Just days after writing about Adventism and Christian nationalism, I was sitting in the newly-built Paradise Adventist church. The compound—completed this year after the congregation’s previous building was destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history—stands as a testament to the community’s resilience. Still, I doubted whether the large sanctuary would fill. Butte County, recently reshaped by California’s Prop 50 redistricting, is a traditionally Republican stronghold in an otherwise Democratic state; in 2024, it voted red on nearly every ballot measure, including for US President Donald Trump.
Yet on November 15, three Adventist scholars made the case not only that our theology still has something vital to say about religious liberty, but also that the current administration poses real dangers to the separation of church and state. The Religious Liberty Summit—hosted by the Church State Council—was less a political conference and more a return to basic Adventism, a reminder that our roots and prophetic identity were always meant to prepare us for precisely this moment.
Attendees fill the sanctuary for the Religious Liberty Summit on November 15 at the Paradise Adventist Church in Paradise, California. Image: Natalie Bruzon/Spectrum
Devon and Dawn Horning—local to Paradise since 2010—were the duo responsible for bringing the Religious Liberty Summit to the Paradise Church. Devon described his long-standing interest in religious liberty: “I have had this very big interest in separation of church and state and how that relates to current events,” he said, adding that studying “liberty of conscience and Roger Williams and the history of the Adventist Church” has shaped his convictions.
Devon and Dawn Horning—local to Paradise since 2010—were the duo responsible for bringing the Religious Liberty Summit to the Paradise Church. Devon described his long-standing interest in religious liberty: “I have had this very big interest in separation of church and state and how that relates to current events,” he said, adding that studying “liberty of conscience and Roger Williams and the history of the Adventist Church” has shaped his convictions.
The idea to host the summit emerged organically from that personal passion. “We learned that they might be interested in hosting” an event in the area, Devon explained, and once Dawn, who serves as the church’s secretary, reached out through the church office, “Steve [Stephen N. Allred, director of government relations for the Church State Council] was very willing to do a special weekend event for us.”
Dawn emphasized how seamlessly the collaboration unfolded. Coordinating through the church office and with their pastor, she described the process simply: “They did a great job. They were really good to work with.”
Steve Allred: “It’s not people we’re fighting.”
Steve Allred discusses the roots and theology of Christian nationalism during the morning session of the Religious Liberty Summit on November 15 at Paradise Adventist Church. Image: Natalie Bruzon/Spectrum
Allred opened the summit’s morning session by grounding religious liberty in scripture and early American history. He told the story of visiting Geneva’s Reformation Wall, where Williams is honored for championing “soul liberty.” Allred highlighted the significance of Williams’ conviction that “each of us is free in our conscience, in our soul, in our inmost being, that no one else can coerce[…]when it comes to your faith, it’s hands off.”
Allred described contemporary Christian nationalism not as new, but as a modern expression of an old temptation: to secure by force the moral purity we despair of achieving by persuasion. He noted that some of the loudest voices on the Christian right—Charlie Kirk and Allie Beth Stuckey came to mind for me—frame political engagement as a battle against the people they disagree with. “But we’re not conquering nations,” Allred reminded attendees. “We’re not fighting people. We are fighting darkness.”
From there, Allred moved into Adventist interpretations of scripture. Drawing on Revelation 13, he reminded the audience that the two beasts “seek to counterfeit God at every step,” including God’s law, God’s mark, and even the truth about God’s character. He referenced the false trinity of “the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet,” which together mimic the father, son, and holy spirit.
What matters, Allred argued, is that the enemy works most effectively by offering believers a version of Christianity that looks familiar but distorts the character of God. “Satan wants to pawn off on people a version of Jesus and of his kingdom and of his religion and of his word that’s not the real thing,” he said, “because he wants people to believe things that are false about God.” The ultimate goal, he warned, is to turn hearts toward a counterfeit kingdom—one that uses state power to enforce religious conformity.
From Ten Commandments mandates in schools, to renewed interest in blasphemy laws and Sunday legislation, Allred warned that political Christianity is once again gaining legitimacy in American public life—echoing early Adventist fears. “The question is not whether there are real problems in society,” he said. “The question is: What is the solution? Is the solution we’re seeking the real Christ, or a counterfeit?”
Alan Reinach: Dominionism, the Seven Mountain Mandate, and a Counterfeit Holy Spirit
Allred opened the summit’s morning session by grounding religious liberty in scripture and early American history. He told the story of visiting Geneva’s Reformation Wall, where Williams is honored for championing “soul liberty.” Allred highlighted the significance of Williams’ conviction that “each of us is free in our conscience, in our soul, in our inmost being, that no one else can coerce[…]when it comes to your faith, it’s hands off.”
Allred described contemporary Christian nationalism not as new, but as a modern expression of an old temptation: to secure by force the moral purity we despair of achieving by persuasion. He noted that some of the loudest voices on the Christian right—Charlie Kirk and Allie Beth Stuckey came to mind for me—frame political engagement as a battle against the people they disagree with. “But we’re not conquering nations,” Allred reminded attendees. “We’re not fighting people. We are fighting darkness.”
From there, Allred moved into Adventist interpretations of scripture. Drawing on Revelation 13, he reminded the audience that the two beasts “seek to counterfeit God at every step,” including God’s law, God’s mark, and even the truth about God’s character. He referenced the false trinity of “the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet,” which together mimic the father, son, and holy spirit.
What matters, Allred argued, is that the enemy works most effectively by offering believers a version of Christianity that looks familiar but distorts the character of God. “Satan wants to pawn off on people a version of Jesus and of his kingdom and of his religion and of his word that’s not the real thing,” he said, “because he wants people to believe things that are false about God.” The ultimate goal, he warned, is to turn hearts toward a counterfeit kingdom—one that uses state power to enforce religious conformity.
From Ten Commandments mandates in schools, to renewed interest in blasphemy laws and Sunday legislation, Allred warned that political Christianity is once again gaining legitimacy in American public life—echoing early Adventist fears. “The question is not whether there are real problems in society,” he said. “The question is: What is the solution? Is the solution we’re seeking the real Christ, or a counterfeit?”
Alan Reinach: Dominionism, the Seven Mountain Mandate, and a Counterfeit Holy Spirit
Alan Reinach explains the Seven Mountain Mandate and its ties to dominionist theology during the Religious Liberty Summit on November 15 at Paradise Adventist Church. Image: Natalie Bruzon/Spectrum
The theme of counterfeit faith continued in the mid-morning session with Alan Reinach, who examined Christian nationalism through the lens of prophetic deception. Reinach, an attorney and long-time religious liberty advocate, argued that the Christian nationalist movement represents a religious vision “taken to an idolatrous extreme.”
Reinach described the Seven Mountain Mandate—associated with the New Apostolic Reformation—as a global dominionist effort that aims to control “government, religion, business, education, arts and media,” and other spheres of society. These initiatives, he said, are not fringe but “a very powerful movement[…]with a very powerful counterfeit holy spirit.”
Reinach pointed attendees to Revelation 13, noting that the second beast “performs great signs even making fire come down from heaven on earth in the sight of men.” In Adventist interpretation, Reinach said, “fire represents the holy spirit,” making this “a counterfeit of the holy spirit.” He added that what emerges is “a religion of nationalism[…]the worship of nation, empire,” under the guise of Christianity.
To reinforce the point, Reinach contrasted true Christian faith with the instinct to secure national survival at any cost. Drawing from John 11, he described how the high priest argued that “it is expedient that one man die to save the nation.” For Reinach, this is the template for end-time apostasy: “the enforcement of an idolatrous religion in the name of Christ[…]lacking the power and the character of Christ.”
Reinach’s conclusion was pointed: present conditions, he said, suggest that “we may be sleepwalking into the apocalypse,” lulled by fear, political confusion, and a Christianity that increasingly mirrors nationalist priorities. For Adventists, he insisted, now is the time “to warn that Babylon has indeed fallen”—a call back to the heart of the three angels’ messages.
Laura Wibberding: Adventist History as Resistance to Christian Nationalism
If the morning sessions focused on theology and prophecy, Laura Wibberding’s afternoon lecture rooted the conversation firmly in Adventist history. A professor at Pacific Union College, Wibberding opened by returning to Jesus’s instruction in Matthew 22 (NLT): “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” This principle, she explained, became central to the Adventist understanding that “what belongs to God does not belong to Caesar.”
Wibberding retraced Adventism’s early rejection of political Christianity, showing how the Millerites and early Adventists resisted movements like the 19th-century National Reform Association, which attempted to define America as a Christian nation. She explained that early Adventists were motivated not by withdrawal from public life but by an insistence that civil government “doesn’t own things like our worship, or our faith, or our consciences.”
In Wibberding’s words, the Puritan impulse to build a Christian society in the New World never fully grasped the principle of religious liberty. But Adventists did. By insisting that faith must be free from state enforcement, they carved out a theological identity contrary to Christian nationalism long before the term existed.
Her presentation served as a reminder: resisting political Christianity is Adventism returning to itself.
Panel Discussion: Influence vs. Dominance, and the Path of Hope
The theme of counterfeit faith continued in the mid-morning session with Alan Reinach, who examined Christian nationalism through the lens of prophetic deception. Reinach, an attorney and long-time religious liberty advocate, argued that the Christian nationalist movement represents a religious vision “taken to an idolatrous extreme.”
Reinach described the Seven Mountain Mandate—associated with the New Apostolic Reformation—as a global dominionist effort that aims to control “government, religion, business, education, arts and media,” and other spheres of society. These initiatives, he said, are not fringe but “a very powerful movement[…]with a very powerful counterfeit holy spirit.”
Reinach pointed attendees to Revelation 13, noting that the second beast “performs great signs even making fire come down from heaven on earth in the sight of men.” In Adventist interpretation, Reinach said, “fire represents the holy spirit,” making this “a counterfeit of the holy spirit.” He added that what emerges is “a religion of nationalism[…]the worship of nation, empire,” under the guise of Christianity.
To reinforce the point, Reinach contrasted true Christian faith with the instinct to secure national survival at any cost. Drawing from John 11, he described how the high priest argued that “it is expedient that one man die to save the nation.” For Reinach, this is the template for end-time apostasy: “the enforcement of an idolatrous religion in the name of Christ[…]lacking the power and the character of Christ.”
Reinach’s conclusion was pointed: present conditions, he said, suggest that “we may be sleepwalking into the apocalypse,” lulled by fear, political confusion, and a Christianity that increasingly mirrors nationalist priorities. For Adventists, he insisted, now is the time “to warn that Babylon has indeed fallen”—a call back to the heart of the three angels’ messages.
Laura Wibberding: Adventist History as Resistance to Christian Nationalism
If the morning sessions focused on theology and prophecy, Laura Wibberding’s afternoon lecture rooted the conversation firmly in Adventist history. A professor at Pacific Union College, Wibberding opened by returning to Jesus’s instruction in Matthew 22 (NLT): “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” This principle, she explained, became central to the Adventist understanding that “what belongs to God does not belong to Caesar.”
Wibberding retraced Adventism’s early rejection of political Christianity, showing how the Millerites and early Adventists resisted movements like the 19th-century National Reform Association, which attempted to define America as a Christian nation. She explained that early Adventists were motivated not by withdrawal from public life but by an insistence that civil government “doesn’t own things like our worship, or our faith, or our consciences.”
In Wibberding’s words, the Puritan impulse to build a Christian society in the New World never fully grasped the principle of religious liberty. But Adventists did. By insisting that faith must be free from state enforcement, they carved out a theological identity contrary to Christian nationalism long before the term existed.
Her presentation served as a reminder: resisting political Christianity is Adventism returning to itself.
Panel Discussion: Influence vs. Dominance, and the Path of Hope
Laura Wibberding speaks during the afternoon panel alongside Steve Allred, Alan Reinach, Devon Horning (left), and Randall Waring (right) at the Religious Liberty Summit on November 15 in Paradise, California. Image: Natalie Bruzon/Spectrum
The day concluded with a moderated panel featuring Allred, Reinach, Wibberding, Devon, and Randall Waring, chair of the Paradise Adventist Church board. After a day of wading through Adventist theology and history, the panel shifted toward practice—how Adventists should live faithfully in an age of rising Christian nationalism.
The conversation quickly turned to public versus private morality, Sunday laws, and Project 2025. When an attendee asked whether Adventists should endorse Charlie Kirk’s forthcoming book on the Sabbath, the Seven Mountain Mandate surfaced again—this time with unambiguous caution. Reinach and Allred discussed the dangers of promoting material produced within movements whose aims Adventists cannot ethically support. Allred warned that organizations like Turning Point USA have become influential conduits for dominionist theology and that many Christians are being drawn in by nationalistic rhetoric disguised as spiritual revival.
The day concluded with a moderated panel featuring Allred, Reinach, Wibberding, Devon, and Randall Waring, chair of the Paradise Adventist Church board. After a day of wading through Adventist theology and history, the panel shifted toward practice—how Adventists should live faithfully in an age of rising Christian nationalism.
The conversation quickly turned to public versus private morality, Sunday laws, and Project 2025. When an attendee asked whether Adventists should endorse Charlie Kirk’s forthcoming book on the Sabbath, the Seven Mountain Mandate surfaced again—this time with unambiguous caution. Reinach and Allred discussed the dangers of promoting material produced within movements whose aims Adventists cannot ethically support. Allred warned that organizations like Turning Point USA have become influential conduits for dominionist theology and that many Christians are being drawn in by nationalistic rhetoric disguised as spiritual revival.
An attendee asks a question about Charlie Kirk during the Q&A portion of the Religious Liberty Summit on November 15 at Paradise Adventist Church. Image: Natalie Bruzon/Spectrum
“Religion is a fertile ground for exploitation. Churches are,” Allred said. “One of the things I see with Christian nationalism is that they’re using a lot of the words[…]things that Christianity is into, and yet when you look at the underlying substance, when you look at the actual values that we’re promoting, we’re being selective.”
This led to perhaps the clearest insight of the day—the difference between influence and dominance. “Christian nationalism seeks power, not influence,” Allred said. “We should be influential—but never seek dominance.” Adventists are called not to rule culture, he emphasized, but to witness within it.
Reinach urged the audience to reject “us versus them” thinking. “If you’re going to reject a person because of their political beliefs, then you’re putting your politics ahead of your faith,” he said. “You know, that’s where you think that[…]Jesus is a Republican [or] Jesus is a Democrat, and if you don’t believe the way I do, it’s Mark of the Beast, us versus them thinking. So it’s fine to disagree about politics, but do we ostracize and demonize the other because they believe differently?”
Asked where they find hope amid rising authoritarianism, the presenters offered a consistent answer: Hope is grounded not in political victories but in Christ, in neighbor-loving religious liberty work, and in living out the character of God in darkening times.
A Return to Adventist Essentials
The Religious Liberty Summit at Paradise offered something rare in today’s world of echo-chamber conversations. Through thought-provoking presentations and discussion, presenters offered an Adventist response to Christian nationalism that neither minimized the threat nor sensationalized it. Instead, the presenters returned to Scripture, prophecy, and Adventist history to show that the movement toward a “Christian” state is a danger Adventists have named for generations.
The main point was unmistakable—the greatest threat to faith is not secularism, but a version of Christianity that mirrors political power rather than Christ’s character. Adventists not only have the theological vocabulary for this moment, but we have an inheritance of prophecy explicitly interpreted for this age, prophecy that clearly speaks on counterfeit gospels, false prophets, and the subtle appeal of blending God and country.
Dawn said the impact on the congregation was unmistakable. “We didn’t know what to expect,” she reflected, noting that the presenters handled potentially volatile topics “really wise[ly] and careful[ly] in how they presented things.” One attendee, she recalled, “came ready to be offended and they were pleasantly surprised.” Another member—someone the team assumed might react negatively—ended up thanking the presenters for their sensitivity. The balanced tone, she said, “helped people think carefully” rather than react defensively.
The response to the summit was strong enough that the church and the Church State Council have already committed to making the event a yearly tradition. “We’ve decided to make it an annual thing and we already have a date for next year,” Dawn said.
Next year, there may be an even more urgent clarion call, as the current administration has proven insatiable in their pursuit for power, and eager to use willing evangelicals to that end. By the end of last Sabbath’s summit, the discussion felt less like a warning and more like a recalibration. Adventism has always had something distinctive to say about religious liberty. Now, as Christian nationalism rises in influence, that voice is needed more than ever before.
Image: Jared Wright/Spectrum; Photos: Natalie Bruzon, Google Maps
“Religion is a fertile ground for exploitation. Churches are,” Allred said. “One of the things I see with Christian nationalism is that they’re using a lot of the words[…]things that Christianity is into, and yet when you look at the underlying substance, when you look at the actual values that we’re promoting, we’re being selective.”
This led to perhaps the clearest insight of the day—the difference between influence and dominance. “Christian nationalism seeks power, not influence,” Allred said. “We should be influential—but never seek dominance.” Adventists are called not to rule culture, he emphasized, but to witness within it.
Reinach urged the audience to reject “us versus them” thinking. “If you’re going to reject a person because of their political beliefs, then you’re putting your politics ahead of your faith,” he said. “You know, that’s where you think that[…]Jesus is a Republican [or] Jesus is a Democrat, and if you don’t believe the way I do, it’s Mark of the Beast, us versus them thinking. So it’s fine to disagree about politics, but do we ostracize and demonize the other because they believe differently?”
Asked where they find hope amid rising authoritarianism, the presenters offered a consistent answer: Hope is grounded not in political victories but in Christ, in neighbor-loving religious liberty work, and in living out the character of God in darkening times.
A Return to Adventist Essentials
The Religious Liberty Summit at Paradise offered something rare in today’s world of echo-chamber conversations. Through thought-provoking presentations and discussion, presenters offered an Adventist response to Christian nationalism that neither minimized the threat nor sensationalized it. Instead, the presenters returned to Scripture, prophecy, and Adventist history to show that the movement toward a “Christian” state is a danger Adventists have named for generations.
The main point was unmistakable—the greatest threat to faith is not secularism, but a version of Christianity that mirrors political power rather than Christ’s character. Adventists not only have the theological vocabulary for this moment, but we have an inheritance of prophecy explicitly interpreted for this age, prophecy that clearly speaks on counterfeit gospels, false prophets, and the subtle appeal of blending God and country.
Dawn said the impact on the congregation was unmistakable. “We didn’t know what to expect,” she reflected, noting that the presenters handled potentially volatile topics “really wise[ly] and careful[ly] in how they presented things.” One attendee, she recalled, “came ready to be offended and they were pleasantly surprised.” Another member—someone the team assumed might react negatively—ended up thanking the presenters for their sensitivity. The balanced tone, she said, “helped people think carefully” rather than react defensively.
The response to the summit was strong enough that the church and the Church State Council have already committed to making the event a yearly tradition. “We’ve decided to make it an annual thing and we already have a date for next year,” Dawn said.
Next year, there may be an even more urgent clarion call, as the current administration has proven insatiable in their pursuit for power, and eager to use willing evangelicals to that end. By the end of last Sabbath’s summit, the discussion felt less like a warning and more like a recalibration. Adventism has always had something distinctive to say about religious liberty. Now, as Christian nationalism rises in influence, that voice is needed more than ever before.
Image: Jared Wright/Spectrum; Photos: Natalie Bruzon, Google Maps
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