Tag Archives: Citizens of heaven

Provincialism and patriotism

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Recently on Jay Guin’s blog, there was a vigorous discussion about the appropriateness of displaying the U.S. flag in the church auditorium. (You can see the conversations: first post, second post, third post) I wasn’t surprised at the variety of responses nor the excited nature of the exchanges. People get hot and bothered about this topic.

I can’t help but feel that some of that patriotic fervor is a reflection of provincialism. When all you know is the place you’ve grown up, the things that are done there seem normal, as we’ve discussed. Therefore we tend to suppose that Christians around the world are waving their flags and singing patriotic songs at church. Or worse, we suppose that they too are singing “America the Beautiful” and thanking God for the greatest nation on earth.

It’s not so. I haven’t traveled to every country in the world, but I can tell you that in the places I’ve been, there was no hint of mixing Christianity with nationalism. No chest thumping while proclaiming their nation to be the best. Churches in other countries aren’t perfect, but this is one confusion they’ve been spared.

It seems to me that when you really grasp the fact that you are part of a nation that spans all borders, that people from every tribe and tongue are a part of your family, then the idea of celebrating one earthly country during a meeting of that family will seem ludicrous. I’m blessed to be a part of a church family (our local congregation) that includes people from numerous countries. Off hand, I can think of people from Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, El Salvador, Japan, Honduras, China and Costa Rica, not to mention some students that are from somewhere in Africa (I’m not sure where). If our church family counts them as a part of our body, then it seems to me we have two basic choices: we celebrate every country represented in our body or we celebrate none.

My preference is that we celebrate the nation that unifies all of us, the holy nation of God’s choosing, the body of Christ.

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:13-16)

Maybe the early Christians were right after all

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Photo by Ove Tøpfer; from Stock Xchange

Excellent discussion yesterday. I’m always hoping for a little push back. That helps me sharpen my thinking and test my ideas.

I want to try and further explore yesterday’s topics, based on some of the discussion:

  1. There are real limitations to saying, “I don’t see _____ in the New Testament.” I do recognize that. But I expect what we do today to at least fall in line with what is in the Bible, to not run counter to the examples there (Francis Chan has an interesting video that talks about this). And if we feel the need to circumvent some biblical teaching, I’d like at least a hint that early Christians saw it the same way. There is a prohibition of eating certain things in Acts 15, yet we have several passages that seem to say that all foods are lawful for us. That’s the sort of thing I’m looking for.
  2. Our situation is different today, with Christians representing such a large percentage of the population of many nations. Does that change how we view God’s teachings? I’m asking as much as anything. I’m wrestling through that one. Here are some thoughts:
    1. As Christians, we are called to give primary loyalty to the Kingdom of God. Even as a Roman citizen, I don’t get a picture of Paul looking to promote the interests of Rome. If Christians come to “power” within a certain country, their actions should be guided not just by what is best for that country, but by what is best for the world in general. That would be a political nightmare here in the United States.
    2. As Christians, we are to live by Christian principles at all times. Imagine what that would look like in governing a country. When negotiating with other countries, we would look to serve them, trying to meet their needs. We would return all land that we have taken from other countries, be it through war, be it through intimidation. Wars would be limited, if not eliminated. There is no way a Christian nation would be in a constant state of war for 70 years.
    3. To some degree, our governments are set up to rival much of what God does. Like the men of Babel, humans today look to band together and make a name for themselves, looking to find in one another what they should be seeking from God. I’m still trying to work out in my head how Christians can effectively be a part of that. I haven’t figured it out.
    4. Even where our situation differs, our dependence on God can’t change. We can’t put our trust in horses and chariots. We need to find the courage to imitate the Christians in Acts 12, despite the scorn and ridicule of brothers who choose not to do so. We need to be willing to let nations rise and fall when necessary, to trust God even when He raises up an Assyria or a Babylon to do His will. We need to be willing to honor Caesar even when Caesar is evil. Honor, but not worship.

OK, them’s my thoughts. I’m sure today the good ideas will be in the comments, as they were yesterday.

Proud To Be…

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It caught me by surprise. The singing group was excellent, as always. The ACU Summit crowd was slowly filing in as the singers presented beautiful songs of praise. The hour for the next speaker was near, and the leader of the group said, “We’d like to do one more song.” Instead of the Christian songs they had been doing, they sang a patriotic song.

The effect on the crowd was immediate. People quickly began to get on their feet and clap along with the music, cheering in a way that they hadn’t done previously. I was hoping that the song would end soon, for I was the only one I could see that was still in their seat. I was sitting by the father of the three young men who were singing and didn’t want to offend him. But there was no way I was going to give more honor to the United States than I had given to my God.

The song ended with a standing ovation. I was needing to leave anyway, so I bid my goodbye and left quickly.

And sadly. I shouldn’t have been surprised by what I’d seen, but I couldn’t help it. I would have hoped for more.

I sometimes wonder if it’s worth getting crosswise with so many people over the topic of mixing Christianity and nationalism. I know that some people cringe every time they see me comment on the subject. Then I experience things like that afternoon at Summit, and I remember why this matters.

Nationalism

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In discussing my post on Hugo Chavez and Jesus, a friend of mine defended the term nationalism, saying that it merely meant “having loyalty and devotion for….” He went on to speak of his loyalty and devotion for the Tennessee Vols and for his family. My friend asked if there was anything wrong with that.

I responded:

“Obviously, loyalty and devotion can run on different levels. The difference between what you feel for the Vols and what you feel for your family is great. One is relatively superficial, while the other reaches to the core of your being. You would probably be willing to die for your family, but I doubt you’d be as quick to die for the Vols.

“But let’s follow that line of thinking. How would you feel about singing the Tennessee fight song and school song during a church service (Aren’t there some hymnals that have “Rocky Top” in them)? Have church members prepare care packages for the athletes? Have regular prayers for “our Vols”? Hang a University of Tennessee banner in the front of the auditorium? Does any of that seem out of place?

“What if you did the same with pictures of your family? Sang songs praising your family? Regularly asked all of the church members to pray prayers of thanks for your family, “the greatest family in the world”?

“Those sorts of things happen in churches around the United States, not out of loyalty and devotion to the Vols or your family, but out of nationalism. That’s the scary thing to me.”

What do you think? Would asking everyone in a congregation to share in a show of devotion for my family or for my sports team be out of place during a church service? If so, why do we not find similar displays of nationalism to be out of place?

Yesterday I discussed the meaning of the term “allegiance.” In its most literal form, it refers to lordship. A man can’t serve two lords. Nationalism and Christianity do not mix.

Remembering Rwanda

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Yesterday, in the Christianity in Culture class that I teach at ACU, we read the first part of Lee Camp’s Mere Discipleship. At the beginning of his book, Camp discusses the horrendous civil war that took place in Rwanda in 1994 (the triggering event occurred 16 years ago yesterday, April 6). In a period of 100 days, over 800,000 people were slaughtered during tribal warfare between the Hutus and the Tutsis. What made this butchery all the more disturbing is the fact that over 90% of the population of Rwanda claimed some form of Christianity.

I wrote a few posts about tribalism in the past. While this tribalism is more apparent, with Hutu Christians and Tutsi Christians murdering one another, it exists in many forms around the world. Until our first loyalty is to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, we will allow ourselves to mistreat brothers in Christ in the name of politics and nationalism.

None of that is possible when we recognize that we are one body. We are members of the same holy nation. Our allegiance is to her and her alone. (Remember that allegiance comes from the Old French liege, the term a vassal used to address his lord. When we pledge allegiance to someone or something, we are recognizing their lordship over us.)

May there never be another Rwanda, not only from the point of view of humanity in general, but from the perspective of God’s Kingdom. May His subjects come to see that we belong to Him, with all human loyalties falling far behind. May we truly be the body of Christ, the holy nation, the people of God.