The Tim Keller Gospel & the Christian Nationalism Gospel+2026 Reading Updates
But the result of such a dangerous bifurcation was an idolatrous view that minimized the spheres of society in favor of some nebulous piety.
The Dangerous gospels
We transitioned from the “Gospel-Centered” movement of the early 2000s, which held that our natural loves were actually idolatrous, to the “Gospel-Rare” movement of our day, which suggests that our natural loves require the Gospel only in rare spiritual experiences.
The Gospel-centered movement chastised anyone who maximized the natural order of the Bible. Remember Tim Keller’s words: “If your partner is your ‘everything,’ then any shortcoming in him or her becomes a major threat to you.” Or, “To make an idol out of marriage is to put too much pressure on your spouse and on the institution itself.” Not to be overly dramatic, but I simply can’t envision marriage counseling where I am dealing with an ever-increasing number of wives idolizing their husbands so much that it threatens the gospel message. We don’t have an overemphasis on the family; we have the death of the family, which means such analysis can only damage the pursuit of wholeness in our society.
These same gospelizers offered pilgrimages towards absolution if only we loved family less and Jesus more. But the result of such a dangerous bifurcation was an idolatrous view that minimized the spheres of society in favor of some nebulous piety.
On the other hand, the “Gospel-rare” movement holds that the Gospel is not wholly necessary for a nation's salvation. The earthly good of a people is not tied to the Gospel. You can begin to see this in Christian Nationalism postings:
To which I replied,
I don’t think Stephen and I will come to an agreement, but I do think the ultimate issue is that, for many CN’ers, divorcing Politics from the Gospel reduces the Gospel to merely a message about eternal life. They limit the Gospel to spiritual realities. The Amillennialists, especially in the Dutch tradition, want to make sure that we don’t make that sacred pulpit a place for dismantling the nanny state.
However, the Apostle Paul views the Gospel, particularly the promise of the Resurrection, as deeply rooted in the conquest of the nations (I Cor 15:24-26). For the nations to come to Christ, we need neither a distorted view of the Gospel that minimizes our earthly concerns nor to divorce it from its political implications. We need the whole Gospel to speak of the necessary virtues for all our civil officers. Yes, indeed, the Gospel offers all of that!
The Gospel is a full-orbed, redemptive-historical message that draws people to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and turns our affections rightly to our families and friends, as well as to the victory over principalities and powers in D.C. Therefore, we need to avoid both ditches and see the Gospel for what it is: the declaration that Christ is Lord over all!
Reading in 2026
It has been a fruitful reading season for me in these past four months. While I am constantly in the writing business perusing commentaries and research books, I find myself more and more enjoying reading good books with friends. 2026 is the year of greater consistently in reading good fiction…intentionally.
The year began with Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, which I have read for the second time. Eco developed a theology of sacrifice by the end that was hard to forget. If an institution is corrupt and murderous, it must all go down in flames, and so must all the memories fade. James B. Jordan was the one who set my heart towards Eco back in 2025. I have intended to work through Baudolino next, but there are just too many other books.
