Leading evangelical theologians embedded militarism and border nationalism in biblical political teaching.

Evidence

In 2010, he published what amounted to a systematic guide to politics; weighing in at over six hundred pages, the book offered an exhaustive guide to the “biblical” view on all things political. Grudem denounced abortion and LGBT rights and defended religious freedom and national sovereignty. Illegal immigration was a problem, but so were the “too many” legal immigrants who didn’t seem to be assimilating. He recommended immediately and effectively closing the borders, especially the border with Mexico. For Grudem, loving one’s neighbors meant going to war to protect them from “evil aggressors.” Military strength was a blessing, and it was wrong not to use it, especially in the case of the nation’s greatest threat, Islamic terrorism. Treating terrorism as a “law-enforcement problem” wouldn’t work; preemptive war was required. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 538

Categorization

• XREF: Grudem as architect of the political theology whose consumer-culture transmission later chapters trace; connects to Grudem’s earlier role as CBMW cofounder established earlier in the book. — connects to: Evangelical churches fuse patriotic and military ritual with Christian worship to sacralize the nation — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 36; Biblical justifications supplied governing rationale for EPA regulatory rollbacks — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 175; Christian nationalist strategy targets political leaders as force-multipliers for national evangelization — Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshippers: Inside the…, 211