Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
How should God's people, those whom he has called, "out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9) conduct themselves in the world?
The Star Wars sequel trilogy has flaws, a lot of them, but the idea of a stormtrooper who questions his indoctrination isn't one of them. With Finn, whom the Empire only gives a designation to: FN2187, one of the nameless and faceless soldiers of the Empire, we finally get a glimpse at what it would take to say "No." to the evil that they are asked to do in its name. Finn, in an act of rebellion, rescues the Rebel operative Poe Dameron, and subsequently joins the rebellion. He becomes a thinking person with a moral code, not just a number.
Why talk about this Star Wars character in connection with 'Christian' Nationalism? The answer is really simple: 'Christian' Nationalism creates its own stormtroopers. No, we're not talking about people who can't hit the broad side of a barn with a laser gun, and we're not talking about the ways that term was used by WWII's fascist regimes. Rather, 'Christian' Nationalism elevates the role and purpose of the state, sanctifying it by claiming that God wants them to run/rule it in God's name, which makes service to the state and obedience to the state into spiritual imperatives because they come from a, supposedly, God-sanctioned ruler or party.
What happens when the state engages in evil? What happens when the state persecutes the outcasts and "others" that it designates as its enemies? Do followers of Jesus go with the flow, do they make themselves no more than a cog in the machine of state?
True discipleship of Jesus is not unthinking conformity, certainly not to the kingdoms of this world. Instead, the Apostle Paul instructs us that we need to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, we need to seek the will of God, even if that means rebellion against an Empire.
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