Rob Reiner, a Jewish atheist and liberal activist who came to national prominence in the 1970s for his role as Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the sitcom "All in the Family," is one of the producers of the new film, "God & Country," which opens this weekend in select cities.
It features some well-known luminaries like columnist and former attorney David French, "Veggie Tales" creator Phil Vischer, and Christianity Today's Russell Moore, who take some unexpected swings at the evangelical Christian faith to help make the point that Christian nationalism is entwined with the MAGA movement and that it essentially seeks to take over the world.
The documentary likens the movement to Nazi Germany, and it begins and ends with footage from January 6, 2021.
The rub is no one seems to agree on the definition of the term "Christian nationalism." Moore, for example, says it "uses Christianity as a means to an end, that end being some form of authoritarianism."
"It seems like a political movement that uses an issue, whatever the issue is, to get what you want, and you're willing to do anything for it," Reiner posed in a related interview with Christianity Today. "You'll do it at the point of a gun."
In response, American Family Association's (AFA) Ed Vitagliano begins by pointing out that no credible evangelical advocates violence.
"If you define Christian nationalism as being some sort of fascist movement, then I think you may be talking about a fraction of a percent of the Christian community," he submits.
He is disappointed but not surprised that Moore and friends lent their voices to the film.
"There's no way a real Christian leader should allow themselves to be used by someone who is creating a film to harm the Christian community in this country," Vitagliano contends.
He says what appears to unite the liberal Hollywood atheist and the former head of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is a shared enemy.
"They have an extraordinarily deep antipathy, a hatred for Donald Trump and anyone who supports him," the AFA spokesman observes.
They cannot seem to understand why conservatives would support a candidate who championed their values during his time in office, and they cannot seem to grasp that for evangelicals, sharing the gospel is not about political power; they do so because the Bible teaches that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and they genuinely care about the eternal wellbeing of other people.
Editor's Note: The American Family Association is the parent organization of the American Family News Network, which operates AFN.net.
