History
There is a cry of Christian Nationalism in the air. We were founded on Christian principles and to Christian principles we must return!
While most historical statements have elements of truth in them, they must be examined closely. Jamestown was founded to search for riches. The Dutch wanted freedom from Spain and tolerated most religions in their midst. Russia wanted furs. Catholic priests from Spain came to establish missions to convert the indigenous people to Christianity, specifically Catholicism. Some were simply looking for a passage to the East and found some continents in the way. Before all those were possibly Irish Monks and almost certainly Vikings, along with the possibility of a Chinese explorer. Leif Eriksson had converted the Vikings in Greenland to Christianity, so although you might think the Viking influence was pagan, this group was not.
Once you get past most of these, you reach the Puritans who were certainly fleeing religious persecution, preferring Protestantism to the Church of England who they viewed as even more corrupt than the Catholic Church of their day.
So the roots of most of the non-indigenous peoples are generally Christian. This is especially true of those settlements which survived. They might not agree on a particular flavor of Christianity any more than we do today, but you can't deny that there was a Christian bias to most of the people who came and stayed. There was also - to read some of the accounts of life in colonial times - strictly enforced morality with punishments for breaking moral laws such as cursing that would shock most Christians today. In some Protestant settlements, there was also no freedom to practice Catholicism.
The United States itself, however, was founded well over 100 years past these events due to non religious reasons. People didn't like the taxes from the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. The Boston Massacre didn't help things as the colonists didn't think the crown's soldiers should be firing into a crowd. The Tea Act pushed things along with the Boston Tea Party being one of the main outcomes. Retributions for that such as the Quartering Act and Coercive Acts really infuriated the colonists.
Finally, war broke out after a famous Declaration of Independence was written and delivered to king George III - with seven other kings and queens between him and James I who was around at the time of the founding of Jamestown and the Mayflower landing.
Not a thing in the actual founding of the country was due to Christianity although by far the greatest majority of the settlers were Christian. It was almost exclusively taxes that pushed the Revolutionary War. And when the founding fathers crafted a Constitution and added the Bill of Rights, they made sure that there would be no state enforced religion present as the Church of England was in their former country. They were certainly primarily Christian, but they weren't Christian nationalists. The thought probably never crossed their mind that there was any other reality than a Christian nation.
Christ and Rome
So where does this leave the cries for Christian Nationalism today? I think it would be instructive to look back at the time Christ was with the disciples during the Roman occupation. Those plotting against Christ tried to get him in trouble with the Roman authorities by asking
"Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?"
He asked for a penny and showed them the image and inscription and asked
"Whose is this image and inscription?"
When they replied that it was Caesar's, he told them to
"Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's".
Obey laws that don't conflict with God's laws but realize that God's primary focus is on His church and not the political flavor of the month.
There are many ways that the world would be truly better if we all lived according to Christ's teaching.
"Love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment. And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
When the scribe indicated he understood what Christ had said, Christ replied,
"Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." And no man after that durst ask him any question.
We can speak out about many things. Sometimes we even should. But our words won't change many people's hearts and passing laws won't do much good either. If it did, then there wouldn't be any murders and nobody would steal. Lying would be a thing of the past and certain occupations would have far fewer words spoken.
Pentecost
Before Christ ascended to heaven, He ordered his followers to wait in Jerusalem to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This was to give them power to minister and to change their natures to be more Christlike.
In the upper room, the one hundred and twenty that had gathered together were baptized and Peter and the rest went out speaking to those gathered via the gift of tongues and interpretation to spread the gospel message to Jews of all nationalities gathered there for the feast of Pentecost. The work of the Holy Spirit transformed not only these, but thousands more in the weeks and months that followed.
As time passed, even the Roman government was changed. They went from sending Christians to the Coliseum to battle gladiators and wild animals (and lose) and using Christians as torches to light the night, and martyring many others to eventually become the seat of the Catholic church that has survived almost 2,000 years of Satan's attempts to destroy it. In 312, Constantine I became the first Christian Roman emperor. The Holy Spirit is still baptizing and working in believers today. He has never stopped.
Did Christian nationalism do this? Did the Jewish zealots who wanted to overthrow Rome and return Jewish rule do this? No. The Holy Spirit did this one person at a time.
The Spirit and Us
The Fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance are what each Christian is called to have. We aren't called to be zealots and most of the attributes of the Spirit are at odds to the fervor that Christian nationalists have today. Love everyone as Christ loved everyone. Have joy in your situation even if you are surrounded and have to deal daily with a non-Christian world. Be at peace with yourself, God, and all men. If you are struck, turn the other cheek. Suffer all frustrations gladly and at length. Be kind to everyone whether or not they are kind to you. Practice goodness to all, whether they agree with you or not. Have faith in God and not your nation. Practice meekness and above all be temperate. Do these things and you will go far, Christianity will spread, and the nation will become more Christian regardless of the leadership.
Along with this, let the Gifts of the Spirit be manifest in your life. As God directs and provides, listen for his Words of Wisdom and Knowledge. Let the gift of Faith see you through all trials and tribulations for yourself and those you know and Christians you have never met. Have faith that God will work in God's enemies hearts. Let God use you to minister His Healing and testify of Him when they are done. Let God use you to work Mighty Deeds and testify of Him when they are done. Preach Jesus boldly. Listen and speak His Words of Prophecy that you and those around you will be edified and directed along the proper paths. Pay attention to God's direction as to who is being led by Satan and who is being led by God so that you will know who to be careful of and who to go to for help. And finally, make use of the gift of Tongues and the ability to Interpret to help you interact with people who you cannot speak the language of.
By showing that God is, both by the fruit of the Spirit in your own life and by letting the Spirit work through you via gifts, you will change the hearts of everyone who knows you. You will change the hearts and attitudes about God of everyone who sees God work through you. By changing the hearts of the people, over time the nation will become a truly Christian nation because the fear of God will be on the hearts of everyone. Believing that God is real and that He cares about everyone is the first and greatest obstacle to be overcome. Unbelief is a stumbling block like no other. You won't be working alone. The Spirit will be working on the hearts of everyone around you. But be salt in the earth. Be a light to the lost. That will help the Spirit in His work.
Outcomes
Rome wasn't converted in a day and was never completely converted to Christianity. But from the time of Christ's life and death, just a few centuries passed till the top leader was Christian. When you understand the hold false Roman gods had on the political system of early Rome, this is truly an astounding feat.
We have the advantage in the United States that the top leader is frequently an actual or nominal Christian. Jimmy Carter had some bad luck with Iran during his presidency. There was high inflation. He wasn't well liked. But nobody doubts he was a Christian. He not only knows the Bible, but regularly taught it in Sunday School. No matter what you think of Joe Biden's politics, nobody who knows him would deny he is a practicing Catholic, and he's demonstrated his devotion to God more than many presidents before him. Neither used his Bible as a prop. Given a chance they could discuss it in depth. Neither of these men are perfect. No Christian is.
But having people in power who are Christians will do little good in converting the people they lead to Christianity. This is the work of the Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit filled Christians. Growing the fruit of the Spirit is the work of every Christian. We need to spend more time worrying about our own lives and getting in tune with God's Will for each of us and spend less time worrying about championing any particular political cause. God is not insensitive to politics. He does, I'm certain, prefer just and righteous leaders. Just look at His interactions with Israel. And consider the acts of the Jews depending on whether there was a righteous or unrighteous king in power when considering who to vote for. But God loves His church and uses it to change the world. Fix the church - you and me and every other Christian - and the world will come along because they want what we have with our Father. Politicians will follow as they follow the herd mentality of the people.