There's Not Enough Repentance
A reflection on our tawdry political moment
In a recent conversation, the historian Alan Guelzo remarked that America was most Christian after the Second Great Awakening. Many historians agree, pinpointing this time and, perhaps, just after World War II, as the heights of Christianity in America. Guelzo, an eminent Lincoln and Civil War scholar, urged fellow Christians, fearful of a degraded culture and broken politics, to put the shoulder to the plow in prayer, repentance, evangelism, and discipleship to sow the seeds for moral and spiritual renewal in our country. This is what Christians did before the Second Great Awakening.
Guelzo wasn’t urging a withdrawal from the public square by any means but was accurately describing where Christianity in a Christian nation comes from. I’ve been thinking about this a lot as I’ve been writing my book on patriotism (due to the publisher by November and on shelves in the early fall of 2026).
This is especially relevant in light of the events of this week, where former President Trump, running for a nonconsecutive second term as president, was convicted by a Manhattan jury in the case involving hush money paid as a way of concealing an affair he had while his wife was pregnant.
The reactions to this historic moment were not surprising. Many Republicans lamented the politicization of the legal system. Many Democrats rejoiced that (in their view), justice was served. Many legal observers across the political spectrum noted the flimsy basis of the prosecutor’s indictment and the subsequent charges.
What there seems to be very little of, even among Christians, is lament and repentance. We should lament the tawdry details of President Trump’s case, and the embarrassment wrought on the nation by his history of marital unfaithfulness. We should lament the politicization of the justice system by his opponents, who, hoping to secure a short-term legal and perhaps political victory, have crossed a dangerous rubicon in our Republic. We should lament that in a nation of 300 million, we can find no better leaders to choose from than two morally compromised, unpopular figures.
I am equally turned off by the memes comparing the ex-President to Jesus and by the end-zone dancing of some Christians who seem quiet on political issues unless they can raise their heads and laugh at their fellow believers who decided to vote for Trump based on policy preferences.
Instead, we need repentance. After the Union won the Civil War, Lincoln refused to boast in self-righteousness. Rather he was melancholy in his speeches, wondering if the awful bloodshed was God’s judgment on the nation. We are unsure if Lincoln was an orthodox Christian, but I’m afraid he had more introspection and humility than many of us who claim Jesus.
There is a case for national repentance and crying out to God. When Jonah reluctantly preached to Ninevah, the nation repented. America is not Ninevah. Yet would the Christians in America not benefit from putting down our rhetorical swords and praying in humble repentance before God? This humility seems more apt than upside-down flag memes and “I told you so” schadenfreude.
In his Thanksgiving proclamation, George Washington urged the new country to “unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions.”
There is a biblical case for praying prayers of repentance on behalf of the nation. In Daniel 9, we read the faithful prophet’s earnest, heartfelt supplications on behalf of his people:
Ah, Lord—the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands— we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commands and ordinances. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the people of the land.
Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel—those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries where you have banished them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward you. Lord, public shame belongs to us, our kings, our leaders, and our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the Lord our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets.
All Israel has broken your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. The promised curse written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against him. He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing on us a disaster that is so great that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven. Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth. So the Lord kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all he has done. But we have not obeyed him.
Now, Lord our God—who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and made your name renowned as it is this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly. Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us.
Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake. Listen closely, my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion. Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name.
Notice how Daniel isn’t calling others to repentance but includes himself as part of the “we” who needs to turn back to the Lord? Daniel was blameless and yet identified himself with his nation and its transgressions. Imagine if we did this. You might say, “Well I never endorsed Trump’s misdeeds, those other Christians did that.” or you might say, “I’m not a Democrat and I am not the party manipulating the justice system for partisan gain.” Sure, but if you love your country, you can be genuinely sorrowful at the sad state of affairs.
I’m thankful for America. I believe we are blessed to live in freedom and prosperity. I am hopeful that we will endure this moment in history. I think we already are, in many ways, especially among people who are not permanently online or outside the Beltway in Washington, D.C. Most Americans got up and went to work on Thursday. Most don’t think the sky is falling, even if they have opinions on the verdict in New York. And on Sunday, many of us will gather and worship the risen Christ like we did the week before.
Still, we would be naive to think that the country isn’t at a concerning inflection point. This experiment in liberty and freedom requires virtue, something that is in short supply in our leaders. It requires a healthy Christianity. But though policy laws and politics matter, spiritual renewal won’t come from those things. It begins when God’s people turn to him in repentance and prayer. So, let it begin with us. Let it begin with me.