There is a word making an alarming comeback in modern American church circles: Crusader. Driven by the rapid rise of Christian nationalism, a growing sentiment holds that Christians should view themselves as political knights, mobilized to seize the mechanisms of civil government and enforce a Christian worldview on the nation by law.
Some may dismiss this rhetoric, arguing that those who use it are merely speaking metaphorically. But definitions and words matter. Scripture warns us that words can be precision-guided weapons; they can be “smoother than butter” while simultaneously functioning as “drawn swords” (Psalm 55:21, 59:7). Subtly normalizing a term like “crusader” implies something deeply and doctrinally incorrect.
Tragically, many believers today are so enthralled by conservative politics that they gladly trade sound doctrine for political speak. Deceived by charismatic personalities and partisan outrage, they abandon critical thinking in the pews. We have reached a point where anything negative said about a favored political leader draws vicious reactions and defensive comments from the very people who claim to follow the Bible! When you redefine terms, introduce false theological ideas, and elevate politicians over principles, it inevitably leads to dangerous actions.
Anyone claiming a Baptist heritage should immediately shudder at that language.
The historical and philosophical dangers of the “crusader” mentality strike at the very foundation of our distinctives. Historically, Baptists were never crusaders; we were the ones crusaders hunted down. From the early European Anabaptists to our American forefathers, including Isaac Backus, our people were marched through the streets in chains and whipped for one simple offense: refusing to bow their consciences to a state-controlled religion.
Philosophically, Christian nationalism commits a fatal error by conflating the physical, political theocracy of Old Testament Israel with the spiritual reality of the New Testament Church. When people try to build a physical kingdom through civil legislation, they directly violate Christ’s boundary line in Matthew 22:21, which says to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
Our heritage is defined by a fierce defense of Individual Soul Liberty and the Separation of Church and State. We believe that every individual must stand alone before God on the day of judgment (Romans 14:12). Because faith is an individual, volitional matter of accountability, civil government inherently lacks the authority to interfere with the human conscience.
When a church adopts a crusader mentality, demanding cultural uniformity through political dominance, it destroys soul liberty. Coerced religion does not convert the heart; it only breeds hypocrites. Whether we disagree with Islam or any other religious system, our job as Baptists is never to force submission by the power of the state to believe what we believe. According to Titus 1:9, our responsibility is to hold fast the faithful word and to use sound doctrine to exhort and convince the gainsayers.
Ours is strictly a battle of ideas. As 2 Corinthians 10:5 shows, our warfare is not carnal. It is a battlefield of philosophy, arguments, and traditions not rooted in Jesus Christ. Baptists are called to pull down strongholds and expose the errors of false worldviews through rigorous, open debate, preaching, and contending for the faith — never with a sword or gavel.
Let the politicians have their worldly power plays. As Bible-believing Baptists, our allegiance is to a higher Kingdom. It’s time we remember who we are.
Below, Elder John Leland (who helped convince James Madison to introduce the First Amendment to our Constitution) argues that a modern country is not ancient Israel. When governments try to merge the physical, political theocracy of the Old Testament with the modern state, they end up destroying liberty, justifying tyranny, and abusing the word of God. This is why historic Baptists fiercely defend the separation of church and state!
Question: Has the political part of that constitution [Mosaic constitution] ever been abused by Gentile legislatures?Answer: Abundantly so, among Gentile nations that have become Christian; for by bringing Christian states upon the same footing with the commonwealth of Israel, they have supposed that Christian nations have a just right to dispossess the heathen of their lands and make slaves of their persons, as Israel served the Canaanites and Jebusites: for no better claim than this had the European nation to make a seizure of America. Nor is this all: civil rulers, in Christian countries, have taken the liberty of adopting such precepts of the Mosaic constitution as suited them, and punished those who would not submit, when, at the same time, they have left unnoticed a great number of the precepts of Moses which were equally obligatory.1
- Originally published as: The Writings Of The Late Elder John Leland Including Some Events In His Life, Written By Himself, With Additional Sketches &c. By Miss L.F. Greene, Lanesboro, Mass. New York. Printed By G.W. Wood, 29 Gold Street, 1845.
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Great article Bro. Gamis.
Thank you brother, Praise the Lord!
As Bible-believing Baptists, our allegiance is to a higher Kingdom.
Whew !
Excellent
Thank you
Amen sister!
Kingdom building is bloody! Great article, I continue to enjoy these, thank you brother.
Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing! This Keeps us going.