Rusty Reno on Christian Nationalism, the Empire of Rights & Why Nations Matter #121

From Concepts with Shawn Whatley · 1:05:06

Show by Shawn Whatley

If you believe nations matter, then you're a nationalist. And if you believe a particular philosophy should inform civic life, then you are a particular kind of nationalist. Of course, you can be a strong nationalist or a weak one. You can hold strong or weak versions of your particular philosophy. We need to spend some time thinking about this. I haven't sorted it out myself, and I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks again for checking out this content! Shawn Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book in return for interviewing Professor Reno. Chapters and AI summary: Host Shawn Whatley interviews First Things editor Rusty Reno about the book Five Views on Christian Nationalism and why the debate hinges as much on nationalism as on “Christian.” Reno defines nationalism as prioritizing the nation’s common good and argues that shared loves, not utility calculations, bind a people, drawing on St. Augustine and examples like Canada’s identity and multicultural project. He critiques post–Cold War globalism through “empires of rights and commerce,” warning of human-rights inflation, managerial technocracy, and a soul-dissolving nihilism tied to confected diversity. They discuss America’s paradox of universal ideals fused to patriotism, the limits of proceduralism and pluralism amid metaphysical disputes about truth and human nature, and prudence in governance, including reactions to Douglas Wilson, Paul Miller, and Albert Mohler, and Joe Rigney. Reno closes by urging civic engagement without political idolatry. 00:00 Why Nations Matter 01:49 Meet Rusty Reno 03:00 Defining Christian Nationalism 06:35 Augustine on Peoplehood 08:56 Canada Multicultural Ideal 10:27 America Universal Mission 12:19 Empire of Rights Commerce 13:09 Human Rights Inflation 15:15 West Universalism Tension 25:38 Disenchantment and Diversity 29:51 Augustine Modern Moralism 32:46 Immanentizing the Eschaton 34:17 Between Two Cities 35:17 Why Nations Matter 38:02 Rights Commerce And Love 39:31 Elusive Real Things 41:10 Critiquing Calvinist Politics 43:53 Prudence Over Theocracy 54:47 Metaphysics Returns 58:45 Politics As Idolatry 01:00:40 Advice Beyond Politics 01:02:17 Post Interview Reflections

More episodes of Concepts with Shawn Whatley

More episodes

PodSearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about PodSearch, the privacy policy or contact us.