SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF CHRISTIAN
ETHNIC HOMELAND NATIONS
For many today the idea of an “ethnic homeland nation” may
seem strange. However, the reality is
that the vast majority of nations in world history, and even today, are “ethnic
homeland nations”, as defined herein.
The Society is an organization to encourage the establishment of Christian ethnic homelands, by lobbying and other efforts. Secular humanism and multiculturalism are failures rooted in falsehood. They are a following after the principles of ancient Babel. Needed instead are homelands for each ethnic people in which Biblical Christian principles are the law of each homeland, in a form that may be called Biblical ethnic nationalism. This model the Society advocates follows after the example of Old Testament Israel in its moral aspects.
This is not urging ethnically pure homelands (for homelands inevitably and properly have people within them not of the ethnicity of the majority), nor forbidding or prohibiting inter-ethnic and inter-racial marriage, but encouraging homelands for each ethnic people (especially each ethnic people that wants it) so that each ethnic people has a refuge for that ethnic people. Immigration and other policies should allow each homeland to preserve that ethnic group’s dominant status within that homeland, so it can remain that ethnic group’s homeland from generation to generation. History has shown that when an ethnic people lacks a homeland, it is often subject to the abuse of the ethnic group in power. Two more recent examples of abusive treatment were the Tutsi Rwandans in then Hutu-dominated Rwanda, and white farmers in Mugabe’s black-controlled Zimbabwe. (It should be pointed out that President Mugabe has not only heaped abuse upon whites, but upon other blacks outside his own tribe. The Ndebele tribe of Zimbabwe should be allowed a homeland separate from the Shona tribe of President Robert Mugabe.) Examples further back in history include the treatment of blacks in white-dominated America when black slavery was legal, and Jews in Czarist Russia and Nazi Germany. Furthermore, each ethnic group has a right to preserve its own culture, heritage and language, insofar as they are not opposed to Biblical principles. And a homeland for each ethnic people and tribe affords the best mechanism for preservation of these.
Each ethnic people should be allowed a homeland, but this Society is especially promoting Christian ethnic homelands, because only Biblical Christianity provides true equity, justice, peace and truth. Christianization of nations is not to be forced by military conquest, but by the work of the Holy Spirit working on the hearts and minds of people. And Biblical Christianity finds its advanced and true expression in the doctrines outlined in the original Westminster Standards. The goal is for each ethnic people and tribe to have its own homeland, and for each such homeland to adhere to the Biblical doctrines outlined in the original Westminster Standards and to be run accordingly. And there is good reason to believe that the Bible promises such as our destiny, to some extent in the “millennium”, and to an even greater extent in the New Earth when Jesus Christ returns.
No ethnic people or tribe should be brow beaten to forego having its own homeland. The liberal politically correct elite would argue Tibetans, Kosovars, Palestinians, and Jews each have a right to a homeland, but would deny such a homeland for white, English-speaking, Christian Americans, labeling the latter idea as racist. The Society rejects such inconsistent treatment as a devilish impediment to Christian rule and peace. The Society lobbies for a homeland for each ethnic people, and it urges that each homeland adopt Christian principles.
It would
be our view that nations have the right to pass laws limiting and regulating
immigration (most or perhaps all nations in existence today have such laws),
stipulating an official national language, making sure that schools in the
nation teach their nation's history and heritage (by all means not to the
exclusion of the history of the rest of the world, but with a focus that not
each and every other nation gets), etc. And it is our view that all nations
have a moral duty to stipulate the reformed Christian faith as the national
religion. If it were immoral for a nation to regulate immigration, and a nation
like Israel today were to have a totally open borders policy, within a
relatively short time it would cease to be a Jewish homeland, for the majority
of its citizens would not be Jewish and they would in all likelihood not want
Jewish political leaders. And some (and perhaps even many) would want to see
the Jews persecuted. But if a nation can limit and regulate its immigration,
then it can do so in such a way as to preserve its ethnic, cultural and
linguistic dominance in the nation.
Becoming a Member of this Society
Anyone can be a voting member of this Society who agrees with its goals and adheres to the doctrines of the original Westminster Standards. Officers of the Society will be elected by its voting members, and must be male.
What Advocacy for Ethnic Homelands is Not
Our advocacy for ethnic homelands is not a defense or support for kinism. Kinism, which asserts that it is permissible or even advisable to prohibit inter-ethnic marriage among Christian believers, is fallacious. No nation or state has the right to separate or nullify what God has joined together, and scripture is abundantly clear that a male and female Christian married to one another, even if they be of different ethnicities or races, constitute a legitimate marriage, and may not be nullified by man on erroneous grounds. Articles addressing kinism can be found at http://www.puritans.net/news/kinism072111.htm and http://www.puritans.net/news/kinism081711.htm . It would seem Dr. Francis Nigel Lee, in his overall well written arguments for ethnic homelands, supported a form of kinism, and to that extent we disagree with him too, even though we feel his defense of ethnic homelands is spot on.
Our advocacy for ethnic homelands is a form of ethnic nationalism, but it does not mean we are for all forms of ethnic nationalism. Clearly, there are many ways in history that ethnic nationalism has been taken to a sinful degree, such as was the case with Hitler’s nazi fascism.
We also reject what has historically been called “segregationism”, which advocates an absolute segregation of the races or ethnicities. There simply was not such absolute segregationism in ancient Israel, nor should there be in Christian commonwealths today. While Biblical ethnic nationalism advocates ethnic homelands, it rejects absolute segregationist models. This is why we reject, for example, the old South African apartheid system, as explained at http://www.puritans.net/articles/apartheid.htm .
The Rationale for Ethnic Homelands
Dr. Francis Nigel Lee shows from scripture at http://www.dr-fnlee.org/docs/nri/nri.pdf
why ethnic homelands (in which a nation is designed to be a homeland for a
particular ethnic people) are and inevitably always will be the case. America
has not been a counter-example to Dr. Francis Nigel Lee’s thesis, but an
example of it, for historically America has had a dominant ethnicity (white,
English-speaking, Christian Americans), and historically America has been a
homeland for this people. Dr. Samuel
Huntington ably demonstrates this in his book Who Are We: The Challenges to
A treatment of this topic must begin with a consideration of the meaning of the term “nation” in scripture. What does the term "nation" in scripture commonly mean and imply, such as starting with the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 ("These [are] the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood")? In the sense that even as Gentiles we are part of the 'holy nation' of the Church (spiritual Israel), is that not because we by God's grace have chosen to have Abraham as our father in a spiritual sense? If we focus upon the use of the term 'nation' in the political sense, and as the term may bear upon political philosophy, does not the term “nation”, especially when used in a political sense, commonly imply a certain dominant (notice I use the word dominant and not pure) common ethnic heritage (as well as culture, religion, and language)? For instance, was not one common dominant feature of the political nation of Israel is that it consisted of those who had Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as their biological ancestors and/or wanted to assimilate into that people that did (eg, Ruth, Uriah)? (Or in contrast, not having descendants of Javan and those who had no desire or interest in assimilating into the people descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). Historically speaking (including scriptural history) gold and silver have generally been used as money, just as historically speaking (including scriptural history), a nation in the political sense (excepting empires) has generally been characterized by a dominant common ethnic heritage and those who have sought to assimilate into that dominant group. It is not a sin not to follow these historical norms, but those that have tried in history not to follow these historical norms have often ended up having some significant problems and ended up returning to the historical norms.
In
addition, if all manifestations of tribalism are sinful and pagan, is it not
odd that God chose to organize His people - the 12 Tribes of Israel- at least
for centuries both internally and externally- ethnically and tribally? Was not Old Testament Israel a homeland for
ethnic Jews, even as it is today? This
alone is sufficient argument against those that denounce all forms of ethnic
nationalism as sinful.
In addition, passages like Revelation 21:24 ("And the nations of
them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth
do bring their glory and honour into it.")
suggest that our eschatological destiny is to be many nations under one King
Jesus and not one nation (in a political or tribal sense) under one King Jesus.
In other words, Christianity makes it possible for the nations to live in peace
and love (and, yes, inter-marry, when they want), but not to obliterate all
tribal manifestations (see also Isaiah 19:21-25). Regarding the non-theoretical
aspects of this, the nations of Europe can co-exist on far better terms as
separate nations, rather than trying to get Europe to become one political
nation. The result of trying to do the latter could be what has happened to
Yugoslavia in the last 20 years (civil war leading to break up). Also, the
Rwandan genocide perhaps could have been avoided if Tutsis and Hutus had their
own separate nations, rather than fighting each other to dominate one nation. A
good case study in tribalism among professing Protestant people is the relation
of England and the Netherlands over the last 400 years (including the
Anglo-Dutch Wars). God has not erased human tribalism in the New Covenant, and
there are dangers in assuming human tribalism can be erased in establishing
nations.
Some Christians suggest that it is wrong for a civil
government to limit and regulate foreign immigration (on ethnic tribal
considerations) on the basis of such passages as Leviticus 19:34 ("[But]
the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you
as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as
thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I [am] the LORD your
God.") But this argument ignores that there were God ordained laws
in Israel that had the effect of preserving ethnic tribal dominance of a
certain territory, such as Leviticus 25:10 ("And ye shall hallow the
fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land unto all the
inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you;
and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every
man unto his family.") Commenting upon this verse, Matthew Henry writes:
"That the distinction of tribes should be kept up; for, though a man might
purchase lands in another tribe, yet he could not retain them longer than till
the year of jubilee, and then they would revert of course." I point
this out not to suggest
If the response back is that
Leviticus 25:10 was put in place solely for messianic purposes, then that has
to be proved. I myself doubt that was the *only* reason for such laws, because
1) the effect could have been accomplished in other ways 2) mankind has
historically (including in scriptural history) organized politically along
tribal principles (this is not unique to the Jews - see Genesis 10,etc) 3)
there are various verses in scripture which support that a tribal nation's
territorial integrity should be respected (eg, see
Moses' request to pass through the land of Edom), and it would seem a tribal
nation would not have to surrender its territorial control to another tribe
just because a lot of people from another tribe want to immigrate into it. I am
not persuaded either that many will not want to immigrate in so long as there
are no extravagant government welfare programs. If a tribal nation is sitting
on oil or gold (just to take some examples), history shows a lot of foreigners
would like to move in and take over the land (regardless of their government
welfare programs). Hawaii did not have many welfare programs, but the USA and Dole
saw fit to get a lot of the Hawaiians' land (it grows great pineapples) and
then take over their territory. (This was done by professing Christians by the
way, for those who believe mankind has outgrown tribalism via Christianity. I
am sorry, but I do not buy that tribalism is a thing of the past or ever will
be. The NAACP, La Raza, etc etc
tell me otherwise. The wise approach is to constrain tribalism within Biblical
principles (as ancient Israel did), not to try to pretend tribalism can be
erased.) For info on the Hawaiian takeover, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
Furthermore, even foreigners converted to the Hebrew religion and admitted into the Old Testament Jewish church did not necessarily attain civil citizenship in Israel, with all of its civil privileges. A relevant quote from Aaron’s Rod Blossoming on this matter of strangers in Israel is as follows: “In respect of members; for, as Mr Selden hath very well observed concerning that sort of proselytes who had the name of Proselyti Justitice.1 They were initiated into the Jewish religion by circumcision, baptism and sacrifice; and they were allowed not only to worship God apart by themselves, but also to come into the church and congregation of Israel, and to be called by the name of Jews,—nevertheless they were restrained and secluded from dignities, magistracies and preferments in the Jewish republic, and from divers marriages which were free to the Israelites, even as strangers initiated and associated into the church of Rome have not therefore the privilege of Roman citizens. Thus Mr Selden, who hath thereby made it manifest that there was a distinction of the Jewish church and Jewish state, because those proselytes, being embodied into the Jewish church as church members, and having a right to communicate in the holy ordinances among the rest of the people of God, yet were not properly members of the Jewish state, nor admitted to civil privileges; whence it is also that the names of Jews and proselytes were used distinctly, Acts ii. 10.” So American theonomists like Gary North and Gary DeMar that allege immigration laws on the basis of ethnicity are illegitimate are without Biblical support. Furthermore, the basis for many American theonomic arguments are contrary to the sound Biblical doctrines outlined in the original Westminster Standards relating to the Israelite judicial law.
Finally, many American Christians support a Jewish homeland
nation (ie, Israel) but seem to believe that Western
nations have a responsibility to open borders and no right to a homeland dominated by a certain ethnic group
(whether English, Dutch, French, German, Irish, etc.). But the Society believes
the following have a right to homeland nations alongside Jewish people: French,
Mexicans, Chinese, Dutch, Japanese,
Americans (as that latter term has historically been
defined), etc. In order to have a
homeland nation, that means there must be territorial rights so as to preserve
the homeland as a homeland nation dominated by a certain people. If every
Arab or African that wanted to enter Israel and become an Israeli citizen were
allowed to do so, then the Jewish homeland would soon cease to exist.
(And the same can equally be said of the French homeland, Mexican homeland,
Japanese homeland, American homeland, etc.) In scripture such barriers to
entry by foreigners are called "hedges". eg, "Why hast thou [then] broken down her
hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?" (Psalm
80:12) It is a divine judgment if a nation loses her hedges
(which is only one sign of the divine Americans. The Church should
be clear not only that every nation has a duty to be explicitly Biblical Christian,
but also that every nation has a right to hedges
to protect itself as a homeland for whichever ethnic people dominates it and to
judgment on America, which to a great degree has lost control of her borders
and is essentially legalizing illegal immigrants). So the point is this: what is good for the goose, is good for the gander. Jews have a right to a
homeland; so do respect the territorial
sovereignty of other nations. (The very term 'nation' in scripture
carries with it the concept of a people dominated by a certain ethnic heritage
and culture.) Too many Christians have bought into politically correct
ideas that say a nation has a moral responsibility to open borders. Such
politically correct ideas are foolhardy and un-scriptural.
The Solemn League and Covenant
The Solemn League and Covenant was entered into by three
separate ethnic homeland nations, that of the Scots, the English, and the
Irish. They covenanted to serve Jesus
Christ according to the Biblical principles that would be formulated in the
Westminster Standards. In so doing, they
did not merge into one united nation, but rather preserved their separate
ethnic homeland nations, while joining in a common covenant to God. The nations of the earth today should follow
this pattern and model. Historically
speaking, in the context of Scotland, it was the conservative Presbyterians
(“Covenanters”) who argued most vociferously for a separate ethnic homeland for
the Scots and the idea of ethnic homeland nations, whereas the more “moderate”
elements in the Church of Scotland supported union with England and dissolution
of separate national status. Professor Christopher Whatley, of Dundee University’s
history department, has documented this in his book called The Scots and the Union. (see http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/nationalist-hero-who-was-really-a-union-man-1-540579 ). Lord Belhaven of
Scotland voiced this conservative sentiment, which really represented the view
of most Scots at the time, in his famous speech against the Act of Union. Here is a brief excerpt from that speech:
“…I think I see a free and independent Kingdom delivering up that, which all the World hath been fighting for since the Days of Nimrod; yea, that for which most of all the Empires, Kingdoms, States, Principalities, and Dukedoms of Europe, are at this time engaged in the most bloody and cruel Wars that ever were, to wit, a Power to manage their own Affairs by themselves, without the Assistance and Counsel of any other. I think I see a national Church, founded upon a Rock, secured by a Claim of Right, hedged and fenced about, by the strictest and most pointed, legal Sanction that Sovereignty could contrive, voluntarily descending into a Plain, upon an equal Level with Jews, Papists, Socinians, Arminians, Anabaptists, and other Sectaries, &c…” (see http://cranntara.org.uk/belhave.htm )
Modern Trends
The trend
of the last 30 years has been in the direction of more ethnic homeland
nationhood, not less. For example, consider how the Soviet Union broke up into
the ethnic homelands of Armenia, Georgia, etc. And consider how Yugoslavia
broke up into Serbia, Croatia, etc. And
consider how the Germans have united in one nation but Czechoslovakia broke up
into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Also Sudan is breaking up along tribal and religious lines. And even notice the movement in the
The Negative Consequences of Rejecting Ethnic Homelands
A flawed multicultural policy like the USA (and many other Western nations) has can eventually lead to terrible civil strife to disentangle what was created, worse even than what Yugoslavia has experienced in its post-communist era. Another concern is that eventually in response to the mess created, there might be a 180 degree pendulum swing to something that insists upon racial or ethnic purity within a nation ("ethnic cleansing"), which will also be misguided and wrong. It seems that the policy of the USA since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 is misguided, running contrary to Biblical principles of prudence. It is not an orderly process of assimilation of foreigners so as to preserve national cohesion.
The article at http://www.puritans.net/news/crisis033011.htm discusses the crisis of national identity that the USA now faces, especially from Mexico, among the many other problems of the USA.
Harvard professor of political science Robert
D. Putnam conducted a nearly decade long study how multiculturalism affects
social trust.[15]
He surveyed 26,200 people in 40 American communities, finding that when the
data were adjusted for class, income and other factors, the more racially
diverse a community is, the greater the loss of trust. People in diverse communities
"don’t trust the local mayor, they don’t trust the local paper, they don’t
trust other people and they don’t trust institutions," writes Putnam.[16]
In the presence of such ethnic diversity, Putnam maintains that “[W]e hunker
down. We act like turtles. The effect of diversity is worse than had been
imagined. And it’s not just that we don’t trust people who are not like us. In
diverse communities, we don’t trust people who do look like us.”[15]
Two Erroneous Extremes
American
Christians are tending to two un-Biblical extremes: one that takes ethnic
nationalism to un-Biblical extreme (either kinism or
absolute segregationism) and one that regards all
manifestations of ethnic nationalism (and organizing political states along
ethnic homeland principles) as sinful and pagan. Can either of these two
extremes be Biblically supported?
It is not sinful not to organize nations along ethnic homeland lines,
just as it is not sinful if a nation does not use gold and silver as its
currency. But in both cases, people should be aware that they are straying from
the scriptural and historical norm, and they should not be surprised if
problems arise because there are some very practical reasons why they have been
scriptural and historical norms. One problem that arises is that some then in
reaction take ethnic nationalism to an un-Biblical extreme (such as the kinists are doing). Both Plymouth Colony of the English
Pilgrims and Jamestown Colony were essentially forms of ethnic homeland
societies, *but* the Pilgrims humanly speaking would not have survived without
the Indians like Squanto that settled with them and advised them (becoming an
integral part of their society), and John Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas was of
great value to Jamestown. And Old Testament Israel (which was an ethnic
homeland for the Jews) would not have fared so well without the help and
inclusion of Rahab and her family. Just
to be clear, religion (more specifically, the reformed Christian faith) trumps
ethnicity. But we must caution against an un-due aversion to all
manifestations of political ethnic nationalism, which is such in vogue among
the Western (esp American) intelligentsia, and in
some respects has been imbibed by the American evangelical community, based
upon a mis-interpretation of verses like Galatians
3:28. Galatians 3:28 is not intended to prohibit all distinctions between males
and females, nor to prohibit all manifestations of political tribalism and
ethnic nationalism.
It goes against the grain of scriptural principles to mark one congregation for one ethnicity and another congregation for another ethnicity. Squanto, living in Plymouth Colony, should be welcomed in the congregation in Plymouth, not have to walk miles to an Indian church. (And there should be one worldwide visible reformed church, consisting of the synods from each nation.) But when it comes to organizing political nations, I would argue (again, I am speaking practically, not because I believe this is a matter of Biblical command) having publicly labeled ethnic homeland nations actually helps inter-ethnic relations, rather than hurting such relations. If a nation labels itself Greece, because it will be dominated by Greek ethnicity, culture, language, etc, or Navaho, because it will be dominated by Navaho ethnicity, culture, language, etc., then it is not threatening if a non-Greek or non-Navaho family moves in, because it will be understood they will assimilate into that heritage, culture, language, etc. ("When in Rome, do as the Romans do".) On the other hand, when a nation takes a multicultural approach, then foreigners that move in can become much more of a perceived threat or even an actual threat. Is the culture, language, etc. of this place up for grabs to the tribal group that gets the political upper hand or increases most in numbers? If Rwanda had been split between a Hutu-dominated nation and a Tutsi-dominated nation, would the genocide have been less likely? Now that Bosnian Serbs have a separate political enclave they dominate from Bosniacs, has that not reduced the fighting between the two? Would splitting Belgium into two not actually help relations between the Flemish and Walloons?
A Summary of Our Principles
Summarily stated, here are some of
the leading principles of the Society:
1.
It has been the
historical norm that nations have been organized along ethnic nationalist
principles (Genesis 10), and this historical norm remains a prudent approach to
political organization, so long as it is done consistent with Biblical
principles. When each people has its own homeland nation, there is less likelihood of
abusive and unjust treatment. Even when some are an ethnic minority in one
nation, it is prudent that they have a homeland nation to which to flee if the
majority people in their own nation becomes abusive.
2.
It is our
eschatological destiny that nations will be Biblically Christian and
politically organized along ethnic nationalist principles (Isaiah 19:21-25,
Matthew 28:19-20, Revelation 21:24).
3.
Biblical ethnic
nationalist principles mean a political nation is dominated by a particular
ethnic people, but it does not mean it is “racially/ethnically pure”, as is
abundantly clear in the case with the ancient Israelites. It consisted of those
who had Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as their biological ancestors, but also had
those of other ethnicities that wanted to assimilate into that people (eg, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah).
4.
We believe it is the right of every ethnic homeland nation
to enforce immigration laws which allow that people to remain the dominant
people in their homeland nation.
5.
We believe Christ’s visible church should be united around
the world according to Presbyterian principles outlined in the original
Westminster Standards, without respect to ethnicity.
6.
We believe that no person ought to be excluded from
membership or officership, treated in a second class
manner, or treated as unwelcome to attend or join any Christian congregation on
the basis of that person’s ethnicity or race.
7.
We reject kinism, which teaches
that a government has a right to outlaw marriage between people of two
different ethnicities though they both be Christians, whereas the Bible teaches
that what God has joined together, let not man put asunder, and many Biblical
saints rightfully married outside their ethnic tribe (Joseph, Moses, Boaz,
Bathsheba, etc.).
8.
We reject Nazism, that calls for
racially and ethnically pure nations, as contrary to sound scriptural doctrine
and in reality impossible to implement, but disastrous when tried.
9.
We
reject imperialism, which generally amounts to one tribal people lording it
over other tribal peoples in unjust ways, and improperly disrespects the
national sovereignty rights of other ethnic peoples.
10. Tribalism or ethnical nationalism,
if Biblically expressed, is a natural and non-sinful characteristic of mankind,
but ethnic nationalism can take on sinful manifestations, and the sinful
manifestations should be condemned and rejected, but not tribalism or ethnic
nationalism itself. Efforts to erase
tribalism and ethnic nationalism will not succeed, and such efforts generally
make matters worse.
Our Plan of Action as a Society
Our Society plans to distribute information
promoting Christian ethnic homeland solutions which we believe will help
address many modern societal ills. We
are already witnessing the growing problems of multiculturalism in the West in
general and in the