to continue to wantonly follow the paths trod by our Roman imperial pagan forebears and meet the same impending doom that very nearly ruined the West, or we can revive the spirit of Christian nationalism which saved the West and preserved its civilization for countless generations of the European people. The solution is to return to the old paths that our ancestors once trod, and to once again embrace the God of our fathers. God alone can rebuild our cities and put flesh upon the dry bones of our ancestors. It is incumbent upon us to embrace the future with optimism that God will preserve a faithful remnant to once again rebuild the ruins which we now dwell among.