Idolatrous Patriotism
What is Patriotism?
Patriotism seems to have a distinctive meaning. It is difficult to think of a synonym. For instance, ‘loyalty’ does not exactly capture the heart of what patriotism is. Love of country is closer, but, ‘love of country’ is not one word and so cannot be a synonym for anything (Do I have my English correct here? I think I do). Patriotism may be better understood by living among the people of a land, loving what they love and hating what they hate. Nobody believes their country is right all the time but almost everybody thinks themselves patriotic to some measure. Some of us bleed it out on our lapels and bumpers while others are more quiet. Barely anybody wants to burn the flag.
Can You Be a Christian Patriot?
It does seem to me however, that we conservative Christians have gotten our loyalties, and with them our patriotism, more than a little confused. We have forgotten the sweet scent of our native land, who our true King is, and what our citizenship requires. The apostle Peter reminds us, ‘you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a people set at liberty, that you should show forth the virtues of Him that hath called you out of darkness into marvelous light’. This language about a royal priesthood and a holy nation was not original with Peter. He was quoting an Old Testament description of national Israel. So, here we are looking at a nationalistic claim for the church thousands of years old. Yet we, like they, find ourselves pledging loyalties we ought not pledge to entities (God’s really) we ought not worship. And, yes, truth be known, our American patriotism sometimes does find its closest synonym in the word worship.
Many of us, for instance, will drip some tears at the singing of our national anthem. Few of us will leak any tears at the singing of the anthems of the Christian nation. What anthems of the Christian nation? are you asking? Well, there are lots of them. Onward Christian Soldiers comes to mind or The Son of God Goes Forth to War, A Mighty Fortress and plenty of others, maybe all of them if we think about it. We do not believe we have anthems because we do not understand we are a true nation. But, of course, our own Scriptures (what better constitution?) disagrees. We are a nation. Our modern theology has just caused us to forget about it.
Idolatrous Patriotism
To their shame, many of our churches display their idolatrous patriotism boldly. I see them as I roll down the roads here. There, in their front lawns, will stand two flag poles. The tallest carries an American flag while the shorter displays the Christian flag. The amazing thing about this symbolism is that the church thinks nothing of it. We all understand the better kingdom should fly its flag higher. And so the very church of Christ acknowledges to the watching world, that the civil government here is to be respected above the eternal nation of Christ. So, why exactly do we believe those Old Testament idol worshipers were so foolish?
For Christian Culture,
Don Schanzenbach
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Suspender Man™, Don Schanzenbach, has long been an outspoken advocate of recapturing culture for Christ. He holds a MA in applied Biblical studies and a doctorate in applied theological studies in the field of political philosophy and government from New Geneva Seminary. He has been thinking, writing and speaking on Christian culture for two decades.
Don, thanks for another good one, you’re last sentence in particular. I hope it gets some of today’s “conservative” Christians contemplating where they and the church finds themselves today.
Don, you are very much correct here. This is a huge problem, at least in certain circles, and a largely undiagnosed one (I can only think of a handful of people besides yourself who have so clearly stated the sin in question). People who profess Jesus Christ, almost unthinkingly putting their devotion to country and the “laws of the land” ahead of the Almighty God and His altogether righteous Law–it should be unthinkable, and yet we see it all around us. I will freely confess that I have been HUGELY guilty of this in the past, and it distresses me to see others stumbling in this. I thank you for boldly speaking out here and pray our God will bless you mightily to continue to write on these and other cultural issues.
Great online book from 1900 on the topic http://patriot.embassyofheaven.com/patriota.php
Patriotism means loyalty to one’s Father. It’s another word we have allowed the idolators to steal from us. I get patriotic about the Flag of Exodus 17: 15, where Moses said, “Yahweh is my banner.” Here are some questions I have concerning flag worship:
1) Do you acknowledge, according to the definition of the word, that “desecration” can occur only to something that is sacred?
2) Do you acknowledge, according to the definition of the word, that “sacred” means “of a deity”?
3) Do you believe that, since the word “desecration” is used to describe the destruction of Old Glory, that Old Glory is indeed sacred, and if so, of which deity is Old Glory?
4) Does America have a national (G,g)od?
5) Do you believe that there exist “gods…which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell,” according to Deuteronomy 4: 28?
6) Do you acknowledge that the word “worship” is accurately described as “acts, expressions and/or a state of religious devotion typically directed to one or more deities?
7) Can you show me, according to the definitions of “desecration,” “sacred,” and “worship,” where Old Glory is not an object of worship?
8) When you see the presentation of colors–Old Glory alongside the military flags–do you ever think of the “god of forces” of Daniel 11: 38?
9) What do you think Jesus thought about Peter’s pledge of allegiance in Matthew 26: 33: “Though all [men] shall be offended because of thee, [yet] will I never be offended.”?
10) What are you going to say if the first question God asks you on Judgment Day is: Did you ever disobey my First Commandment?
11) And last, but not least, what do you think of Psalms 33: 12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”?:
Great questions
Yes, would love to see Church building Fly A Flag of Christ Above the American war flag.
Don,
Very refreshing after Veteran’s Day service on Sunday.
This is a copy of an email I sent to a friend of mine.
Well, well. I thought I was in the xxxxxxxx Church or a xxxxxxx Lodge. All these men walking around in full uniform with medals – like “Stepford husbands” – read robots.
We had a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient speak at Sunday School – I wasn’t there – and he briefly spoke before the service. He got a standing O and praises heaped upon him by the Pastor.
We then had a song accompanied by a video as well as four flag bearers strutting up and down the platform. The song was saying how fortunate we are to have soldiers who have fought for our freedom and that we have freedom of the press. The words of the song were along the lines of “It wasn’t NBC or ABC or CNN or Jerry Falwell that gave us that freedom, it was our soldiers”. (BTW, no mention of Jesus Christ yet)
We then sang “God bless America” and took the Pledge of Allegiance (still no mention of Jesus Christ)
Don’t get me wrong – I think all this is fine (besides the stupid song) – just not in Church.
About twenty five years ago I listened to a series of teachings about the idolatry in the Churches when it came to America and how Christians thought that being patriotic somehow was their Christian duty and they were undecided who to worship – God or country.
We shouldn’t even have flags in our Churches. We are so quick to point fingers at other “Churches” for having idols but we have different types of idols in our Churches and our hearts. We are like Israel today – putting faith and hope in flesh instead of the Almighty God.
In Him,
Norman Silva.