Policy
Politico reporter Heidi Przybyla recently criticized Christians who believe in God-given rights, claiming that believing this amounts to “Christian nationalism.”
After sparking a huge controversy, Przybyla has now apologised.
RELATED: Hollywood Liberal Rob Reiner Attacks Trump and Conservative Christians – “Poisoning Christianity”
She said that believing you have God-given rights is “Christian nationalism.”
The Christian Post reported: “In an article published by Politico on Thursday, Przybyla addressed comments she made during an appearance on MSNBC’s All in With Chris Hayes last week. She asserted on the news program that Christian nationalists “believe that our rights, as Americans, are… All human beings, do not come from any earthly authority.”
It's strange that someone would find this concept controversial or even sinister.
The newspaper continued: “Przybyla added that, based on this line of thinking, rights 'do not come from Congress, they do not come from the Supreme Court, they come from God.'” She also asserted that “the problem with that is that they define – the man, the men, the men – they define What God tells them.”
The story continued:
Przybyla also identified the concept of natural law as a “pillar of Catholicism” and suggested that although it “has been used in campaigns for good and social justice” such as the push for racial equality and civil rights, there is a “radical element of conservative Christianity.” Who say this applies specifically to issues including abortion [and] Same-sex marriage.” She lamented that “it goes much further than that, as you see, for example, with the ruling in Alabama this week that the judges associated with this pro-sovereignty faction did.”
The Alabama Supreme Court decision cited by Przybyla ruled that embryos created through in vitro fertilization are human beings protected under state law.
Przybyla's comments about Christian nationalism on MSNBC drew a range of criticism, including from Bishop Robert Barron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. In a video posted on X last week, he condemned her remarks as “one of the most disturbing and dangerous things I have ever seen in a political conversation.”
“It is very dangerous when we forget the principle that our rights come from God, not from the government,” Barron said. “Because the fundamental problem is that if these sanctions come from the government or Congress or the Supreme Court, they could be taken by those same people.”
“This opens the door to inclusivity,” he added.
RELATED: Trump prays with Rev. Franklin Graham at the southern border
Is the Declaration of Independence an example?
Przybyla apologized for her article after the backlash, saying: “Because of some clumsy words, some people interpreted me as making completely different arguments from what I believe. Reporters have a responsibility to use words and convey the meaning accurately. I'm sorry I didn't achieve this in my appearance.”
She added: “Among the passages that caused confusion was my attempt to distinguish between Christians and a small group of these people who advocate Christian nationalism.”
Przybyla added that “many people have views about our rights as Americans that would coincide with the views of many of our nation's founders.” She cited the passage in the Declaration of Independence that states that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The idea that our rights are a gift from God is as old as the West itself, and certainly within Christianity.
The Founding Fathers were explicit that the Constitution did not grant rights to citizens, but rather was an explicit recognition that it would protect rights given by God, not man.
That this is even remotely controversial for this so-called journalist says more about the state of modern media than about Christianity or even actual nationalism.
