Virgil Walker Comes Around On Christian Nationalism

Virgil Walker was one of the Christian figures to arise out of G3 Ministries. But he was always friendlier than Scott Aniol and Josh Buice, whose disgrace may very well doom G3. Virgil Walker jumped ship on G3 already, building his own platform and continuing to be a contributor on Jason Whitlock’s Fearless podcast. Virgil Walker has come out with a fresher perspective on Christian Nationalism. In an article titled, Am I a Christian Nationalist? Walker shares his fresh perspective on the topic and its personalities.

For some, it’s a theological blueprint.
For others, it’s a brand.
Depending on who you ask, it’s either the future of Western civilization or the next great heresy.

Virgil Walker believes that the term is ill-defined but then concludes that there are consensus players involved.

Before anyone used the phrase Christian Nationalism, Doug Wilson had already built the blueprint.
For decades, he has preached, written, and published about Christendom: a vision of Christian culture that encompasses education, worship, family, and law.

Doug Wilson is called the archetech of Christian Nationalism.

Still, Wilson’s imprint on this entire conversation is undeniable. Whether one calls it Christendom, Christian Nationalism, or something else entirely, most of the new movements have borrowed, consciously or not, from the architecture he has been sketching for decades.

This much is true as Wilson both laid ground work and has benefitted greatly from the term in the first place.

Stephen Wolfe’s Case for Christian Nationalism gave the idea academic structure. His version is intellectual and system-building, but light on theology, anchored more in natural law and pre-Reformation political theory than in the redemptive storyline of Scripture.

Stephen Wolfe is called the philosopher of Christian Nationalism who he has oft criticized in the past. While some of that remains, the outlook is positive.

Some will say my critique here is too soft, given some of the things Webbon says that trigger people. Personally, I think he’s the master of movement. Sometimes that’s good. Other times, I’ll leave that for you to decide.

To the surprise of some, I’ve had more than a few direct conversations with Joel. He’s approachable, even when the conversation gets tough. There are times I shake my head at his choices, and I’m sure he’s done the same with mine, but that’s part of brotherhood. Disagreement doesn’t have to mean distance.

Virgil Walker reveals a freindship with Webbon that many probably didn’t know about. Despite their disagreements, Walker lauds Webbon for his capacity to build a movement. And I will add that Webbon correctly understands that the movement must be much bigger than the Reformed niche that Shepherds Conference is catering to.

William Wolfe is then lauded as a statesman, for his role in building Center For Baptist Leadership (CBL), an organization that has quickly garnered more clout in Washington than the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Ogden Bros are lauded as cultural terraformers, building a framework for a Christian culture.

From there Walker points out that there exists a populist that longs for a return to tradition, embodied by Charlie Kirk.

In that sense, this “populist” strain of Christian Nationalism is less an ideology and more a longing, a desire to see America remember who she was, to restore moral clarity, and to re-center the public square around God’s truth and the family unit.

The last group that Virgil Walker talks about is the curious onlooker, giving the example of his friend, Jason Whitlock. I might say that Whitlock is firmly in the camp, as a good-hearted individual.

Then there’s my friend Jason Whitlock. He’s not leading a movement; he just likes what he sees. He’s like most people. He hasn’t dived headlong into the theological positions of these men. He only knows a few by name. He’d probably identify most with Charlie Kirk’s brand of civic nationalism, but he also appreciates the courage he sees in men like Doug Wilson. He’ll have a conversation with someone like Joel Webbon. Yet he remains unfazed by anyone’s personal take on the subject of Christian Nationalism.

Jason’s like a man standing at a Christian Nationalism buffet, picking what resonates, passing on what doesn’t. That’s not a criticism; it’s a reflection of where many thoughtful believers are right now—watching, discerning, learning what this renewed confidence in truth and conviction might mean for the days ahead.

Virgil Walker will simply say he identifies as a Christian and not a Christian Nationalists. Still, the conclusion of the article is quite friendly, and his post showed a remarkable improvment in understanding on the issue.