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July 26, 2026 – On a long road trip back from British Columbia, Utah, Washington and Oregon, I spotted this sign in front of a church in Hagerman, Idaho. It said “Christian Identity is Obedience.” I looked it up when I got home and I guess it was supposed to say, “Christian Identity is Obedience to God,” but the last part of the message was garbled a bit.
I was in Hagerman because it is part of the “Thousand Springs” route on U.S. Highway 30, a beautiful, scenic area along the Snake River. I prefer this route to Interstate 80. Hagerman is also noted for fossil beds and ancient horse fossils, which I think validate something in the Book of Mormon (speaking of which, the Trump administration pissed off the Mormons by designating the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as a religion that is not Christian).
That sign about Christian Identity (I have much more detailed essay on Christian Identity here) being Obediance got me to thinking. I've never been a fan of obedience because freedom and obedience are two different things. The more obedience required of you, the less freedom you have. The people who write signs like this probably want you to be obedient to them, personally, and whatever crazy religious idea they happen to have at the moment. That is unAmerican.
It is unAmerican because in order to establish the United States as a Christian Nation, more specifically, a White Christian Nation, Congress would have to pass laws to do this. Theoretically such a law would designate Christianity, not Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, or any other of the many religions in the U.S. as the one, true American Christian Identity. The U.S. Constitution clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...”
There is a good reason this was put into the U.S. Constitution. There were many religions in the United States before it became a country, during the time it was founded, and after it was founded. The founders were also very aware of the religious wars between Christians and Muslims and between Catholics and Protestants, and wanted to avoid all those religious problems when founding the United States.
It is obvious there are people who are anxious to start up those old religious wars again with this Christian Nationalism movement. When the U.S. Department of Defense alienated the Mormons by leaving their church off the list of Christian churches recognized as such by the Defense Department, they got a taste of the problems to come if the Trump Administration continues down this divisive path.
One of the major differences between Christianity and Islam has been that Islam is designed to be a set of laws to govern countries, while Christianity (“Then saith he (Jesus) unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's”) has been able to co-exist with other religions and secular governments without the need to rule as a theocracy. This flexibility is a strength of Christianity.
The Christian Identity movement, and White Christian Nationalism would throw away the flexibility attributed to Jesus himself in Matthew 22:20-22. If our constitutional government is replaced by an oppressive form of Christian theocracy, it would probably lead to the kind of split that forced Muslims to flee India (one million died and 15 million were displaced). The theocratic governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan have led to a lot of deaths and human right abuses, and I suspect an ill-conceived Christian theocracy would have similar issues.
I am a movie guy, so let me quote one of my favorite movies about the need to follow the U.S. Constitution, which our federal government is now violating on a regular basis. In the film Bridge of Spies (2015) lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) represents Soviet spy Rudolph Abel (Mark Rylance). Donovan is urged by CIA agent Hoffman (Scott Shepherd) to violate his oath of office and divulge his client's confidential information. Donovan takes the gravest exception to this request.
Donovan says to Hoffman: “You are Agent Hoffman, yeah ... German extraction ... My name is Donovan. Irish. Both sides, mother and father. I am Irish. You are German. What makes us both Americans? Just one thing. One, one, one. The rule book. We call it the Constitution. And, we agree to the rules. That is what makes us Americans. It is all that makes us Americans. So, do not tell me there is no rule book. And, do not nod at me (and smile) like that, you son of a bitch!”
Right now, Steven Miller, one of the most powerful people in the Trump Administration, is saying, in effect, that we should violate this rule book. The U.S. Supreme Court says that Trump is above the law, so the rule book doesn't apply to him. We live in perilous times because the rule book has been trashed. We have lost our way as Americans and Christian Nationalism is just one symptom of that.
Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.
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