In A.D. 700, St. Boniface felled the pagan Thunder Oak and revealed a small fir tree —the first Christmas tree — as a living sign of Christ’s victory over Germanic heathenism. In 1775, General George Washington commissioned the Pine Tree Flag bearing the words “An Appeal to Heaven.” Today that same flag flies at rallies, on bumper stickers, and outside homes of Christians defending the family, the unborn, and the public square. Pine Tree Politics is the first book to connect these historic threads and present a clear, positive vision for what the legacy media has labeled “Christian Nationalism” — and what the author simply calls Christian Patriotism.
Written in accessible prose for both Evangelicals and Catholics, the book traces the unbroken thread of Christian influence in Western politics: from the Great Commission and the Social Kingship of Jesus Christ, through subsidiarity and the founding of the American Republic, to today’s post-secular moment. Chapters address raising children, Christian economics, ideological obstructions, and practical steps to bring the Gospel into government, culture, and commerce — without coercion or theocracy. It is both historical and forward-looking, showing why politics is downstream of religion and why a return to Christendom, in some form, is not only possible but already underway.
The timing could not be more urgent. The 2024 reelection of President Trump, the collapse of militant secularism, and the cultural exhaustion with legacy-media fearmongering have created a historic opening for a positive, family-friendly Christian vision. No other title links the Christmas tree, the Pine Tree Flag, and today’s culture war with this much historical depth, pastoral warmth, and practical hope.
Shane Schaetzel is an Evangelical convert to Catholicism, a trained catechist, the author of Are Catholics Christian?, The Last Days and wrote the preface to the 2022 bestseller Christian Nationalism: A Biblical Guide for Taking Dominion and Discipling Nations by Andrew Torba and Andrew Isker. His work reaches tens of thousands of readers through his popular blog (RealClearCatholic.Com) and 𝕏 account (@ShaneSchaetzel).
Pine Tree Politics sits comfortably between Stephen Wolfe’s The Case for Christian Nationalism and Taylor Marshall’s Christian Patriot. It is the accessible, flag-waving entry point that millions of conservative Christians, homeschool families, and concerned parents are actively seeking.
Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and he is an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com
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