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POPLL: An Alternative To Christian Nationalism (And Theonomy, Christian Reconstruction, Theocracy, And Christendom) (Pt 1)


By Dr. R. Scott Clark - Posted at The Heidelblog:

As part of an essay on the attempt by the U. S. Postal Service to compel a man to violate his religious convictions by forcing him to work on the Christian Sabbath, I offered an alternative to a variety of popular but mistaken ways that some Christians have come to think about Christ and culture and church-state relations.1 The most visible of these errors at the moment is called Christian Nationalism. I have addressed it at length in this space, so I will not address it here except to say that nationalism is one thing and Christianity is another.2 Two other related movements are theonomy and Christian Reconstruction, to which I have also responded at length in this space.3 Theonomy, in the only sense in which it is controversial, is a theory that was repudiated in the Reformation and which holds that the Mosaic judicial laws are still in force and ought to be enforced by the state—”in exhaustive detail” as one modern writer put it. Christian Reconstruction is the theory that the West (by which they typically mean the USA) is going to collapse, and that out of that collapse will rise, phoenix-like, a reconstructed Christian society. This society will be part of a coming Christian golden age before the return of Christ. Christian Reconstruction is entirely dependent upon theonomy and a postmillennial eschatology, to which I have already responded by recording the critique of postmillennialism by a number of leading amillennialists.4 I have also explained and defended amillennialism.5 Christendom is an umbrella term that refers to the period of history from AD 381, when Theododius I imposed Christianity as the state-religion of the Roman empire, to the late eighteenth century, when Christendom was, in principle, repudiated by the American founders.

A few readers and listeners have contacted me recently to ask for an essay devoted to what I called POPLL (pronounced pop-ell). It is an acronym that stands for:

  1. Pray
  2. Organize
  3. Persuade
  4. Legislate
  5. Litigate
The Reformed have a known affinity for five points (or, more accurately, for replying to five points), so we might call these the five points of citizenship. Any American citizen, including Christians, can and may exercise these freedoms, and more of us should. I have sketched a case for Christian social involvement here.6 Some of these things are easier to do than others, but each of them is a challenge. This list is aimed at helping Christians begin to learn how to be an active citizen.

Learn more here.


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