Theologians, Pastors, and Christians of all types have over the years questioned whether Christians can be patriots. After all, the Christian scriptures, the words of Jesus, Paul, and the other New Testament authors made it plain that our ultimate allegiance is to Christ and His Kingdom, a kingdom not of this world. Yet many serious and thoughtful Christ-followers have made plain their belief that one can be both Christian and patriot, but not in all situations, and with obvious limits. It is the nature and extent of these limits that I would like to discuss.
There are many within this country that profess to be Christians. But so many of these “professors” of Christianity don’t know even remotely how the founder of the faith, Christ himself, defined the requirements and characteristics of being a Christian. Since being a Christian means above all else a loyalty to Christ and his will, there are limits to how far one can go even to preserve one’s nation. Now that might sound foreign to some on the radical right who murmur about how the times might require violence to redeem this country from what they believe is its current direction towards destruction. But in the kingdom of God, the means are more important than the end. How can I claim this….because Christ has already insured the ultimate victory of his rule, of His kingdom. If we are to be a part of that, all we need to do is to simply live the way he prescribed. With regard to our discussion here, that means a way of life devoid of any type of vengeance1. Vengeance is always forbidden, in all forms. As for the pursuit of justice, that is an entirely desirable action, remembering that it is the State’s job to arrest, convict, and penalize offenders. What if the State fails its job? Does this offer an opening for an individual to take the law into his/her own hands? Not in God’s universe. It seems to me that one of the very few legitimate exceptions for Christians to resort to lethal violence would be for what is called ‘third party protection’, where I (only under the most expedient circumstances) have to defend a 3rd party from a life-threatening attack by a 2nd party2.
What about the opinions of many on the right that resorting to violence may be necessary to ‘save America’? Do such individuals believe that just because someone’s (albeit grossly misguided) ideology does indeed in the long-term threaten the very existence of our Republic that they can execute judgment on these people? Would this qualify as an example of 3rd party defense? Not even remotely. Such violent actions are justified only if the third party is in immediate danger, and no other means of saving them are available. One should remember that in the age of the early church, Christians lived in a world often extremely antagonistic to their existence. No examples exist of these believers trying to violently force the kingdom (or any other laws, practices, or beliefs) on anyone. Indeed, there are a myriad of examples from the New Testament and the early church that when violence rose against them, martyrdom was the expectation. Today, if physical persecution (real life-threatening stuff, unlike the petty “persecutions” many American Christians talk about currently) would break out against us, Christ’s expectation would be the same. As a final note on this subject, if one really has faith is his/her own resurrection, why should they insist that their lives continue on in this life today? Has that person not bet it all on Christ and his promises? Maybe they have always hedged their bets and have no real faith at all.
But there are other boundaries a Christian cannot cross and still be faithful. One cannot lie to gain advantage, can’t spin the truth, can’t put our own wants and desires over the needs of others. Public servants especially can’t profess to be a Christian and lie to the public. Better to never name the name of Christ than to do so while high-handedly lying, deceiving, spinning the truth for any political end-game3. When such a lie is obvious, it does irreparable damage to Christ’s name and reputation. And no, it cannot be done under the excuse that it is necessary in these dark times. The adage that a politician cannot do any good if not elected may be true, but if a politician lies, makes promises he can’t keep, chooses to back unjust causes to keep under-the-table promises, how can he/she be a Christian? Yes, he/she got elected, but they made a deal with the devil to do so….why would anyone support them?
But even the average Christian has both limits and responsibilities to society. A Christian cannot turn a blind eye to the unjust laws and practices within his/her country, nor to the deficits in the behaviors and actions of the people he/she supports. They must be unbiased in their evaluations of candidates and elected officials. If the Christian faith and Christ’s name is more important than even the survival of our American Republic (and I believe it very much is), then even our associations have to be examined critically. Associations which pair us with dishonest, immoral, unjust, unforgiving, uncompassionate, power-seeking individuals or groups of any political party will severely (and have already) severely damaged the reputation of Christians. Better to be despised, even persecuted, than to lose our reputation as compassionate and honest people, people with courage and integrity.
Finally, a Christian must refuse to participate in any actions or policies that are cruel, unjust, unethical, and un-Christian. And indeed they must oppose them, but only in such manner that aligns with a truly Christian way of living. With regard to non-participation that might mean a policeman being fired for refusing to execute an order, or a member of the military facing a court martial for insubordination. With regard to opposition, that might mean writing a legislator, engaging in peaceful protests, or acts of non-violent resistance. Virtuous, passive-resistance type actions may or may not turn the direction of society, but they often preserve other innocent souls from harm.
There are a great many very disturbing movements coming from the left, and a great many extremely negative consequences from some of their past policies. One example among many is the way public schools in the U.S. have become so ineffective because of the left’s desire to tolerate the most despicable behavior on the part of students. (The far left seems to equate discipline with harm and violence!) But one cannot face idiotic policies by trying to take over the government and rule by force. The very un-democratic means the right uses today will be used by the left tomorrow. One only wins in a democracy but presenting a better argument, by showing a better example, and demonstrating a better result. With either Fascism or Socialism, once you have either, the only way out is most likely the physical violence of a coup.
Regardless of the result for our Nation, the Christian has restraints on the actions he/she takes as a patriot. If one is to remain a Christian, he/she must always live as a Christian. There are no times when this requirement is void.
- See Matthew 5:38-42, Matthew 18:22-35, and Romans 12:17-21.
- Self protection against random violence, police enforcement efforts, just wars being exceptions as well.
- See Matthew 7:21-23. Jesus shows that even claiming great achievements (ostensibly for Him, truthfully for self) means nothing….the crucial thing is obedience to Him.