Lamb or Leviathan?
A brief response to Doug Wilson’s critique of Disarming Leviathan
Pastor Doug Wilson recently wrote a critique of my book, Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor.1 I’m encouraged by how many people across the country are engaging with the book, and I appreciate that Pastor Wilson took the time to offer his thoughts. However, some of what he shared misunderstood or misrepresented my work.2
I do not intend to respond to every concern raised, especially since it appears Pastor Wilson will be publishing multiple articles and videos about my work. Still, I will address a few key points here and invite you to read my book and discern your own convictions.
One of his critiques is that I misuse the biblical image of Leviathan3 by equating it with American Christian Nationalism, which I do in the first chapter of the book. Later in the book, I consider Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:12:
“We are not in a fight with flesh and blood. We are not at war against these people… These beloved image bearers of God are ensnared in the grip of a mighty, ancient, evil power.” (Disarming Leviathan, p. 91)
American Christian Nationalism is one modern manifestation4 of this Leviathan power, a force that seduces people with Christian language while distorting the message of the gospel.
To illustrate this, I draw from Gregory the Great, who in the sixth century described the deceptive power of Leviathan:
“Leviathan tempts in one way the minds of people who are religious, and in another those who are devoted to this world. It presents openly to the wicked the evil things they desire, but it secretly lays snares for the good and deceives them under a show of sanctity.
… For if the wicked were openly evil, they would not be received at all by the good. But they assume something of the look of good, in order that while good people receive in them the appearance that they love, they may also take the poison blended with it that they avoid.
… [Leviathan] promises what is good, but [it] lead[s] to a fatal end.”
Gregory understood that the most dangerous falsehoods are not those that look wicked on the outside, but those that have the appearance of godliness while denying its power.
Today, many sincere Christians are being discipled into a false gospel that makes a show of sanctity, but beneath the veneer of Christian symbols and rhetoric, it seeks to sanctify worldly power for the sake of domination. In this way, purveyors of American Christian Nationalism leverage the power of Leviathan.
For those seeking to discern whether American Christian Nationalism is animated by the Spirit of the Living God or by the spirit of Leviathan, I invite you to follow Jesus’ teaching: “look at the fruit.” Ask whether this movement is marked by the works of the flesh or by the Fruit of the Spirit.
I wrote Disarming Leviathan with the hope that we would follow the way of the Lamb and resist the idolatrous seductions of Leviathan. That we would be marked not by anxiety and rage, but by humility, courage, grace, and truth. That we would bear the cross rather than wield it as a weapon. That we would walk not as culture warriors or empire builders, but as ambassadors of Christ in a broken world.
And for those of us grieving as loved ones are caught up in the American Christian Nationalist movement, may we respond not with scorn or condemnation but with Spirit-led gentleness and the hope of restoration. As Paul writes in Galatians 6:1–2:
“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
May it be so with us.
Related Posts
Nationalism is not Patriotism.
Sharing the good news with American Christian Nationalists
I wrote Disarming Leviathan from a pastoral and missiological perspective, drawing from folks like Tim Keller, Rebecca Pippert, Chris Wright, René Padilla, and Lesslie Newbigin. Each, in their way, saw calls for the church to seek political domination as a threat to the witness of the gospel.
Some of the critiques of my work center on the book’s lack of robust analysis of the religio-political ideology or the historical aspects of American Christian Nationalism. If that’s what you are looking for, check out Paul Miller’s The Religion of American Greatness, David Koyzis’ Political Visions and Illusions, and The Search for Christian America, by Mark Noll, Nathan Hatch, and George Marsden.
For more on how the imagery of the Leviathan and other chaos monsters are used in scripture, check out this explainer from The Bible Project.
There are myriad.
Good work, Caleb. And I'd say congratulations are due because you attracted the attention of one of the most notorious of Christian nationalists. He obviously thinks your work matters and is powerful - otherwise, he'd ignore it.
It is infinitely puzzling to me how so many Christians mistake "domination" for "dominion." They seem to think a dominion requires hierarchical power OVER a land or territory. But Genesis clearly implies stewardship, wise management, and care WITHIN the garden, not over or separate from it. The best governance is never from above; it is a shared project of community and mutual regard with dignity. Turning dominion toward dominance is, well, sinful - something that many of Jesus' parables point that out...
Of course, a truly biblical dominion -- perhaps the better modern word is commonwealth -- is antithetical to Wilson's entire project. And for that, I grieve.
Your book was so helpful. Your response to Doug Wilson’s critique is such a great example of your “walking the talk.” May we all continue to live and act in ways that reveal the fruits of the Spirit.